This Is Where Your Slow Cooker Should Actually Sit When Cooking
Slow cookers are a busy person's godsend. After all, at the end of a long day of work, shuttling your kids to extracurricular activities, and running errands, the last thing you want to do is spend hours slaving away in the kitchen whipping up a homemade meal. That's where the slow cooker comes in. The popular appliance requires almost zero effort on your part. All you have to do in the morning is dump in your ingredients, plug it in, and set it and forget it. By the time you get home for dinner, you have a delicious meal ready and waiting.
However, for as easy as slow cookers are to operate, there are some common mistakes people make while using them, from choosing the wrong size slow cooker to not searing their meat first. Another faux pas many home cooks are guilty of? Placing their slow cooker in the wrong spot in their kitchen. Spoiler: It shouldn't be on the countertop.
Put your slow cooker on the stove
Most people put their slow cooker on the counter while it's in use. But there's actually a better place for it: the stovetop. The Kitchn says that this is the safest — and easiest-to-clean — option for your appliance. The stove will catch any splatters that can easily be wiped off and it can withstand more heat than the average countertop without worrying about damage. This works with an induction stove and a stove with raised burners. The Kitchn notes that the standard six-quart slow cooker should still fit over the burners.
However, you should never put your slow cooker on a stove that's turned on or that is still hot from previous use. Crock-Pot Ladies cautions that most slow cookers are not built to endure direct heat and can crack if put on a hot stovetop. An easy alternative if your stove is in use? The Kitchn recommends putting the appliance on a baking sheet or a wood cutting board instead.