How To Use Your Microwave For Better Slow Cooker Recipes

Slow cookers are a lifesaver for busy families, when you need to make a big batch of mashed potatoes for a crowd, and when you are just feeling too lazy to use your stove or oven (it's still "cooking" because it's in the name of the appliance!). But there are times when your slow cooker can't or shouldn't do everything on its own, and it needs an assist from its fellow appliance, the microwave. According to Susan Goldenberg, creator, owner, and recipe tester behind The Lazy Slow Cooker, the microwave is a huge slow cooker helper, especially when it comes to meats — but not just any chunk of beef or chicken thigh. Instead, the appliance comes in handy specifically when you want to use frozen meat in your Crock Pot. 

"The most common way I use it is to gently defrost meats, especially beef or chicken, before adding them to the slow cooker," Goldenberg explained. Unlike, say, the Instant Pot, which cooks raw protein quickly enough to avoid safety issues, she explained that "slow cookers heat gradually[,] and starting with frozen protein can keep food in the temperature danger zone for too long."

To safely defrost your meat before tossing it in the slow cooker, don't use your microwave's full power; up to 50% is probably best. Then set the time to two minutes, giving the protein a whirl again and again at that setting until it's no longer frozen through. It's also important that you add it to the slow cooker immediately after thawing.

Using the microwave for ingredients before slow cooking isn't just limited to meat, though. Our expert, Susan Goldenberg, will "also frequently use the microwave to melt butter or coconut oil for recipes that call for them." As an example, she mentioned slow cooker desserts, like spoon cakes or brownies. Adding the butter already melted can assist with more even melding of the ingredients, and the microwave is a quick and easy way to achieve it.

Better butter for the slow cooker can also be obtained by microwaving it with aromatics such as onion, garlic, or shallots to gently infuse flavor into it before pouring it in, according to Goldenberg (you can also fry up your garlic in the microwave by heating it in oil). This adds complexity to the meal that slow cooker dishes can sometimes lack because the cooking method is very basic and straightforward.

Finally, if you're making an extra-tender beef stroganoff, it might behoove you to microwave your mushrooms before putting them into the slow cooker. As you might be aware, mushrooms contain a lot of moisture that they release when they cook, and the last thing you'll want is watered-down gravy. By giving them a quick zap, you'll pre-release some of that water, so your stroganoff comes out thick-bodied.