Ebony Spread

Ahh, the slow cooker. Although it was likely a mainstay on your grandparent’s kitchen counter, you’ve probably never seen one in action outside of a tailgate or company potluck lunch. But if you’re not using your slow cooker regularly—or worse, if you don’t own one—you’re missing out. According to Consumer Reports, 85 percent of households own the appliance. And for such an inexpensive investment (as low as $10), it’s a thought worth simmering over.

“I would say the biggest benefit of a slow cooker is that it saves the cook a lot of time,” says Kevin Warren, a celebrity private chef based in Los Angeles. “You can put everything in a Crock-Pot at once, turn it on, leave for work and dinner is ready when you get home. You’re able to feed an entire family using just one pot, and it’s easy cleanup.”

For that very reason, the slow cooker, synonymous with the trademarked name Crock-Pot, gained popularity in the 1970s as more women joined the workforce. Though the convenient temperature-controlled electric pot is lauded as a modern day kitchen hero, slow cooking is actually an age-old practice.

“Going way back, scraps of pork were leftbehind for the slaves to eat. Parts like chitterlings, pigs’ feet, hog maws, shanks and hocks had to be cooked a long time for them to get tender, and the longer they cooked, the better the flavor in a soup or stew,” explains Warren, who goes on to say that one-pot meals were also an early tradition among African-Americans.

Even today, says the chef, slow, low temperature cooking is the go-to technique in a chef’s repertoire for creating tender, fall-o -the-bone meat. It’s also a great way to really enhance flavors in many of your favorite dishes—even beyond simply soups and stews.

“Greens are tasty when cooked for a short period of time, but some of the best greens will cook long and slow for the [greatest] texture and flavor,” advises Warren who fondly remembers his own mother and grandmother using their slow cookers for family meals such as oxtail stew. But if you still haven’t warmed up to the idea of the slow cooker, check out the chef’s tips to really get things cooking along with two great recipes.