Slow cookers allow you to cook a meal, covered over a very low heat for several hours. This yields tender foods without a lot of effort, but not everyone owns a slow cooker. If you have a recipe that requires a slow cooker, but lack the appliance, you will need to convert it to an oven. This is not as difficult as you might think. By following the proper procedures, you can still prepare your favorite slow cooker recipes in your oven.
Instructions
1. Examine your slow cooker recipe for the ingredients and the total amount of time it will be cooked.
2. Double the amount of liquid in the slow cooker recipe if the recipe is cooked on low heat. Less liquid is needed in a slow cooker recipe since the lower heat and the lid keep moisture from being evaporated from the dish too quickly.
3. Put the meat into a skillet over medium high heat and brown it on the outside, if desired.
4. Add all of the ingredients into the baking dish at the same time. Many slow cooker recipes require that you wait until the last part of the cooking to add rice, noodles, and dairy products, but this is because these break down over extended cooking.
5. Preheat the oven to 325 degrees. Cover the baking dish.
6. Refer to an oven to slow cooker conversion chart and work backwards (see Resources). If the slow cooker recipe calls for cooking on low (about 200 degrees) for eight to 10 hours, or four to five hours on high, you will cook it in the oven for one to three hours in the oven, covered.
7. Check the food with a meat thermometer at the earliest time that it could be done. Insert the thermometer into the thickest portion of the meat, not touching a bone, to determine doneness.
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