Why Slow Cooker Sauces Come Out So Thin And Watery

Slow cooker recipes can be hit or miss but the best slow cooker recipes don't leave you with a soupy mess when the meal is finished. That is, of course, unless you're trying to make soup. If you've ever opened the lid of your slow cooker only to discover a wave of humid heat, you're doing something right. As food cooks in the slow cooker, the lid keeps all of the steam and juices inside. This helps keep your food cooking at a safe temperature but it can also make your sauce get a bit too watery.

When water evaporates during the cooking process, it has nowhere to escape so it stays in the slow cooker and makes a thin, watery broth. To combat this, you can reduce the amount of liquid you add at the beginning of the cooking process or you can employ some techniques to thicken the sauce after the dish is finished cooking.

When you cook on the stove or in the oven, the steam that forms as a result of water evaporating from your food during the cooking process can escape. This results in thicker sauces. Stovetop cooking also typically uses much higher temperatures than slow cookers. That's why your food cooks a lot faster on the stove. According to the USDA, there are three main ways bacteria die during the cooking process in a slow cooker: the heat of the pot, the long cooking time, and the steam that forms as your food cooks.

Because steam is one of those three components that helps destroy bacteria when cooking at a lower temperature, however, it's not a good idea to take the slow cooker lid off during the cooking process in an attempt to thicken up your sauce. Doing so could potentially result in the food not getting hot enough to be safe to eat.

Since you can't take the slow cooker lid off to let the steam escape, there are other methods you can use to thicken up the sauce. Once your food is done, you can transfer the juices to a pan on the stove and add either flour or cornstarch. As it cooks, this will turn your sauce into more of a gravy-like consistency.

Another technique to get thicker slow cooker sauce is to reduce the amount of liquid you add to your recipe. For best results, follow the recipe the first time you make a dish. If it results in a watery sauce, reduce the amount of liquid you add the next time you make the recipe. Continue doing this each time you make the recipe until you end up with a sauce that is your desired consistency.

For a hearty and thick sauce, try puréeing the sauce. Take some of the vegetables or grains in your recipe and purée them with the watery sauce. For this technique, you can use one of the best immersion blenders or a regular blender, just be careful when handling the hot liquid. Regardless of the method you choose to combat watery slow cooker sauce, you can thicken up that sauce without compromising the safety of your food.