Every culture has its foods– and while the fermented shark you’ll find up in Iceland probably isn’t world-renowned for being ultra tempting, most cultures have something wonderful and unique about their food. Which means that whenever you visit a new country, you’ve gotta try the native fare at least once– and preferably every day. While it’s impossible to recreate a lot of dishes at home, your crock pot can help you make your own version of plenty of great ethnic dishes.

Photo By: Evil Professor
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But that doesn’t mean you always want to stray so far from home. Most people call the United States a “melting pot.” The country is a hodgepodge of people from all walks of life and of all races, nations, and religions. There are very few countries in the world made up of people from such a huge number of countries and cultures. Which means that American food has lots to offer a crock pot chef, too.

Meat n’ Potatoes. The U.S. used to be a nation of meat-n-potato kinda people. And while our cuisine has, thankfully, expanded somewhat, crock pots are great for preparing that occasional meat-n-potatoes meal– and are famous for cooking up a perfect pot roast dinner. Want to make a great pot roast in your crock pot? It’s ultra easy. Potatoes, carrots, and onions go into the pot along with the roast (and some liquid, of course)– you’ll just cook them together on low for about eight hours. Searing the meat prior to cooking will lock in the flavor and moisture while creating that cooked-up meat essence that will add flavor to veggies and gravies. Some fresh ground pepper, a nice pinch of salt, some herbs, garlic, etc., and you have a wonderful meal that makes its own rich gravy.

Southern & BBQ. BBQ dishes are another one of those wonderfully American foods that seem to have been created to cook in the crock pot. Pulled pork and chicken are favorite dishes all over the South (though everybody makes theirs differently, from rich red sauces to tangy vinegary ones — check out our BBQ Sauces of America page).

To make meat for pulled pork sandwiches, slow cook it in a bit of water or broth for eight to ten hours (it tastes best when marinated with a BBQ Dry Rub). When the meat is falling off the bone and most of the liquid has evaporated or been absorbed, you simply take a couple of forks and pull the meat apart into shreds. Stir in your favorite BBQ sauce, slop it on a bun, and then eat.

Crock pots are also great for making BBQ ribs, BBQ chicken, you name it. We have tons of recipes for BBQ (most of which can be adapted to the crock pot) on our BBQ Recipes page.

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