The Peeling Tip To Remember When Slow-Cooking Beets

As anyone who has prepared roasted beets can attest, peeling them can be a huge pain. Removing the tough skins becomes quite a chore even if you're only prepping a few at a time. Now imagine cooking enough beets to feed an extended family — you'll no doubt be looking for an easier way to get the peeling part done. Luckily, there is a way that won't dull knives or leave you wondering if you've peeled away too much of the beet.

When making a batch of roasted beets in your slow cooker, the secret to peeling them comes down to one simple tip: Do so after cooking. This way, the skins are already nice and soft. Not only will you be able to peel them by hand after they're cooked, but you'll be able to do so quickly and with almost unbelievable ease. Which is kind of the point whenever you make anything in a slow cooker, right? After all, it hardly saves time or effort if you've still got to a massive amount of prep work to do.

It's best to peel your beets after they've been cooked regardless of the method. Whether they've been boiled, roasted in the oven, or done in a pressure cooker — it's especially convenient after letting them go in the slow cooker for hours. This is when they'll slide right off.

The beets will need to cool for a little while before you begin. For the easiest peeling, they need to be rinsed in water. While holding them under running water, just give the beets a little friction – the skins will slide right off. It really is that easy. Wearing gloves can prevent staining your hands if that's something you're worried about. But generally, as long as you wash your hands right away any color should dissipate pretty quickly. Do be careful about wiping stray beet juice off of surfaces right away though, especially porous ones, as they can quickly stain.

From soups to salads to sides, there is no shortage of roasted beet recipes available. Beets are delicious served hot or cold, and their sweet, earthy flavor is the perfect complement to tangy dairy like creamy goat cheese. Beet greens are edible too, so why not incorporate them in a soup or salad?

The (usually) bright purple root vegetable also makes a fantastic substitute for some of the potatoes in a potato salad. Or for a sweeter version, there's always Costa Rican-style ensalada rusa — which calls for plenty of boiled beets, potatoes, and carrots mixed with mayo and hard-boiled eggs. Of course, the veggie can also be eaten on its own with a little bit of salt or vinaigrette. Once you start looking for ways to use roasted beets you'll be sure to find a variety of delicious options. So many in fact that you might be filling your slow cooker with them every week.