I power them up on my bench and use my #91 magnetic breaker set to it's lowest setting for testing. It will trip instantly on a bit more than 1 amp, and is useful for testing suspect boards.
I also have an ammeter connected so I can monitor the power as I bring up the voltage. If the current just ramps up as the voltage comes up, I presume that there's a problem with the board and stop. I agree that it's easy smoke things if you're not careful.