Whether you are new to slow cooker cooking or you consider yourself an old hand at this, you will want to know the basics about the safety of cooking in your slow cooker. If you've been using your slow cooker for awhile, you may just need a few safety reminders. If you are new to slow cooker cooking, you may be surprised by some safety issues you have never considered. Let's take a look at several tips to keep your slow cooker cooking experience joyful, tasty, and safe.
Take Your Slow Cooker Temperature
Whether your slow cooker is old or new, it doesn't hurt to give it a temperature test first. Even a new crockpot could have a defect that would cause it to heat improperly, and an old crockpot may have seen better days.
The low setting on a crockpot is designed to bring food up to 140 degrees F within four hours.
The temperature then should reach about 200 degrees F and hold indefinitely, until the meal is done cooking and you remove it from the heat. The high setting should keep food at about 300 degrees F.
Before you cook your first meal, do this simple test.
Fill the slow cooker at least 1/2 to 2/3 full with cold water.
Set heat to the 'low' setting and put the cover on securely.
Wait for 4 hours, then lift the cover and quickly check the temperature of the water using a reliable food thermometer to see if it has reached approximately 140 degrees F.
Replace the cover and leave on low setting for another 4 hours, then check the water temperature again. If the temperature is not at least 185 degrees F to 200 degrees F, there is something wrong with your slow cooker and it should not be used. If the temperature is over 200 degrees F, your slow cooker may be too hot to cook foods unattended even at the low temperature setting.
Remember, don't leave the lid off too long or you won't get an accurate read on the thermometer when you test the temperature of the water. Have your thermometer ready, lift the cover quickly, insert the thermometer and remove it when the temperature stops rising. This should be accomplished in a matter of seconds.
Take Your Food's Temperature
Along with the accuracy of the slow cooker temperature, there is the temperature of the food to consider. You might hear a lot of differing opinions on how to add food to your slow cooker, but when it comes to safety, there are a few rules that the USDA and other food safety organizations recommend we follow. Here they are.
DO NOT add frozen meat or poultry to the slow cooker.
All meat should be thawed completely before putting it into your slow cooker. If you put frozen foods, especially something as dense as meat into the slow cooker, the temperature won't reach the safety zone of 140 degrees F fast enough. This means the meat could stay in a temperature range that's low enough to grow bacteria.
DO NOT allow perishable foods to come to room temperature before adding to slow cooker.
It's best to keep foods refrigerated until it's time to put your recipe together. You don't want to give any perishable foods a jump start with bacteria, then put it into a warm environment, the slow cooker, to build more bacteria before it has a chance to reach the safety zone. The science of cooking food to kill bacteria is very specific, and the method of getting foods from a refrigerated temperature (safe) to 140 degrees F (safe) is based on this science. The science works very well when you follow these rules.
DO NOT lift the cover during the cooking cycle.
I know you're tempted to poke around and stir, but every time you lift the lid, the temperature inside the slow cooker could drop as much as 15 degrees. It takes the slow cooker, once the cover is replaced, about 30 minutes to regain each 15 degrees it loses. If you peek even four times, you have to add another two hours to your cooking time. That's a lot of time to wait for dinner when you're hungry at the end of a hard day! So just let the slow cooker do its thing and leave the cover closed.
DO cook your chicken or meat in large pieces if you wish.
The USDA has approved this cooking method in a slow cooker so long as you follow other safety rules as mentioned. Make sure the meat is thawed completely and you do not lift the cover during cooking time. They do also recommend, especially if cooking large cuts of poultry or meat, that you start the cooking cycle on high temperature and cook for approximately one hour, then turn temperature to low to continue the cooking cycle. This ensures the larger cuts will reach the safety zone temperature of 140 degrees F faster.
DO check the poultry or meat temperature when done cooking.
Use a good meat thermometer to check the internal temperature. The guidelines are: Beef Roasts 145 F, Pork Roasts 150 F, Poultry 165 F. Insert the thermometer into the thickest part of the meat, away from the bone.
DO remove any leftovers from the slow cooker insert.
No, you cannot just lift the slow cooker insert out of the crockpot and plop it in your refrigerator. The crock is made to maintain heat. This wonderful feature works perfectly for cooking food but is a disaster when it comes to cooling food. Your food will stay warm for hours and hours and hours in the refrigerator if left in the crock liner, turning that lovely stew into a breeding ground for bacteria.
Spoon the leftovers into small food containers so they cool quickly in the refrigerator. You may even want to start them cooling in the freezer, then transfer the containers to the refrigerator, or just freeze them if that works for you.
It's safety first and foremost when it comes to any cooking method. Even in the apparent hands-off method of "set it and forget it" slow cooker cooking, there are still food safety rules to follow. With these simple tips, you can feel confident cooking meals in your slow cooker the safest, tastiest way possible.
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