Slow cookers, also called by the popular brand name Crock Pot ®, are great because they essentially do the cooking while you are away. Imagine putting the ingredients in the slow cooker, leaving for work or a busy Saturday, and coming home to a great smelling, mouth-watering supper. Sounds fool-proof, right? Well, almost. There are some safety rules that you need to be aware of.
Testing Your Slow Cooker for Accuracy
If the slow cooker in your house has been stashed in the back of the cabinet for a while, it may be a good idea to test it for accuracy. The University of Minnesota Extension Service offers the following directions for testing slow cooker accuracy:
1. Fill the slow cooker 1/2 to 2/3 full with water.
2. Turn the slow cooker on LOW and let heat for 8 hours. Do not lift the lid during this time!
3. Check the water temperature with an accurate food thermometer. Do this quickly since the temperature in the slow cooker drops once the lid is removed.
4. The temperature of the water should be between 185 and 200 degrees F. If the water temperature is less than 185 degrees, the slow cooker is not safe to use and should be thrown out. If the temperature is over 200 degrees, that’s an indication that food cooked for 8 hours in the slow cooker, without any stirring, would likely be overdone.Handle Your Ingredients Safely
Keep perishable foods refrigerated until preparation time. It is okay to cut up meat and vegetables in advance, but they should be stored separately in the refrigerator in covered containers. Because slow cookers can take several hours to reach a temperature hot enough to kill bacteria, constant refrigeration prior to food preparation helps ensure that bacteria, which can multiply quickly at room temperatures, don’t get a head start during the first few hours of cooking.
Always defrost meat or poultry before putting it into a slow cooker. Never put frozen meat or chicken in a slow cooker. Until recently, it was advised to cut large pieces of meat/poultry into smaller sizes when cooking them in a slow cooker. Placing a whole roast or chicken in a slow cooker was not a recommended practice. Good news! New research conducted by USDA FSIS suggests that it is safe to cook large cuts of meat and poultry in a slow cooker IF you have a newer model. The newer models of slow cookers are larger and more powerful than the older ones, so it is safe to cook larger pieces of meat and poultry. What is meant by “newer model”? FSIS doesn’t say specifically their best guess is that if a slow cooker was purchased during or since 2007 then it is considered a newer model. Check the instructions that came with your cooker. If the recipes that came in the manual say you can place a whole roast in the cooker, then it is probably safe to do so. Otherwise, cut up large pieces of meat.
Here are a few more tips to ensure your slow cooker meals are safe to eat:
Vegetables cook the slowest so place them closest to the heat which is at the bottom and on the sides of the slow cooker.
Never skimp or over-stuff your slow cooker. Fill slow cookers between 1/2 and 2/3 full.
It is important to make sure that the liquid nearly covers the ingredients to make sure there is proper heat transfer throughout the crock. Remember, liquid is needed to generate the steam that cooks the food.
Pick the right setting. Slow cookers generally have two or more settings. The LOW setting is recommended for all day cooking or for preparing less tender cuts of meat. If desired, you can get a head start on the cooking. Let the slow cooker cook on HIGH for the first hour then switch to the low setting for the remainder of the cook time.
No Peeking. During the cooking process, keep the lid on. Only remove the lid to stir or to check for doneness. Each time the lid is raised, the internal temperature drops 10–15 degrees and the cooking process is slowed by 20 to 30 minutes.
It’s not done ‘till the thermometer says it is done! Use a calibrated food thermometer to make sure that meat and poultry dishes have reached a safe internal temperature. Poultry: 165 degrees F; Ground meat: 160 degrees F; Whole cuts of meat (beef, pork, lamb or veal): 145 degrees F. For whole cuts of meat, after the temperature has reached 145 degrees F, remove from heat and let stand for 3 minutes. This standing time is part of the cooking process and is important to make sure that all bacteria that can cause food borne illness are killed. Do not skip this step!
About the author: Lisa Mapel is an Extension Program Assistant and Better Living for Texans educator with the Brown County AgriLife Extension office. Lisa may be reached at 325.646.0386.
