Crockpot Cooking Safety Tips

Although I have never had a bad experience with my crockpot (and I'm sure you won't either), there are a few safety measures you need to follow to ensure food safety. Some of them are pretty basic and common sense and you are probably doing them already. But it never hurts to go over them and to just continue to be aware of the importance proper food handling and preparation techniques.

Always start clean, a clean cooker, clean utensils, a clean work area. And wash your hands before and during food preparation.

Be sure to handle ingredients carefully. Since slow cookers can take a while to get to temperatures hot enough to kill off bacteria, it is imperative to keep the ingredients constantly refrigerated prior to food preparation. Remember that bacteria multiply on food quickly at room temperature. Therefore perishable foods should remain refrigerated until you need them.

Defrost your meats and poultry prior to putting them in your slow cooker. This helps the crockpot achieve proper cooking temperature faster, eliminating the possibility of bacteria growth on your food.

Cutting food into smaller chunks helps to ensure that the food is cooked thoroughly. For example, don't cook large pieces of meat such as a whole chicken in the slow cooker. Doing this increases the opportunity for bacterial growth because it takes a longer time to get to proper cooking temperature. Meats and vegetables can be cut up in advance but make sure you store them separately in covered containers.

Keep the lid on. Experts say that removing the lid can add 20 minutes to the cooking time! This is because it takes that long to re-generate the lost heat and steam. Remove it only to stir the food or check for doneness.

Since vegetables cook slower than meat, place the vegetables on the bottom. Then add the meat and cover the food with your broth, sauce, or water.

If possible, set the slow cooker setting on high for the first hour of cooking to get the food warmed up quickly. Then switch it to low for the rest of the day. If it is not possible, the Food Safety and Inspection Service says it is still safe to cook foods on low for the entire time, since the temperatures stay hot enough for long enough to prevent any bacterial growth on the food.

If you are away during the entire slow-cooking process and you know that there has been a power outage, don't take any chances. Throw the food out. Although it may look done, it could also be unsafe for consumption. You can know if there was a power outage by the time flashing on your other appliances such as microwave or VCR.

If you are home during a power outage, complete the cooking another way -gas stove, etc.

A food thermometer can be used to test for 'doneness' on your meat and poultry to make sure they have reached a safe internal temperature:
Poultry - 170 deg for chicken breast - 180 deg for chicken thigh
Ground Meat- 160 deg
Roasts -145 degrees (medium rare) -160 degrees (medium) -170 degrees (well done)

Casseroles -165 degrees
Stuffing - 165 degrees
Soups - 165 degrees

And when it comes to leftovers, make sure you refrigerate them within two hours after cooking is finished. Store them in shallow covered containers.

It is not recommended that you use a slow cooker to reheat these leftovers.

These tips should give you the added confidence that any food you have prepared is safe and hopefully delicious!

Copyright 2006 Tony Buel

Tony has been working diligently to provide free cooking related resources for the chef in all of us. His website is full of Easy Crockpot Recipes and is a labor of love which provides delicious and easy to make crockpot recipes as well as related tips and advice. Stop by any time! Browse through our list of recipes at http://www.my-crockpot-recipes.com.

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Some Basic Slow Cooker Food Safety Tips

Slow cooker recipes are wonderful because you can make the most delicious and easy meals in a crockpot. However, you might wondering about food safety. If you have been unlucky enough to experience food poisoning from undercooked meat or fish, you might be doubtful about the relatively low cooking temperatures a crockpot uses.

It is a good idea to invest in a food thermometer. Food should be hotter than 165 degrees F in order for it to be safe to eat. If you have been out all day and you left the crockpot on, you do not know whether there was a power cut which would have affected your crockpot dinner.

How a Slow Cooker Works

The cooker must cook food at a high enough temperature to make it safe to eat while keeping the temperature low enough so you can leave the machine unattended all day. The low setting on a crockpot is around 200 degrees F and the high setting is around 300 degrees F. This means the food will be between 170 and 280 degrees F as it cooks. Cooking food on such a low heat means that the flavors blend gently while cheap, tough cuts of meat soften and become really tender.

The steam released by the act of slow cooking, the long cooking process itself and the direct heat released in the crockpot all work together to make slow cooking a safe food cooking method, destroying bacteria and heating your food up sufficiently. It is also important to keep your work area and utensils clean, as well as the slow cooker itself.

Tips for Safe Slow Cooker Recipes

Keep cold ingredients refrigerated until it is time to add them to the slow cooker and handle them correctly. A lot of food safety involves using common sense and you will already know about how to handle foods like chicken and fish, and how to avoid cross contamination by using different cutting boards and utensils for fish, meat and vegetables.

You should thaw chicken or meat before adding it to the slow cooker. Do this overnight in the refrigerator for the best results. Choose high moisture content slow cooker recipes, like sauces, soup or chili in order to distribute the heat in the crockpot best. Turn the slow cooker up to the highest setting for the first hour, and then turn it down to finish cooking your dish.

When making slow cooker recipes you might want to cut food into small pieces, one inch chunks for example, to encourage thorough cooking. This is especially important with meat and a crockpot is not suitable for cooking a whole chicken, for example, since the inside might not reach a high enough temperature to stop bacteria from reproducing and this can lead to food poisoning.

You can use a crockpot to keep soups and dip recipes warm but if you switch off the heat and use it to keep meat, poultry or fish warm, you are taking a risk because a lukewarm temperature encourages bacteria to multiple.

If you are not going to eat your cooked food right away, transfer it to another container and refrigerate or freeze it. Do not use a crockpot to reheat food. Use the microwave, oven or stove for this job.

As easy as slow cooker recipes tend to be, it is always worthwhile learning a few slow cooker safety tips, in order to make your meals safe to eat as well as delicious. Most food safety tips are just about using your common sense but crockpot safety is important, especially in regard to making sure your food is sufficiently heated through.

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