Slow cooking meat, but being away for 12+ hours

[chigga]

Hi all. I just purchased a slow cooker that can be turned on and off through my iPhone. This is pretty neat. However, I work crazy long hours and I'm out of the house for 12-14 hours each day.

I found several slow cooker recipes that were 4-7 hours long. If I loaded the slow cooker at about 7am (right before I leave my house) and then turn it on at about 2pm from work, just in time for me to come home to a hot email at 8pm (yup, long days at work for sure), what do I do about the period of time between 7am-2pm where meat and food is just sitting in the slow cooker? Is that unsafe? Any advice here, please and thank you!

[Cheryl J]

Hi chigga, and welcome.

Leaving meat (or anything) in a slow cooker for 7+ hours before you even turn it on is a recipe for disaster!

A safer way to do it would be to make multiple meals on your day off, and portion them out in your fridge for easy reheating on the days you come home late.

[chigga]

Hi Cheryl, thanks for the quick response! That does make more sense for sure. I am looking forward to learning more about my slow cooker and involving myselt in this community!

[jennyema]

Yes, that's very unsafe.

[Vinylhanger]

It would be better to have it cook for 10 hours and then keep it warm until you get home.

[Sir_Loin_of_Beef]

Freeze whatever you will be putting in the crock pot. In the morning take it out of the freezer and put it in the crock pot. Turn the crock pot on at the appropriate time from your cell phone.

[tenspeed]

Originally Posted by Sir_Loin_of_Beef

Freeze whatever you will be putting in the crock pot. In the morning take it out of the freezer and put it in the crock pot. Turn the crock pot on at the appropriate time from your cell phone.

The USDA doesn't agree with you:

https://www.fsis.usda.gov/wps/portal...afety/ct_index

[Sir_Loin_of_Beef]

Originally Posted by tenspeed

The USDA doesn't agree with you:

https://www.fsis.usda.gov/wps/portal...afety/ct_index

I didn't ask them for their opinion.

[CharlieD]

Leave the meat on low for all 12 hours. Pretty safe. I don't know what kind of meat you are making. I make plain stew and leave the slow cooker on for well over 12 hours. Safe. Completely safe. Do not turn it off earlier.

[tenspeed]

Some slow cookers can be programmed to switch to a keep warm setting automatically after the cooking time has been reached. Avoid any dicey practices like starting with frozen meat. If you have ever had food poisoning, you would give just about any amount of money to make it go away.

[Kevin86]

As long as you're ok with tender food low and slow is the way to go.

If it's soup stew etc just let them simmer. Also, if food is frozen and pulled out that morning let's say the meat people set beef in the sink or a dish to thaw before cooking all the time just be reasonable and remember frozen takes longer to cook and it will add more water to your pot as it thaws and cooks so account for that.

[Sir_Loin_of_Beef]

Originally Posted by tenspeed

If you have ever had food poisoning, you would give just about any amount of money to make it go away.

What doesn't make you stronger kills you, or something like that.

[CraigC]

The only time I can remember going 12 hours with my slow cooker was for a whole packer brisket.

[Steve Kroll]

This probably doesn't help the poster at this point, but if you have to be away that long I would go the sous vide route. It's literally a set-it-and-forget-it device. I've put roasts in for 18+ hours without them being overcooked.