Savannah Valley District

Homemaker’s Column: Slow Cooker Food Safety

Christine J. Patrick, County Extension Agent – EFNEP

A hot savory meal is good at the end of a workday. It is an excellent time to use your slow cooker for a quick meal after work. There are countless recipes for perfect slow-cooked meals, but safety should be the top priority. So, before you get started, take a minute to review food safety practices specific to slow cookers and crockpots.

Many consumers prefer the convenience of a slow cooker for preparing soups, stews, and other favorites. These countertop appliances simmer foods at a low temperature, so vitamins and minerals are retained, less expensive cuts of meat are tenderized, and meats shrink less. Best of all, the slow cooker can do all this while you’re away from home.

Is a slow cooker safe? Yes, the slow cooker simmers foods at a low temperature – generally between 170 and 280 °F. The direct, intense heat, combined with the bacteria-killing steam created inside the tightly covered container, makes the slow cooker a safe alternative to the risky process of cooking foods for extended periods at a shallow temperature in a conventional oven.

To qualify as a safe slow cooker, the appliance must cook slowly enough for unattended cooking, yet fast enough to keep food above the danger zone (above 40 to 140 °F). To determine if a slow cooker will heat to a safe temperature:

  • Fill the range with 2 quarts of water.
  • Heat on low for eight hours or desired cooking time.
  • Check the water temperature with an accurate thermometer (quickly because the temperature drops 10 to 15° when the lid is removed).
  • The temperature of the water should be 185 °F. Temperatures above this would indicate that a product cooked for eight hours without stirring would be overdone. Temperatures below this may indicate the cooker does not heat food high enough or fast enough to avoid potential food safety problems.

Begin with a clean cooker, utensils, and a clean work area. Wash hands before and during food preparation. Keep perishable foods refrigerated until preparation time. If you cut up meat and vegetables in advance, store them separately in the refrigerator. The slow cooker may take several hours to reach a safe, bacteria-killing temperature. Constant refrigeration assures that bacteria, which multiply rapidly at room temperature, will not get a “head start” during the first few hours of cooking.

  • Thaw and cut up ingredients:
  • Always defrost meat or poultry before putting it into a slow cooker.
  • Choose to make foods with high moisture content, such as chili, soup, stew, or spaghetti sauce.
  • Cut food into chunks or small pieces to ensure thorough cooking. Please do not use the slow cooker for large pieces like a roast or whole chicken because the food will cook so slowly it could remain in the bacterial danger zone too long.

Use the right amount of food:

  • Fill cooker no less than half full and no more than two-thirds full.
  • Vegetables cook slower than meat and poultry in a slow cooker, so if using them, put vegetables in first, at the bottom, and around the sides of the cooker
  • Then add meat and cover the food with a liquid such as broth, water, or barbecue sauce.
  • Keep the lid in place, removing only to stir the food or check for doneness.

Most cookers have two or more settings. Foods take different times to cook depending upon the setting used. Certainly, foods will cook faster on high than on low. However, you may want to use the low location for all-day cooking or less-tender cuts.

If possible, turn the cooker on the highest setting for the first hour of cooking time and then to low or the setting called for in your recipe. However, it is safe to cook foods on low the entire time if you are leaving for work; for example, preparation time is limited. While food is cooking, food will stay safe once it is done as long as the cooker is operating.

For more information on slow cooker safety, see HGIC 3585, Slow Cooker Food Safety on Clemson University’s Home and Garden Information Center website.

 The Clemson University Cooperative Extension Service offers its programs to people of all ages, regardless of race, color, gender, religion, national origin, disability, political beliefs, sexual orientation, marital or family status and is an equal opportunity employer.



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