URGENT -crock pot question

[samy23]

My crock pot says to put all the ingredients into it before turning it on. So I've added all the raw and frozen vegetables I want in it, and have made a gravy and cut up my fresh chicken pieces.

My question is -If I add the hot gravy to the crock pot and then add the raw fresh chicken, then turn on the crock pot, won't the gravy already heat up the chicken a bit? -and then it will go cold again until the crock pot really starts heating up? Im worried this isn't the safe way to be doing this and we might get food poisoning or something?

PLZ HELP!

[calpurnia]

are you using a timer on your crock-pot?

Ours doesn't have a timer, so I put everything in, put the hot liquid in, turn it on. I think it's fine.

[samy23]

Originally Posted by calpurnia

are you using a timer on your crock-pot?

Ours doesn't have a timer, so I put everything in, put the hot liquid in, turn it on. I think it's fine.

Thanks! no it doesn't have a timer. I guess it's okay because the gravy heats the meat up a bit, but then the crock pot gets hot and continues heating it...so it isn't like the meat is allowed to go cold inbetween being heated.

It said to have enough liquid (gravy) so that everything was covered basically, which I've done, so will I not need to add any further liquid later on? I'm planning on leaving it in there cooking for 6 hours on the auto set control -which the instructions say are for cooking it for long periods. Just wondering if it will need anymore liquid added in at some point?

Also, I think I've probably made too big an amount, so what do you do with leftovers? Would it be okay to leave it in a container in the fridge overnight, then re-heat in the microwave tomorrow evening? -I don't put it back in the crock pot to re-heat it right?

[calpurnia]

I honestly wouldn't worry about the meat cooling down a little before being cooked all the way through. I'm not particularly up on food safety but that doesn't seem to be a big risk, & it is after all how the slow cooker recipes always work. The other day I browned a leg of lamb for 5 minutes, then took it out, fried up some onions, made the gravy etc, put it all in the slow cooker - the lamb must have been cooling for 10 minutes or so, & I was following a recipe. So I think it's fine. Also it was delicious.

You shouldn't have to add more liquid, no.

We treat leftovers exactly the same as any other leftovers, so we might heat them up the next day in the microwave or on the stove, or we freeze them & have them another day. Don't use the crock pot for heating them up, it wouldn't be effective at all!

[TheGirls]

I brown/sear/partially cook meat before putting it in the crockpot several times a week, and haven't ever had a problem with it. It's hot for a LONG time in the crock, I can't imagine there's a lot of bacteria surviving there.

The lid on the crock keeps the liquid in, you generally don't have to add liquid when using a crockpot. Often you end up with more liquid than you expect because the veggies will cook down some and the liquid from that gets added to the gravy.

I usually cook enough for several meals in the crockpot at once - the rest is reheated like regular leftovers - microwave, stovetop, toaster oven, depending on what it is and how lazy I feel. I wouldn't put it back in the crock, personally, it takes much longer in there.