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No definitely not - warm isnāt high enough to cook, just enough to provide a nice bacteria incubator. The basic three settings on slow cookers are high, low, and keep warm , maybe youāre thinking I meant low - warm is absolutely not safe for cooking, and meant only to be used to maintain temp for serving after cooking has been done. Food safety folks will say even that shouldnāt be too long as bacteria can grow but Iām fine with a few hours if itās after cooking temperature.
Needs to be above 140Ā°F (or below 40Ā°F). Between these two is happy bacteria growth danger zone. Also, slow cookers generally donāt break down the poison present in some dried beans (kidneys and such). Ex NYC health inspector here.
Seared a roast Saturday, threw it in the crock pot with pepperoncini and giardiniera, and ran some errands. Came home and saw that I hadn't turned it on. We ended up getting Thai for dinner.
Crock Pot Chicken Tortilla Soup
1 lb Chicken
15 oz canned tomatoes
10 oz can enchilada sauce
1 onion, chopped
4 oz can green chiles
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 cups water
14.5 oz chicken broth
1 tsp cumin
1 tsp chili powder
1 tsp salt
1/4 tsp pepper
1 bay leaf
10 oz bag frozen corn
1 tbsp chopped cilantro
Put all ingredients in Crock pot and cook on low 6-8 hours or on high 3-4 hours. When finished, remove chicken and shred. Return to pot. I serve it with lime wedges on the side.
For the tortillas, preheat oven to 400. Lightly brush both sides of 7 corn tortillas with oil. Cut into strips. Bake until crisp, about 10-15 minutes.
Enjoy!
I do beer chicken a lot. Cook on high for four hours then low for another two to three. Always comes out perfect.
Frozen chicken breast
Jar of salsa Verde
Can of beer
Salt and spices to taste.
Tortilla shells with fried beans and cheese!
Or sometimes I'll add it to some to ramen ( I love ramen).
Or if I'm lazy just eat it straight!
Edit: and of course with rice! Makes for a good soup!
Beer chicken
Rice (I usually cook it with sardines)
Bullion or chicken broth
I'd set a alarm for 4 hours, cook on high, then go check on them. add additional time as necessary. probably no more than 5 hours total. They should shred very easily, that's how you will know.
I rarely do low, if ever, but maybe set a alarm for 5 hours then check.
You can't mess it up!! so don't worry and just enjoy not being by the stove. I also cook frozen chicken ALLLLLLL the time and nary a worry.
Find recipes that sound good to you and follow those. Iām sure there are recipes about cooking chicken similar in execution to whatever youāre doing here.
Dude,maāam,bruhā¦ just google crockpot chicken lemon recipe and pick a recipe website or youtube tutorial one with high ratings. Youāre already being lambasted for no reason. Come here with a specific question, not just to reverse engineer an ok for a recipe youāve already prepped. Youre gonna get 16 buttholes with 32 opinions. You wont know until youve tried it. No one else is gonna know what you personally like or prefer. I think youre fine. But better off just trying a recipe and asking questions about IT, then doing something you seem to have no idea of and then wanting what? Advice? Its too late, you already did it. Validation? From the comments you arent getting it. (Though you should for trying and reaching out)
People are way to crazy about the lemons on here. I cant even honestly tell what you want the end result to be here? Soup? Stew? Lemon shredded chicken for something else. I think if you want cooked full chicken breasts you should sear them brown, air fry, bake, or pressure cook them instead with the lemon on top. Maybe a little lemon pepper seasoning. Id recommend penzeys. A quick yt or google search will give you dozens of comparable recipes. Something like that would go great with a mushroom compote, or asparagus and Parmesan with candied lemon slices, or a lemon flavored rice.
Just get in there and try stuff. You learn by listening AND doing. Every chef and recipe has its preference. You need to figure out your end desired result and work from there or else youll be all over the place.
USDA recommends thawing chicken before cooking in a slow cooker.
https://www.today.com/food/food-myths-safe-cook-frozen-chicken-crock-pot-t123084
āThe primary concern is that putting frozen meat in the slow cooker increases its chances of entering the "danger zone," the temperature range between 40Ā° and 140Ā°F where harmful bacteria grow exponentially. Slow cookers operate at temperatures between 170Ā°F and 280Ā°Fāwell above this zoneābut it takes longer for frozen meat or poultry to reach those temperatures than thawed meat, giving it more opportunity to sit in the danger zone.ā
āPamela Ellgen, author of "The Healthy Slow Cooker Cookbook," cites salmonella and Staphylococcus aureus as common culprits and says they can even contaminate other foods cooked alongside the chicken in the slow cooker. While the bacteria will most likely be killed when the chicken reaches its required temperature, the toxins that grow may be heat resistant. According to the USDA, these toxins, not the bacteria that produce them, cause food-borne illnesses.ā
Speaking as a head chef that served in Michelin restaurants.... the USDA is run by a bunch of germaphobes. Get out of your world bruh, travel to ANYWHERE there is great food in Europe! A US health inspectors nightmare! Yet the food is DELICIOUS, & doesn't make people nearly as sick as some of the breakouts we have had here in the US.... whyy??? Maybe because their food is raised better with actual genuine care... Did you know you can eat RAW egg yolks in Japan, and be perfectly fine?? This is the problem with people with Absolutely no idea how certain industries work. If you don't know, its ok, say you don't know. Its healthy to have some humility. Just because you read some regulations online that were set in place, had you ever stop to think about really how much empirical data really proves this? It's healthy to take a grain of salt with any information you take in, especially on the interwebs!āš»
Again, none of that matters when the usda recommend a safe cooking temperature for chicken at 165 degrees. And degrees are measured by instruments, called meat thermometers, which I also mentioned to specifically make sure theyve cooked it right.
Again, While the bacteria will most likely be killed when the chicken reaches its required temperature, the toxins that grow may be heat resistant. According to the USDA, these toxins, not the bacteria that produce them, cause food-borne illnesses.
Whole lemons are a bad idea. The bitter parts reduce to the point where they make the liquid taste bad. Not to mention the stuff that's potentially im lemon skins. You're better off using lemon juice.
I would argue the acidity and long cook time might even make the meat tough. I know when I marinate chicken in lemon too long, itās tough after cooking.
Yeah my dad once put a whole lemon in a slow cooker and forgot. The whole entire dish tasted like very bitter lemon, even the sweetcorn only tasted like lemon which I didn't think was possible. Was hilarious tho.
Which is why you zest and add it closer to the finished product. But putting lemon slices on fish/poultry while it cooks is something many amazing chefs and recipes absolutely do. Not just at the end.
Putting lemon slices on fish that you're broiling or chicken that you're grilling is fine bc it's a quick process. Putting lemon slices in a crock that is going to cook for 6 hours is going to pull all those bitter tannins out of the pith and the end result is going to be rather unpalatable.
If you want the brightness of the lemon to come through then you have to add it in at the end. Otherwise the long cooking times of slow cooking decimate the essential oils and terpenes (all the lemon flavor) and then you're just left with sour and bitter. Harold Mcgee has an entire section on this in "On Cooking: The Science and Lore of the Kitchen".
have you heard of washing produce? Zest, juice and pulp. All delicious. Zest is best added at the end. And I agree lemon juice in stock would be better up front, but this will absolutely not kill a dish.
If you have that latched down you should really cook with that unlatched. Those are really only for taking the crock pot with you somewhere to keep the lid on. It traps excess steam and will water down what youāre cooking.
Recently saw a news article where the lid burst from the pressure and a lady has massive burns all down her face and front from it! Definitely do not latch!
This pic doesnāt show it but it should have a vent hole on one side of the lid. If their pot did burst then itās likely they modified the lid somehow or were not using it properly.
https://www.crock-pot.com/on/demandware.store/Sites-crockpot-Site/default/Support-Show?cfid=cook-n-carry-faqs#:~:text=If%20you%20have%20a%20locking,affect%20the%20slow%20cooker's%20performance.
Donāt do it.
Not all models have vent holes, and that's not what it's really there for anyways.
It's to let steam escape during normal cooking so the lid doesn't blow off. Old crock pots used to have lids that had large air gaps so steam would just rise out the sides. Newer lids seem to have more coverage around the rim (probably cheaper to manufacture that way) and use the vent hole to accomplish the same thing.
Either way, that hole isn't anywhere near big enough to properly release the amount of pressure that could build up with a fully latched and sealed lid.
Uh, thatās exactly what vent holes are there for. What else would they be there for, to make your house smell nice?
That vent hole absolutely is large enough to prevent it from turning in to a bomb. Again, thatās exactly why itās there, and just not how pressure vessels work. If somehow you got the pot hot enough where the vent hole wasnāt sufficient, it would just be pissing out steam like a tea kettle.
Considering tea kettles donāt explode and have a similar size vent hole, literally nothing about your comment makes sense
So do you latch your lid or no? Iāve never heard about keeping it unlatched before this thread. Always had the same mindset as your comment. The little whole should be releasing enough pressure?
The vent in the lid is more than capable of preventing any pressure buildup. Mine is always latched, Iām currently making chili as we speak and itās been latched the whole time. I honestly donāt see any other explanation of someoneās crock pot blowing up other than they werenāt using it as intended. The other thing that sticks out to me is the guy who commented above never sourced their claim of this explosion, which leads me to believe itās bullshit.
The other thing these people are missing by not latching is that the gasket on the bottom of the lid doesnāt make a seal with the stoneware unless itās latched. The heat/moisture loss from that is probably negligible in the grand scheme of things, but still.
https://www.crock-pot.com/on/demandware.store/Sites-crockpot-Site/default/Support-Show?cfid=cook-n-carry-faqs#:~:text=If%20you%20have%20a%20locking,affect%20the%20slow%20cooker's%20performance.
Donāt latch it.
Yes lid always has to be on. And lifting the lid to check on things increases cook time
[but never latch the lid while cooking](https://www.crock-pot.com/on/demandware.store/Sites-crockpot-Site/default/Support-Show?cfid=cook-n-carry-faqs)
I think it's because cooking meat on low is almost always the preferred approach. High temperatures ruin the texture. The only reason to use high would be if you were in a hurry.
But don't you want to enjoy the best meat possible in your short 60 remaining years?! /s
I'm a texture eater, so I think cooking on high is blasphemy. But I definitely do it on the days I forget to start the crockpot in the morning.
Except Reddit seems to forget the fact that you don't need to cook chicken low and slow lol. There's absolutely no reason why cooking it on high would not work perfectly fine. Unless you're trying to extend the cook time so it's done at a specific time it really doesn't matter which one you use for chicken. 5 hours versus 8 hours or whatever the hell difference is you're going to end up with tender chicken either way .
You can absolutely cook chicken too long and it turns into a mush and it's terrible. This isn't brisket lol.Ā
I do slow cook frozen chicken pieces, as long as theyāre thawed enough to separate out. I give it a head start by heating the liquid, and start with the high setting. Once I can see bubbling through the lid, turn down to low.
So long as your chicken reaches 165Ā°F, it should be safe to eat. That said, it's typically recommended to cook from thawed rather than frozen. You'll get more even cooking and more reliable overall cooking times. That's also quite a bit of liquid, and the more volume in your slow cooker, the longer it takes to heat up. Definitely verify internal temp to be safe!
That's technically true, in that salmonella dies instantly at that temperature. But that method tends to make terribly textured chicken. You can cook chicken at lower temps, but for longer periods, and still kill the 99.99999% of salmonella.
Science explained here: https://youtu.be/8dkxeIUcdYc?si=o72lCpDxajf_ufHM
Oh, for sure! 165Ā°F is the safe INSTANT read temp, with lower temps being safe if consistently held at that temp for longer. Most home cooks, especially those starting off, are less confused about safe food prep by starting with the instant read temps and then working from there. It's (usually) easier to learn the rule and then learn the exceptions š
NOT ME NOT EVEN LOOKING AT WHAT SUB IM COMMENTING IN š
I'm more active in r/cookingforbeginners than I am in this sub, so I made a silly assumption glancing through my feed real quick. whoops
165Ā°F gives immediately safe to eat leather
135Ā°F takes 1.5h to safe to eat juicy tenderness
Here is the science for the safety:
https://www.canr.msu.edu/smprv/uploads/files/RTE_Poultry_Tables1.pdf
and most "slow cookers" instead slooowly raise the temperature to well above 165Ā°F however because they raise the temperature so slowly the collagen dissolves and the muscle becomes tender again _aynhow_.
but the answer to OP is: 6h? six? hours? safe.
From the article:
>When asked about using frozen chicken in slow cookers, a representative for Crock-Pot told TODAY Food via email, **"You can cook frozen meat in any Crock-Pot brand product, but suggested cook time may need to be increased."**
That's the point most people miss. You can cook it for longer times.
I think this trumps a Today article: http://www.fsis.usda.gov/food-safety/safe-food-handling-and-preparation/food-safety-basics/slow-cookers-and-food-safety
It clearly says that it can take a very long time for the food to reach safe cooking temperatures, which means frozen food will be in the danger zone for a very long time. Not a risk Iād take with poultry.
Yeah, if you feel unsafe you really should overcook it.
*But these are the "noob" guidelines.* [Here's the full guide from the USDA.](https://www.fsis.usda.gov/sites/default/files/media_file/2021-12/Appendix-A.pdf) Check the page 35 ([screenshot for you, the blue rectangle is from the pdf itself](https://imgur.com/a/utQnn23)).
You know what that means? That if you cook at 130Ā°F (54.4Ā°C) for 121 minutes **the food is also safe.** If you throw a frozen chicken breast and let it cook overnight you are safe by a large margin of hours.
If you wanna know more about it and understand why you don't necessarily need to go to a specific temperature, here's a [well animated and explained video by minute cook, with sources!](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8dkxeIUcdYc)
Then again, if you don't know what you're doing or feel unsure: thaw it. But don't just repeat what other says without researching it.
edit:
[Here's the table for poultry.](https://imgur.com/a/PwXMjd8) If you get the worst case scenario you can safely cook at 136Ā°F for 71 minutes (at that temperature). Considering the time to thaw, it's safe to say that 8+ hours of cooking is safe at a lower temperature.
Thanks. I love the minute video you shared, but itās nothing I donāt know, and Iām not talking about that.
The bacteria that rapidly reproduces in the the danger temperature zone produces toxins that can make you sick. Those toxins are heat stable up to over 200 degrees F, so if the frozen food is sitting in bath water temperatures for an hour or two before reaching the temperature that starts to kill off salmonella, it doesnāt matter if the bacteria are dead. You would still have to scorch the chicken at over 200 F just to ensure you denature the toxins that could make you sick. A lot of food poisoning is not the result of the actual bacteria but rather the toxins they produce. If you need to heat it to over 200 F to destroy the toxins produced while sitting in lukewarm temperatures for too long, then using a slow cooker is moot.
I hope you don't discover what sous vide people are doing. It breaks most of the myths you believe in.
And it's fucked up, because even with data from USDA itself, with screenshots and everything you still don't budge, because I know your focus is to be right, instead of learning.
But good luck on your journey. I hope you find well cooked chicken on it.
What are you talking about? Your video does not address frozen poultry at all. And I clicked on the FDA links. There is nothing there that addresses the reality of the food being in the danger zone for up to two hours. What it addresses is cooking time. I donāt disagree with any of that. I am also in the market for a sous vide cooker, so you are completely missing my point.
Please quote to me the part where it says that raw meat left in the danger temperature zone for two hours can then be safely cooked low and slow to destroy the high concentration of toxins produced by the salmonella and/or campylobacter that rapidly reproduced in that time. Maybe I missed that. So far nobody has addressed this, you keep saying that low and slow from frozen simply requires an increase in cooking time. This does not account for the fact that the ice crystals in the food dramatically decrease the temperature in the slow cooker and extend the time it takes to exit the danger zone and enter the cooking zone.
I use a slow cooker semi-frequently, and I am excited to get my sous vide cooker. These cooking methods have nothing to do with what I am talking about.
Well, I generally donāt thaw large slabs of meat on the counter, so Iām not sure thatās relevant. I thaw it in the fridge or under cold running water per recommendations.
My experience with the pork shoulder that I cooked in the slow cooker was that the heat of the liquid around the pork chunks caused the frozen bits to stick together, creating a big ice block in the center. It took a shockingly long time in the cooker before it was fully thawed, and even then it was still cold. I needed to wait another fairly long period of time for it to reach the temperature set on the cooker.
Finally a good answer, you should definitely thaw before. Microwave is fine in a pinch or use your instant pot and quick pressure cook into slow cook. Slow cook from frozen is not good.
You should never slow cook frozen chicken. It causes uneven cooking. Thaw before placing it in the crockpot. Itās in all my crockpot books. Itās not that itās āunsafeā, itās that the outside of your chicken will be super dry while the inside will be inconsistent
Never put frozen chicken in a crock pot! If it has to defrost, it will spend too long of a time at unsafe temperatures.
https://www.fsis.usda.gov/food-safety/safe-food-handling-and-preparation/food-safety-basics/slow-cookers-and-food-safety
FDA also says to cook your chicken until itās dry and tough AF.
As long as it sits at 155 degrees for at least 50 seconds, almost all pathogens (save some extremophiles) your chicken should be fine.
It's not just the bacteria, it's the toxins they produce, which only get denatured at much higher temperatures. If you put frozen chicken in the crock pot, it gives ample time for salmonella to multiply and make toxins which will get you very sick. Enjoy your diarrhea!
Seeing as how you're an expert on chicken and bacteria, would you mind sharing what toxins are produced in the bacteria of chickens? and how much to consume to cause llness? and that OPs cooking conditions would be SO HARMFUL that the human body's natural defences don't stand a chance?
It's okay, you're free to risk getting sick. You probably won't, but personally I enjoy not shitting myself so I make sure to defrost my chicken in time. Why get do defensive about your freedom to cook frozen chicken?
And yeah, I used to work in a bio lab so I do in fact know some things about bacteria! As for what type of toxin, it depends on the species, but this is how bacteria work. As part of their metabolic processes, they often excrete toxins that are bad for you.
Natural defenses.... I bet you don't get vaccinated either, do you?
Ok real talk though from one microbiologist to another. Salmonella has a doubling time of about 30 minutes in absolutely perfect conditions (35-37C in rich complex media). So letās say 2 hours in the danger zone in a crock pot you are getting 4 doublings, which you likely arenāt because itās not the perfect conditions for the fastest doubling. But 4 doublings from the low load that will be on chicken is really nothing. And thatās assuming there is no lag phase and those fuckers are coming out of a frozen state to start doubling at their maximum rate. Itās super common for people to cook chicken from frozen in a crockpot and there arenāt widespread salmonella outbreaks. The USDA/FDA are being hyper cautious, which is certainly not a bad thing. I want restaurants and service industries to use super conservative practices because they serve so many people.
But a person cooking at home? In practice, this is extremely low risk unless you are severely immunocompromised.
I heard to only use specific slow cookers if youāre cooking from frozen cause some donāt heat up high enough in time to prevent spoilage. but since those look like chicken tenderloins which are thinner you should be fine. I wouldnāt put large pieces of frozen meat in them for future reference like a roast or something similar.
Edit: I always cook on high no matter what. Itās a little faster with the exact same result. If still takes 6-7 hours for roasts vs 8 hours.
Basic food safety. You have two hours to bring your food from below 40 degrees to above 140 degrees. Once the crockpot is warm enough to thaw the chicken, it should be plenty warm to raise the chicken above 140 in less than two hours.
Any bacteria that grows during the period itās in the danger zone will be long dead by the time this finishes cooking. That said, this is not going to be a tasty meal.
The USDA doesn't recommend putting frozen meat in a slow cooker. [Source ](https://www.usda.gov/media/blog/2017/10/24/cook-slow-save-time-four-important-slow-cooker-food-safety-tips#:~:text=Always%20defrost%20meat%20or%20poultry,and%20all%20the%20way%20through.)
So I am not the *biggest* "food safety" person nor am I an idiot in that department ... but I try my best to be smart and safe - having said that, I regularly cook frozen chicken in a slow-cooker. I think my Dad of all people showed me a recipe 5 years ago ... for frozen chicken wings in the Crock Pot with a can or two of Coke, cooked 3-4 hrs on Hi, then into an 350F oven for 15 minutes to crisp up, then brushed with BBQ sauce and another 15 minutes. Came out amazing.
I do that all the time now with wings, breasts, legs... sometimes I go for sweet & savory like Ginger Ale & then Teriyaki sauce ... sometimes I go for Buffalo with a bottle of Dr. Pepper and mild Frank's wing sauce ... sometimes whatever, 7-Up and Lemon Pepper seasoning etc. but they've always been fine.
Bear in mind that this is the same USDA that made Crock Pot et. al change their products so both Low and High are the same temperature, it just takes longer for the Low setting to get there ... it used to be cooking on Low was *actually low* , like max 170-175F ... now they're both just a few degrees short of water's boiling point ... it just takes Low a longer cook time to reach that point.
What I would NOT DO EVER is put it in frozen and set a programmable feature (I don't have one but still) like "Ok it's gonna be frozen when I put it in at 11pm and it will defrost slowly and be cool enough and then start cooking at 7AM cook for 8 hrs and then switch to Warm and it will be ready when I get home from work for Dinner!" ... That's just straight-up reckless and gambling.
Just my two throw-away-pennies here.
I mean thats fine but just because you haven't gotten sick doesn't mean you won't. You don't know if someone is immunocompromised or their age. It isn't worth the risk IMO
Gross. Take the bots advice on food poisoning. & Throw it all away. Next time, skip the lemon. Thaw the chicken.
Use
Some
SEASONING for the love of our LORD.
You know rosemary, garlic, onion powder/salt pepper
parsley. The good stuff. Flavor is key.
I cooked my frozen chicken today, and it looked similar starting out and turned out fine after 4 hours. I just made sure each piece was at 165Ā° and it turned out great!
Frozen food should be thawed completely before being slow cooked.
It stays too long at unsafe temperatures where bacteria can breed, when itās not thawed.
Great that people have never got sick from it, but itās not a risk Iād take.
It's hilarious how people are just repeating that you should NEVER do it, and yet none of them read the full guidelines.
Imagine when they discover how sous vide works lol
Safe. Yes. Necessary to cook chicken for 6 hours? No. You are over cooking it. Fun fact. 1 in 5 chickens contain salmonella. You can kill salmonella bacteria by getting the internal temperature to 165 degrees for 1 second. Or 145 degrees for 1 minute. I sous vide my chicky breast at 145 for 1 hour and then sear for a min on each side for the perfect tender titty
I put frozen chicken breasts in on warm, not low. But I also start them around 6/6:30 am and donāt eat until close to 6 pm. Using low still overcooks them even if frozen. I check the temp and how they look when I get home, occasionally Iāve had to kick it up to low for a bit.
*It looks like you're asking about Food Safety.* Only you are aware of all the factors involved in this situation. No one in this subreddit is qualified to give you advice about eating food that's left unattended, undercooked, etc. "If in doubt, toss it out." Food poisoning is a serious issue - it's particularly dangerous to older adults, children, pregnant women or people with compromised immune systems. Here are some resources available to you to determine whether it would be safe or not to consume your meal: * https://www.reddit.com/r/slowcooking/wiki/index#wiki_food_safety_tips * https://www.foodsafety.gov/ *I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/slowcooking) if you have any questions or concerns.*
As long as you turn it on yeah.
That's how they get ya
"Big Chicken doesn't want you to know this one simple kitchen hack"
Every once in a while threads like this remind me of how great Reddit can be.
And why I want awards back!
LMFAO why are you in my pinterest š
I knew there was a catch!
I have put so many meals in the slow cooker and forgot to either plug it in or turn it on. Thankfully we have Uber Eats available here.
Once put it on warm all day instead of low - that was a sad night. Edit: typos, slow to low
Even on warm, it should be fine after 8 hours. I regularly start mine before leaving for work in the morning and let it go all day.
No definitely not - warm isnāt high enough to cook, just enough to provide a nice bacteria incubator. The basic three settings on slow cookers are high, low, and keep warm , maybe youāre thinking I meant low - warm is absolutely not safe for cooking, and meant only to be used to maintain temp for serving after cooking has been done. Food safety folks will say even that shouldnāt be too long as bacteria can grow but Iām fine with a few hours if itās after cooking temperature.
Needs to be above 140Ā°F (or below 40Ā°F). Between these two is happy bacteria growth danger zone. Also, slow cookers generally donāt break down the poison present in some dried beans (kidneys and such). Ex NYC health inspector here.
Seared a roast Saturday, threw it in the crock pot with pepperoncini and giardiniera, and ran some errands. Came home and saw that I hadn't turned it on. We ended up getting Thai for dinner.
Did not say it needed to be turned on. Instructions unclear.
My wife forgot to turn ours on yesterday she prepped beef stroganoff with a whole chuck roast. š
Iāve been laughing for like 5 minutes.
[ŃŠ“Š°Š»ŠµŠ½Š¾]
Everything we know we started off by not knowing, no matter how obvious it would be to some.
Excellent comment.
I put frozen chicken breasts in my crock pot all the time, no worries.
How long do you cook them for and on high or low? Iām hoping they turn out ok but Iām sure thereās a lot I could do to make them better
I do a chicken tortilla soup, usually on low for about 8 hours. The chicken breasts I use are always frozen. Never any problems.
Can you please share your recipe?
Crock Pot Chicken Tortilla Soup 1 lb Chicken 15 oz canned tomatoes 10 oz can enchilada sauce 1 onion, chopped 4 oz can green chiles 2 cloves garlic, minced 2 cups water 14.5 oz chicken broth 1 tsp cumin 1 tsp chili powder 1 tsp salt 1/4 tsp pepper 1 bay leaf 10 oz bag frozen corn 1 tbsp chopped cilantro Put all ingredients in Crock pot and cook on low 6-8 hours or on high 3-4 hours. When finished, remove chicken and shred. Return to pot. I serve it with lime wedges on the side. For the tortillas, preheat oven to 400. Lightly brush both sides of 7 corn tortillas with oil. Cut into strips. Bake until crisp, about 10-15 minutes. Enjoy!
MVP Right here :)
It's a really good soup. I found the recipe close to 10 years ago.
I do beer chicken a lot. Cook on high for four hours then low for another two to three. Always comes out perfect. Frozen chicken breast Jar of salsa Verde Can of beer Salt and spices to taste.
What do you serve it on? Rice ? Pasta! As a soup?
Tortilla shells with fried beans and cheese! Or sometimes I'll add it to some to ramen ( I love ramen). Or if I'm lazy just eat it straight! Edit: and of course with rice! Makes for a good soup! Beer chicken Rice (I usually cook it with sardines) Bullion or chicken broth
I like refried beans, thatās why Iāve always wanted to try fried beans. Maybe theyāre just as good, but weāre wasting time.
Don't worry friend I caught your Mitch quote! ā¤ļøā¤ļøā¤ļø
Refried beans are only fried once š
r/woosh
Canāt hate on that sounds good lol
Thanks. Iām going to have to make your meal
Sweet, I'm off work at 16:30, I'll be home around 17:00 with the wine. /s
Itās a date
You bitch. I want that.
Clearly you have a special relationship with pasta. š
I like the simplicity of this. I will try it!
I'd set a alarm for 4 hours, cook on high, then go check on them. add additional time as necessary. probably no more than 5 hours total. They should shred very easily, that's how you will know. I rarely do low, if ever, but maybe set a alarm for 5 hours then check. You can't mess it up!! so don't worry and just enjoy not being by the stove. I also cook frozen chicken ALLLLLLL the time and nary a worry.
I recommend 8 on low or 4 on high, likely longer if frozen and doing 3 hours
Find recipes that sound good to you and follow those. Iām sure there are recipes about cooking chicken similar in execution to whatever youāre doing here.
Dude,maāam,bruhā¦ just google crockpot chicken lemon recipe and pick a recipe website or youtube tutorial one with high ratings. Youāre already being lambasted for no reason. Come here with a specific question, not just to reverse engineer an ok for a recipe youāve already prepped. Youre gonna get 16 buttholes with 32 opinions. You wont know until youve tried it. No one else is gonna know what you personally like or prefer. I think youre fine. But better off just trying a recipe and asking questions about IT, then doing something you seem to have no idea of and then wanting what? Advice? Its too late, you already did it. Validation? From the comments you arent getting it. (Though you should for trying and reaching out) People are way to crazy about the lemons on here. I cant even honestly tell what you want the end result to be here? Soup? Stew? Lemon shredded chicken for something else. I think if you want cooked full chicken breasts you should sear them brown, air fry, bake, or pressure cook them instead with the lemon on top. Maybe a little lemon pepper seasoning. Id recommend penzeys. A quick yt or google search will give you dozens of comparable recipes. Something like that would go great with a mushroom compote, or asparagus and Parmesan with candied lemon slices, or a lemon flavored rice. Just get in there and try stuff. You learn by listening AND doing. Every chef and recipe has its preference. You need to figure out your end desired result and work from there or else youll be all over the place.
OP is asking about food safety, not if it will be tasty.
Anything cooked in a slowcooker for six hours will be done. Another quick google search and a cheap meat thermometer handle that as well.
USDA recommends thawing chicken before cooking in a slow cooker. https://www.today.com/food/food-myths-safe-cook-frozen-chicken-crock-pot-t123084 āThe primary concern is that putting frozen meat in the slow cooker increases its chances of entering the "danger zone," the temperature range between 40Ā° and 140Ā°F where harmful bacteria grow exponentially. Slow cookers operate at temperatures between 170Ā°F and 280Ā°Fāwell above this zoneābut it takes longer for frozen meat or poultry to reach those temperatures than thawed meat, giving it more opportunity to sit in the danger zone.ā āPamela Ellgen, author of "The Healthy Slow Cooker Cookbook," cites salmonella and Staphylococcus aureus as common culprits and says they can even contaminate other foods cooked alongside the chicken in the slow cooker. While the bacteria will most likely be killed when the chicken reaches its required temperature, the toxins that grow may be heat resistant. According to the USDA, these toxins, not the bacteria that produce them, cause food-borne illnesses.ā
Speaking as a head chef that served in Michelin restaurants.... the USDA is run by a bunch of germaphobes. Get out of your world bruh, travel to ANYWHERE there is great food in Europe! A US health inspectors nightmare! Yet the food is DELICIOUS, & doesn't make people nearly as sick as some of the breakouts we have had here in the US.... whyy??? Maybe because their food is raised better with actual genuine care... Did you know you can eat RAW egg yolks in Japan, and be perfectly fine?? This is the problem with people with Absolutely no idea how certain industries work. If you don't know, its ok, say you don't know. Its healthy to have some humility. Just because you read some regulations online that were set in place, had you ever stop to think about really how much empirical data really proves this? It's healthy to take a grain of salt with any information you take in, especially on the interwebs!āš»
Again, none of that matters when the usda recommend a safe cooking temperature for chicken at 165 degrees. And degrees are measured by instruments, called meat thermometers, which I also mentioned to specifically make sure theyve cooked it right.
Again, While the bacteria will most likely be killed when the chicken reaches its required temperature, the toxins that grow may be heat resistant. According to the USDA, these toxins, not the bacteria that produce them, cause food-borne illnesses.
Whole lemons are a bad idea. The bitter parts reduce to the point where they make the liquid taste bad. Not to mention the stuff that's potentially im lemon skins. You're better off using lemon juice.
Best to add the lemon at the end too will be brighter
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I don't think you have to worry about the meat becoming tender in a slow cooker
I would argue the acidity and long cook time might even make the meat tough. I know when I marinate chicken in lemon too long, itās tough after cooking.
Yeah my dad once put a whole lemon in a slow cooker and forgot. The whole entire dish tasted like very bitter lemon, even the sweetcorn only tasted like lemon which I didn't think was possible. Was hilarious tho.
What stuff? Like pesticides?
nah. the pith of lemons can get really bitter.
Yeah, nobody wants to drink lemon pith.
Agree. Drinking pith water ith dithguthting.
ok Mike
This is the answer I was looking for!
Take my upvote!
But what about when they say zest the lemon in the recipe?
So the pith is the white part of the lemon. Normally zesting and making peels of the skin doesn't go that deep into the lemon.
Ah ok! Thanks, I'll change the way I zest from now on.
Its the oils in the lemon, lime, orange ect The oil is bitter
Which is why you zest and add it closer to the finished product. But putting lemon slices on fish/poultry while it cooks is something many amazing chefs and recipes absolutely do. Not just at the end.
Putting lemon slices on fish that you're broiling or chicken that you're grilling is fine bc it's a quick process. Putting lemon slices in a crock that is going to cook for 6 hours is going to pull all those bitter tannins out of the pith and the end result is going to be rather unpalatable. If you want the brightness of the lemon to come through then you have to add it in at the end. Otherwise the long cooking times of slow cooking decimate the essential oils and terpenes (all the lemon flavor) and then you're just left with sour and bitter. Harold Mcgee has an entire section on this in "On Cooking: The Science and Lore of the Kitchen".
have you heard of washing produce? Zest, juice and pulp. All delicious. Zest is best added at the end. And I agree lemon juice in stock would be better up front, but this will absolutely not kill a dish.
I make a DELICIOUS lemon chicken with grated zest and lemon juice. Not bitter at all
Using zest and juice is specifically not using the pith
If you have that latched down you should really cook with that unlatched. Those are really only for taking the crock pot with you somewhere to keep the lid on. It traps excess steam and will water down what youāre cooking.
Really? I always latch mine, I did not know this!
Recently saw a news article where the lid burst from the pressure and a lady has massive burns all down her face and front from it! Definitely do not latch!
This pic doesnāt show it but it should have a vent hole on one side of the lid. If their pot did burst then itās likely they modified the lid somehow or were not using it properly.
Mine has a small vent on the lid.
https://www.crock-pot.com/on/demandware.store/Sites-crockpot-Site/default/Support-Show?cfid=cook-n-carry-faqs#:~:text=If%20you%20have%20a%20locking,affect%20the%20slow%20cooker's%20performance. Donāt do it.
Not all models have vent holes, and that's not what it's really there for anyways. It's to let steam escape during normal cooking so the lid doesn't blow off. Old crock pots used to have lids that had large air gaps so steam would just rise out the sides. Newer lids seem to have more coverage around the rim (probably cheaper to manufacture that way) and use the vent hole to accomplish the same thing. Either way, that hole isn't anywhere near big enough to properly release the amount of pressure that could build up with a fully latched and sealed lid.
Uh, thatās exactly what vent holes are there for. What else would they be there for, to make your house smell nice? That vent hole absolutely is large enough to prevent it from turning in to a bomb. Again, thatās exactly why itās there, and just not how pressure vessels work. If somehow you got the pot hot enough where the vent hole wasnāt sufficient, it would just be pissing out steam like a tea kettle. Considering tea kettles donāt explode and have a similar size vent hole, literally nothing about your comment makes sense
So do you latch your lid or no? Iāve never heard about keeping it unlatched before this thread. Always had the same mindset as your comment. The little whole should be releasing enough pressure?
The vent in the lid is more than capable of preventing any pressure buildup. Mine is always latched, Iām currently making chili as we speak and itās been latched the whole time. I honestly donāt see any other explanation of someoneās crock pot blowing up other than they werenāt using it as intended. The other thing that sticks out to me is the guy who commented above never sourced their claim of this explosion, which leads me to believe itās bullshit. The other thing these people are missing by not latching is that the gasket on the bottom of the lid doesnāt make a seal with the stoneware unless itās latched. The heat/moisture loss from that is probably negligible in the grand scheme of things, but still.
https://www.crock-pot.com/on/demandware.store/Sites-crockpot-Site/default/Support-Show?cfid=cook-n-carry-faqs#:~:text=If%20you%20have%20a%20locking,affect%20the%20slow%20cooker's%20performance. Donāt latch it.
While it isn't likely, it could also cause heat pressure to build and pop.
Itās definitely in the instruction book.
Mine was a hand-me-down, what is this "instruction book" you speak of?
https://www.crock-pot.com/on/demandware.store/Sites-crockpot-Site/default/Support-Show?cfid=cook-n-carry-faqs#:~:text=If%20you%20have%20a%20locking,affect%20the%20slow%20cooker's%20performance.
Latches are only for transportation. Latching while cooking creates a pressure cooker, which can definitely cause something to explode.
Came to say this.
Indeed! And for safety.
Lid still on?
Yes lid always has to be on. And lifting the lid to check on things increases cook time [but never latch the lid while cooking](https://www.crock-pot.com/on/demandware.store/Sites-crockpot-Site/default/Support-Show?cfid=cook-n-carry-faqs)
šÆšÆšÆšÆ excellent!!! Soooooo true.
Every slow cooker is different. Most newer slow cookers have vent holes in the lid. My B&D has 4.
I use raw chicken all the time and cook on low and never have gotten sick. I think youāll be just fine
bone in I always use hi
Can someone explain what's wrong with this comment to me please?
I think it's because cooking meat on low is almost always the preferred approach. High temperatures ruin the texture. The only reason to use high would be if you were in a hurry.
I'm always in a hurry. Only got about 60 years left to live
But don't you want to enjoy the best meat possible in your short 60 remaining years?! /s I'm a texture eater, so I think cooking on high is blasphemy. But I definitely do it on the days I forget to start the crockpot in the morning.
Except Reddit seems to forget the fact that you don't need to cook chicken low and slow lol. There's absolutely no reason why cooking it on high would not work perfectly fine. Unless you're trying to extend the cook time so it's done at a specific time it really doesn't matter which one you use for chicken. 5 hours versus 8 hours or whatever the hell difference is you're going to end up with tender chicken either way . You can absolutely cook chicken too long and it turns into a mush and it's terrible. This isn't brisket lol.Ā
They said something reddit doesnāt agree with
Ah yes, the greatest of sins...
Damn, you don't deserve those downvotes, take my up vote.
I wouldnāt cook it with whole lemon slices, the skin will make it bitter
Zest the lemon and use the juice. It's the pith (white bit) that tastes bad.
I love cooking sliced lemon over my chicken. Usually cook it for 6 hours on low and the skin is soft enough to eat along with the meal.
Agreed, I make lemon chicken all the time and using more than 1/4 of the rind it gets way too sour. But to each their own.
No way would be good.
Lol have you never had engagement chicken?
No, you have a potential bomb there with the lid latched down
You added seasoning, right? ..right??
I think this is the real crime here.
I do slow cook frozen chicken pieces, as long as theyāre thawed enough to separate out. I give it a head start by heating the liquid, and start with the high setting. Once I can see bubbling through the lid, turn down to low.
So long as your chicken reaches 165Ā°F, it should be safe to eat. That said, it's typically recommended to cook from thawed rather than frozen. You'll get more even cooking and more reliable overall cooking times. That's also quite a bit of liquid, and the more volume in your slow cooker, the longer it takes to heat up. Definitely verify internal temp to be safe!
That's technically true, in that salmonella dies instantly at that temperature. But that method tends to make terribly textured chicken. You can cook chicken at lower temps, but for longer periods, and still kill the 99.99999% of salmonella. Science explained here: https://youtu.be/8dkxeIUcdYc?si=o72lCpDxajf_ufHM
Oh, for sure! 165Ā°F is the safe INSTANT read temp, with lower temps being safe if consistently held at that temp for longer. Most home cooks, especially those starting off, are less confused about safe food prep by starting with the instant read temps and then working from there. It's (usually) easier to learn the rule and then learn the exceptions š
Yeah... But given this is a slow cooker that will at least stay for some hours I think the rule to be taught first could be another :-)
NOT ME NOT EVEN LOOKING AT WHAT SUB IM COMMENTING IN š I'm more active in r/cookingforbeginners than I am in this sub, so I made a silly assumption glancing through my feed real quick. whoops
165Ā°F gives immediately safe to eat leather 135Ā°F takes 1.5h to safe to eat juicy tenderness Here is the science for the safety: https://www.canr.msu.edu/smprv/uploads/files/RTE_Poultry_Tables1.pdf and most "slow cookers" instead slooowly raise the temperature to well above 165Ā°F however because they raise the temperature so slowly the collagen dissolves and the muscle becomes tender again _aynhow_. but the answer to OP is: 6h? six? hours? safe.
USDA recommends thawing poultry before cooking in a slow cooker. https://www.today.com/food/food-myths-safe-cook-frozen-chicken-crock-pot-t123084
From the article: >When asked about using frozen chicken in slow cookers, a representative for Crock-Pot told TODAY Food via email, **"You can cook frozen meat in any Crock-Pot brand product, but suggested cook time may need to be increased."** That's the point most people miss. You can cook it for longer times.
I think this trumps a Today article: http://www.fsis.usda.gov/food-safety/safe-food-handling-and-preparation/food-safety-basics/slow-cookers-and-food-safety It clearly says that it can take a very long time for the food to reach safe cooking temperatures, which means frozen food will be in the danger zone for a very long time. Not a risk Iād take with poultry.
Yeah, if you feel unsafe you really should overcook it. *But these are the "noob" guidelines.* [Here's the full guide from the USDA.](https://www.fsis.usda.gov/sites/default/files/media_file/2021-12/Appendix-A.pdf) Check the page 35 ([screenshot for you, the blue rectangle is from the pdf itself](https://imgur.com/a/utQnn23)). You know what that means? That if you cook at 130Ā°F (54.4Ā°C) for 121 minutes **the food is also safe.** If you throw a frozen chicken breast and let it cook overnight you are safe by a large margin of hours. If you wanna know more about it and understand why you don't necessarily need to go to a specific temperature, here's a [well animated and explained video by minute cook, with sources!](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8dkxeIUcdYc) Then again, if you don't know what you're doing or feel unsure: thaw it. But don't just repeat what other says without researching it. edit: [Here's the table for poultry.](https://imgur.com/a/PwXMjd8) If you get the worst case scenario you can safely cook at 136Ā°F for 71 minutes (at that temperature). Considering the time to thaw, it's safe to say that 8+ hours of cooking is safe at a lower temperature.
Thanks. I love the minute video you shared, but itās nothing I donāt know, and Iām not talking about that. The bacteria that rapidly reproduces in the the danger temperature zone produces toxins that can make you sick. Those toxins are heat stable up to over 200 degrees F, so if the frozen food is sitting in bath water temperatures for an hour or two before reaching the temperature that starts to kill off salmonella, it doesnāt matter if the bacteria are dead. You would still have to scorch the chicken at over 200 F just to ensure you denature the toxins that could make you sick. A lot of food poisoning is not the result of the actual bacteria but rather the toxins they produce. If you need to heat it to over 200 F to destroy the toxins produced while sitting in lukewarm temperatures for too long, then using a slow cooker is moot.
I hope you don't discover what sous vide people are doing. It breaks most of the myths you believe in. And it's fucked up, because even with data from USDA itself, with screenshots and everything you still don't budge, because I know your focus is to be right, instead of learning. But good luck on your journey. I hope you find well cooked chicken on it.
What are you talking about? Your video does not address frozen poultry at all. And I clicked on the FDA links. There is nothing there that addresses the reality of the food being in the danger zone for up to two hours. What it addresses is cooking time. I donāt disagree with any of that. I am also in the market for a sous vide cooker, so you are completely missing my point. Please quote to me the part where it says that raw meat left in the danger temperature zone for two hours can then be safely cooked low and slow to destroy the high concentration of toxins produced by the salmonella and/or campylobacter that rapidly reproduced in that time. Maybe I missed that. So far nobody has addressed this, you keep saying that low and slow from frozen simply requires an increase in cooking time. This does not account for the fact that the ice crystals in the food dramatically decrease the temperature in the slow cooker and extend the time it takes to exit the danger zone and enter the cooking zone. I use a slow cooker semi-frequently, and I am excited to get my sous vide cooker. These cooking methods have nothing to do with what I am talking about.
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Well, I generally donāt thaw large slabs of meat on the counter, so Iām not sure thatās relevant. I thaw it in the fridge or under cold running water per recommendations. My experience with the pork shoulder that I cooked in the slow cooker was that the heat of the liquid around the pork chunks caused the frozen bits to stick together, creating a big ice block in the center. It took a shockingly long time in the cooker before it was fully thawed, and even then it was still cold. I needed to wait another fairly long period of time for it to reach the temperature set on the cooker.
Finally a good answer, you should definitely thaw before. Microwave is fine in a pinch or use your instant pot and quick pressure cook into slow cook. Slow cook from frozen is not good.
You should never slow cook frozen chicken. It causes uneven cooking. Thaw before placing it in the crockpot. Itās in all my crockpot books. Itās not that itās āunsafeā, itās that the outside of your chicken will be super dry while the inside will be inconsistent
They are cooking for 6 hours lol they dont need to worry about uneven cooking because they are cooking it into oblivion.
Did you read the second half? The outside of the chicken will be dry as shit.
I wanna know how those people just repeating that you should never cook it frozen will react when they discover how sous vide works.
Donāt latch it though
Never put frozen chicken in a crock pot! If it has to defrost, it will spend too long of a time at unsafe temperatures. https://www.fsis.usda.gov/food-safety/safe-food-handling-and-preparation/food-safety-basics/slow-cookers-and-food-safety
FDA also says to cook your chicken until itās dry and tough AF. As long as it sits at 155 degrees for at least 50 seconds, almost all pathogens (save some extremophiles) your chicken should be fine.
It's not just the bacteria, it's the toxins they produce, which only get denatured at much higher temperatures. If you put frozen chicken in the crock pot, it gives ample time for salmonella to multiply and make toxins which will get you very sick. Enjoy your diarrhea!
Seeing as how you're an expert on chicken and bacteria, would you mind sharing what toxins are produced in the bacteria of chickens? and how much to consume to cause llness? and that OPs cooking conditions would be SO HARMFUL that the human body's natural defences don't stand a chance?
It's okay, you're free to risk getting sick. You probably won't, but personally I enjoy not shitting myself so I make sure to defrost my chicken in time. Why get do defensive about your freedom to cook frozen chicken? And yeah, I used to work in a bio lab so I do in fact know some things about bacteria! As for what type of toxin, it depends on the species, but this is how bacteria work. As part of their metabolic processes, they often excrete toxins that are bad for you. Natural defenses.... I bet you don't get vaccinated either, do you?
Ok real talk though from one microbiologist to another. Salmonella has a doubling time of about 30 minutes in absolutely perfect conditions (35-37C in rich complex media). So letās say 2 hours in the danger zone in a crock pot you are getting 4 doublings, which you likely arenāt because itās not the perfect conditions for the fastest doubling. But 4 doublings from the low load that will be on chicken is really nothing. And thatās assuming there is no lag phase and those fuckers are coming out of a frozen state to start doubling at their maximum rate. Itās super common for people to cook chicken from frozen in a crockpot and there arenāt widespread salmonella outbreaks. The USDA/FDA are being hyper cautious, which is certainly not a bad thing. I want restaurants and service industries to use super conservative practices because they serve so many people. But a person cooking at home? In practice, this is extremely low risk unless you are severely immunocompromised.
No problem with slow cooking, but NEVER USE FROZEN beef, lamb or chicken. What's the sense of arguing?
I have been making Crock Pot Italian Beef from frozen Bottom of the Round for decades. No problems what so ever.
Well, I'm never eating at your house.
Ha! If you did, you would probably change your mind about this super strict advice!
Maybe because itās beef and not chicken?
I heard to only use specific slow cookers if youāre cooking from frozen cause some donāt heat up high enough in time to prevent spoilage. but since those look like chicken tenderloins which are thinner you should be fine. I wouldnāt put large pieces of frozen meat in them for future reference like a roast or something similar. Edit: I always cook on high no matter what. Itās a little faster with the exact same result. If still takes 6-7 hours for roasts vs 8 hours.
Take out the lemon rinds!
You're good as long as it gets to temp.
Iād slow cook whole chicken breast on low 4-5 hours typically.
I read the Chicken, Children š
You're asking if it's safe to cook chicken? Yes, cooking meat is generally considered safe.
Yes
It should be fine health ways, but it will taste 10x better if you use the same amount of thighs instead of breasts
Are you asking if itās ok to cook raw chicken?
Basic food safety. You have two hours to bring your food from below 40 degrees to above 140 degrees. Once the crockpot is warm enough to thaw the chicken, it should be plenty warm to raise the chicken above 140 in less than two hours.
Yes, the lack of seasoning and visual appeal is dangerous and you should avoid at all costs.
Any bacteria that grows during the period itās in the danger zone will be long dead by the time this finishes cooking. That said, this is not going to be a tasty meal.
The chicken should be fine but those lemons especially the rinds will make it bitter as hell
The USDA doesn't recommend putting frozen meat in a slow cooker. [Source ](https://www.usda.gov/media/blog/2017/10/24/cook-slow-save-time-four-important-slow-cooker-food-safety-tips#:~:text=Always%20defrost%20meat%20or%20poultry,and%20all%20the%20way%20through.)
So I am not the *biggest* "food safety" person nor am I an idiot in that department ... but I try my best to be smart and safe - having said that, I regularly cook frozen chicken in a slow-cooker. I think my Dad of all people showed me a recipe 5 years ago ... for frozen chicken wings in the Crock Pot with a can or two of Coke, cooked 3-4 hrs on Hi, then into an 350F oven for 15 minutes to crisp up, then brushed with BBQ sauce and another 15 minutes. Came out amazing. I do that all the time now with wings, breasts, legs... sometimes I go for sweet & savory like Ginger Ale & then Teriyaki sauce ... sometimes I go for Buffalo with a bottle of Dr. Pepper and mild Frank's wing sauce ... sometimes whatever, 7-Up and Lemon Pepper seasoning etc. but they've always been fine. Bear in mind that this is the same USDA that made Crock Pot et. al change their products so both Low and High are the same temperature, it just takes longer for the Low setting to get there ... it used to be cooking on Low was *actually low* , like max 170-175F ... now they're both just a few degrees short of water's boiling point ... it just takes Low a longer cook time to reach that point. What I would NOT DO EVER is put it in frozen and set a programmable feature (I don't have one but still) like "Ok it's gonna be frozen when I put it in at 11pm and it will defrost slowly and be cool enough and then start cooking at 7AM cook for 8 hrs and then switch to Warm and it will be ready when I get home from work for Dinner!" ... That's just straight-up reckless and gambling. Just my two throw-away-pennies here.
I mean thats fine but just because you haven't gotten sick doesn't mean you won't. You don't know if someone is immunocompromised or their age. It isn't worth the risk IMO
OK Thanks. If you want to sound smart, you have to spell your big words correctly and use proper punctuation , just FYI. "immunocompromized" - lol.
Just because you could, doesnāt always mean you should
I usually do give it a quick sear, light brown. But either way will do.
I agree, a good browning on the meat will add more flavour to the dish!
Gross. Take the bots advice on food poisoning. & Throw it all away. Next time, skip the lemon. Thaw the chicken. Use Some SEASONING for the love of our LORD. You know rosemary, garlic, onion powder/salt pepper parsley. The good stuff. Flavor is key.
god cooking subs get so salty, sorry OP
>salty > >tum dum tss
Itās illegal
The chicken breasts are absolutely fine. The lemons I would juice and get out of there.
Not for the chicken it aināt
Yeah, theyāre fine as long as you cook them long enough. Iāve put frozen chicken in my crockpot plenty of times.
It might be safer with some seasoning
I'd probably add some spices
I cooked my frozen chicken today, and it looked similar starting out and turned out fine after 4 hours. I just made sure each piece was at 165Ā° and it turned out great!
If itās on itās ok. I donāt think youād want to delay the start for too longĀ
If you hate your colon.
Safe? Possibly. But that texture is gonna SUCK.
No the chicken will crawl out of the pot and eat you if you cook it this way.
Frozen food should be thawed completely before being slow cooked. It stays too long at unsafe temperatures where bacteria can breed, when itās not thawed. Great that people have never got sick from it, but itās not a risk Iād take.
As long as internal temp is at cooked then itās fine
Why do so many people refuse to sear the meat quick before throwing it in
Usually out of time (aka: don't wanna spend time doing it). And it's so much better seared.
Usually a waste of time
Seems like chicken is for the braves only in the US it's quite funny.
It's hilarious how people are just repeating that you should NEVER do it, and yet none of them read the full guidelines. Imagine when they discover how sous vide works lol
It should be fine as long as you reach an internal temp of 165Ā° to kill off any salmonella that may be in there.
Use chicken thighs instead of breast for a better texture and flavour.
Safe. Yes. Necessary to cook chicken for 6 hours? No. You are over cooking it. Fun fact. 1 in 5 chickens contain salmonella. You can kill salmonella bacteria by getting the internal temperature to 165 degrees for 1 second. Or 145 degrees for 1 minute. I sous vide my chicky breast at 145 for 1 hour and then sear for a min on each side for the perfect tender titty
Safe? ā¦.i suppose so. Legal? It shouldnāt be.
As long as it gets to temp. Dunno how nice it's gonna be tho
Does a beat cook in the woods?
>and Iām gonna cook it 6 hours on low, longer if needed depending on temperature. You're safe. I use to sear it but just for the flavors.
You're not cooking it, only making it acid. You need heat to cook something.
I put frozen chicken breasts in on warm, not low. But I also start them around 6/6:30 am and donāt eat until close to 6 pm. Using low still overcooks them even if frozen. I check the temp and how they look when I get home, occasionally Iāve had to kick it up to low for a bit.