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A few years ago, we got rid of our old crock pots because one had a chip in the lid and one had scratches on the one-piece plastic lid. We got new ones.
Now I am kicking myself. What was I thinking, seriously? Scratches? Big deal. A chip? Smooth it out or find a replacement lid. Both pots worked beautifully. The new ones scorch. The lids are junk. They smell. (Though there are workarounds for all of this).
Just ordered a vintage pot off fleabay. Will be haunting thrift stores and yard sales, too. Get rid of my new pots? Nope. They have their uses IF you know what you're doing.
If I am marinating, I do it in the crock. I put everything in the night before and put the crock in the fridge. In the morning I sit the crock on top of the stove to warm up while I get ready to go. Just before I leave I turn it on.
As far as the chicken goes, I would do thighs. The meat is always moist and tender.
I use my crockpot year round. In the house when it's cool and on the patio table when it's hot.
That's a great idea about in the fridge.
I have a great simple concoction for thighs somewhere. Lipton Onion Soup, jar of apricot jelly and um....OH...bottle of Catalina Dressing. It's for baking at 375 but I've made it in the crock pot.
If you put a cold crock in the fridge, just make sure that you warm it up SLOWLY. A cold crock on a stove hot burner or a crockpot set on high is a recipe for a big mess and a broken crock.
Starting a slow cook with raw frozen chicken keeps it in the danger zone (40°F - 140°F) for too long.
Nonsense. Even if bacteria starts to grow, as the crock pot comes up to temperature the heat will kill off the bacteria and it will be perfectly safe to eat. It will actually thaw almost as fast in a crock pot as it will in the thaw cycle of a microwave.
You have to treat all meat as if it is covered with harmful bacteria, but cooking kills the bacteria and makes it safe. The danger zone applies to food after it is cooked and before it is consumed. Do not cook chicken and then let it sit at room temperature for hours.
A few years ago, we got rid of our old crock pots because one had a chip in the lid and one had scratches on the one-piece plastic lid. We got new ones.
Now I am kicking myself. What was I thinking, seriously? Scratches? Big deal. A chip? Smooth it out or find a replacement lid. Both pots worked beautifully. The new ones scorch. The lids are junk. They smell. (Though there are workarounds for all of this).
Just ordered a vintage pot off fleabay. Will be haunting thrift stores and yard sales, too. Get rid of my new pots? Nope. They have their uses IF you know what you're doing.
Trust the gubmint to ruin everything.
The gubmint didn't ruin everything, you did. Also, quit cheaping out on crock pots. Buy a Rival Smart Pot, which as several cook settings and automatically switches to "warm" after 4, 6, 8 or 10 hours cooking. It never scorches anything, it doesn't smell, the crock lifts out for washing and the lid is metal trimmed glass that fits nicely.
Nonsense. Even if bacteria starts to grow, as the crock pot comes up to temperature the heat will kill off the bacteria and it will be perfectly safe to eat. It will actually thaw almost as fast in a crock pot as it will in the thaw cycle of a microwave.
You have to treat all meat as if it is covered with harmful bacteria, but cooking kills the bacteria and makes it safe. The danger zone applies to food after it is cooked and before it is consumed. Do not cook chicken and then let it sit at room temperature for hours.
LOL - let's go ahead and make you the expert on this subject. I definitely like the statement "The danger zone applies to food after it is cooked and before it is consumed." Too bad bacteria don't follow your advice.
I'm just glad I can differentiate fact from "I read it on da interwebs."
BTW - what's the temperature on your cooker's "Low" setting - I'm sure there's a universal agreement among all manufacturers to make sure we don't get sick. I mean, we gots gubment to make sure of that .
Oh, I almost forgot, what about toxins produced by bacteria as they multiply in the "danger zone?" The bacteria die but they leave a nasty little calling-card - and don't get me started about that anaerobic nightmare that leaves a toxin just waiting to put you on life-support (will a slow-cooker kill that little beast?). What about a whole chicken with stuffing cooked on low for two hours - is it "up to temperature?"
Hopefully, there's enough info in this thread, for those of you interested, to ignore what has been posted (including my posts) and go do some research for yourself. "Trust me" only works for those who state it.
Disclaimer: No slow-cooker brands are mentioned or implied in this post. If you have information from the manufacturer contradictory to what I have posted then you should certainly follow the advice of that manufacturer and ignore what I have posted.
Last edited by Dirt Grinder; 09-09-2014 at 01:36 AM..
The gubmint didn't ruin everything, you did. Also, quit cheaping out on crock pots. Buy a Rival Smart Pot, which as several cook settings and automatically switches to "warm" after 4, 6, 8 or 10 hours cooking. It never scorches anything, it doesn't smell, the crock lifts out for washing and the lid is metal trimmed glass that fits nicely.
Lol no thanks. My 1974 Rival Crock Pot, made in the USA, and which doesn't "run hot" isn't going anywhere.
Adult children who either don't know about the value of items or don' t care, or who have to quickly clear out their parents' estates, are getting rid of vintage cookware left and right. That just makes the pickings easier for everyone else.
For people in this thread who are still interested in actual recipes and crock pot use, I made a variant of teriyaki chicken (as in the two-ingredients link above), which came out very well. I used skinless, boneless thighs and breasts mixed.
Even better was the brainstorm I had to cut up the leftovers, add chopped onion and celery, and some mayo. Result: an unusual and delicious chicken salad.
My crock pot mostly gets used for soups and stews when I clean out the refrigerator. Any leftover meat and over the hill vegetables go into the crock pot, along with a chopped onion. If I'm short on vegetables I'll use a pound of frozen mixed vegetables, canned beans, canned mushrooms, tomato sauce or whatever I have sitting around. If I don't have meat I'll use boullion. It's almost impossible to screw up a soup.
It should be falling apart in nine hours so better without bones.
Really? I've always thought keeping the bones made the meat more tender and juicier.
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