Can I Cook Frozen Meat in a Slow Cooker?

Ah, the slow cooker, or what is affectionately called by its most common brand name, the crock pot. Busy working moms and dads, retirees, stay at home moms and career individuals cannot get enough of the ease, convenience and thriftiness of cooking with a slow cooker. Just about the only thing that might make cooking with a slow cooker even easier would be adding frozen meat, rather than fresh or thawed, to the slow cooker for a meal. Imagine just being able to open the freezer, grab a couple chicken breasts, toss in some liquid and seasonings and come home to a tasty aromatic meal. But, is using frozen meat in a slow cooker safe? Unfortunately for those of us who crave this increased convenience, the experts say "no."

Slow cookers typically bring meat up to at least 141 degrees within two hours of starting cooking, even on the low setting. This brings meats out of what is called the "danger zone" in terms of food safety. The danger zone is an unsafe temperature range for meats. At this temperature range of 40 degrees to 140 degrees Fahrenheit, bacteria is ready to grow rapidly on food leading to potentially very harmful food. When frozen meats are added to a slow cooker meal, the frozen meat is not brought out of this all important danger zone quickly enough. Frozen meats take well over 2 hours to thaw and start cooking in a slow cooker. Because of this, any frozen meats placed in a slow cooker are a breeding ground for bacteria for a few hours.

While this information is bad news for those craving extra convenience, cooking thawed or fresh meats in a slow cooker really does not require much extra work. Frozen meats can be safely thawed in the refrigerator; you just have to plan ahead a little. If you plan to prepare a slow cooker meal on Wednesday morning to cook all day, set your frozen meat in the refrigerator to safely thaw on Tuesday morning. Twenty-four hours later, your meat will be slow cooker ready, and perfectly safe to use.

So the next time you're planning a slow cooker meal and you are tempted to throw in some frozen meat (yes, I'm sure mom did it all the time and you're still alive), think about the millions of microorganisms just waiting to take up residence on your meat. Perhaps then you will follow food safety advice and prepare your slow cooker meal safely.

Source: University of Kentucky College of Agriculture Cooperative Extension Service