Can I put a *cold* crockpot cooking without cracking the base?!
Can I put a *cold* crockpot cooking without cracking the base?
I cooked today's dinner overnight. I plan on putting the crockpot base (ie the part with the food) into the refrigerator, and then when I get home from work tonight, putting it back on the cooking element to warm it up. Will this crack the base since it will be cold from being in the refrigerator?
Answers:
It should be fine if the crock pot is on low for 20 minutes or so, then crank it up!!
you can store it in the c/base but when you get home from work - either put it into the oven in a casserole dish to warm up 1/2 hour at 180c or 360 f -
or put individual serves on plates, cover with plastic wrap, leave air hole & microwave. 3 min at med
If you put it back in the crockpot - it can take an hour or more to warm up & is not very hygienic to warm up so slowly.
I prefer individual serves on plates then if there is left overs they won't have been reheated unnecessarily.
You can do that by set on the very low temperature, and increase after awhile, usually crockpot is made of very strong porcelain, make sure to wipe the base dry before you put it to the cooking element to warm it up, best of luck.
i want to put my crock in your pot
It will not crack as the food warms very slowly. As long as you have the time to let it come up to temp 160F to kill any bacteria it is fine to do. I would use the oven as it will warm the food much quickly. The food has been slow cooked once and will not benefit from any additional slow cooking.
No it won't damage the base of the crockpot. A lot f the recipes I use call for the meat to be browned so I ususally throw everything together the night before so I can just pop in the heating part of it before leaving for work and I have never had a problem. It doesn't heat up fast enough to cause damage.