For The Safest Crock And Instant Pots Meals, Thaw Your Frozen Meat

Crock pots and Instant Pots make dinner time much easier for busy people, and there are so many delicious slow cooker recipes that make mouth-watering and flavorful dishes. If you're like many people who try to prep meals and make weeknights easier, you might have prepped frozen slow cooker meals, or you might tend to throw frozen meat right into your Instant Pot. However, putting frozen meat in a slow cooker or Instant Pot is not the safest cooking method.

According to the U.S. Department of Agriculture, putting frozen meat directly into a slow cooker is not safe because it creates an environment where bacteria can grow rapidly. When this happens, your food may not be safe to eat, and you could end up with food poisoning. Instead, it's best to thaw your frozen meat in the refrigerator and keep it refrigerated until right before you put it into a slow cooker. In some instances, it may be safe to cook frozen meat in an Instant Pot, but because the brand doesn't offer official cooking times for frozen meat, thawing meat in the refrigerator is still the best option.

According to the USDA, it is safe to cook meat in a slow cooker. These appliances typically cook food between 170–280 degrees Fahrenheit, and it's safe because there are multiple aspects of the cooking that work together to kill bacteria. There is direct heat from the pot, the food cooks for a long time, and steam forms within the tightly covered pot during the cooking process.

The USDA also advises keeping meat and other food refrigerated before putting it into the slow cooker. This is because bacteria can multiply rapidly at room temperature — specifically, between 40–140 degrees Fahrenheit says the National Institute of Health— and because slow cookers by definition cook slowly, the bacteria may also multiply during the beginning stages of cooking. The longer you can keep the meat refrigerated before cooking, the better. When you put frozen meat directly into the slow cooker, it will take even longer to be heated above the 140-degree cutoff, and it will spend longer in the 40–140 degrees Fahrenheit zone where bacteria can multiply rapidly.

The Crock-Pot brand gives the okay to cook frozen meat in a Crock-Pot, given you consider increasing the cooking time and use a meat thermometer to make sure the meat is above 165 degrees Fahrenheit when it's finished. To be safe and follow best practices, however, consider sticking to the USDA guidelines and don't cook frozen meat in a slow cooker.

When it comes to the Instant Pot, it's pretty common for people to place frozen meat right into the pot because it does such a great job of heating the meat up quickly. While there are no official USDA guidelines for cooking meat in a pressure cooker, Instant Pot provides its own guidelines for safely cooking meat. According to the company, it is safe to cook frozen meat in the Instant Pot. Because Instant Pots can also function as slow cookers, however, it can be helpful to take this advice with a grain of salt.

If using the Instant Pot settings properly for the size and type of meat, it may be safe. However, the brand does not provide cooking times for frozen meat, so it's hard to know what setting to use to make sure your meat is safe. Because of this, as with slow cookers, it's a good idea to thaw your meat in the refrigerator before cooking it. This can help keep your meat at a safe temperature where it has less of a chance to grow harmful bacteria. When you have a busy life, it can be hard to remember to thaw meat in the refrigerator, but it's one of the best ways to prevent foodborne illness when you're using a slow cooker or Instant Pot.