These New Crockpots Are Hot . . . Literally
Almost ten years ago, my mom’s crockpot was a much-used item in our kitchen. With four kids, a small farm, and my dad’s business, she had very little time to cook. I remember her throwing a whole chicken, vegetables, and potatoes into a crockpot, turning it on at 9:00 in the morning, and not touching it until 6:00 or 7:00 that night.
We never thought twice about the fact that the chicken was uncooked for the majority of the time it was sitting in the crockpot. We never had a problem, but there are health concerns about meat sitting at an uncooked, unsafe temperature for several hours.
Now it seems that many newer models of crockpot cook at a much higher temperature. I did not know this when I purchased a new crockpot after not using one for several years. The first thing I cooked (I think it was a chicken dish) was well-done, I mean really well-done. I couldn’t grab any of the food with a fork; it fell into pieces. I had to scoop everything out in tiny bits with a big spoon.
It actually took me a couple more tries before I realized that the crockpot was overcooking my food when I followed many of the recommended cooking times on recipes. (What can I say? I’m a bit slow in the kitchen. Must be the wine I drink while cooking.)
I did some simple research, but wasn’t able to find a lot of information about newer crockpots cooking at a higher temperature. There is a lot of discussion, however, between cooks in online forums and blogs.
Some people will help reduce overcooking by starting with frozen ingredients. However, frozen ingredients, especially meat, will take much longer to cook, and may potentially be in that temperature danger zone (40-140 degrees) for too long.
You might have to adjust the cooking time depending on how hot your specific crockpot cooks. It’s similar to microwaving something. The directions usually say “2 to 2½ minutes” and you might have to adjust the cooking time based on the wattage (power) of your microwave.
Many new crockpots come with menu booklets. While the recipes are usually pretty basic, they might give you an idea of approximate cooking times for your specific crockpot. Aside from that, to best find your crockpot’s heat level, it will take some trial and error. Here are a couple tips to help you out:
* Fill your crockpot between between ½ and ¾ full.
* Use an adequate amount of liquid in crockpot recipes.
* Don’t remove lid during cooking as it can let moisture escape and allow bacteria to grow.
* Browning meats before adding them to the crockpot reduces the fat content of the meat. Fat retains heat more readily than water, so the less fat, the slower the meat will cook.
I’m sure there are many other tips out there to help you adjust recipes to the hotter crockpots. I’d love to get your comments and feedback, and I’ll continue to give my own tips as I discover them.
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11 comments
Great article, and very true. Here is a good way to test a crockpot to see if it is a "hot" one. Fill the crockpot 1/2 to 2/3 full with one to two quarts of water. Heat on LOW for eight hours. Check the water temperature with an accurate food thermometer. Do this quickly because the temperature drops 10 to 15 degrees when the lid is removed. The temperature of the water should be between 185° to 200°F. Temperature readings above 185°-200°F indicate that a food cooked for 8 hours without stirring would be overdone. It's a shame that these manufacturers had to do this to these wonderful appliances. I dread the day that my old crock dies because the newer one I tried overcooked everything.
Comment posted by Barb
I completely agree that the newer cookers are a crock :) My wife and I have tested many models to find the perfect one. Don't buy Rival - while they have the most features typically, they also heat the hottest. One brand I found that works like the old style Rival is Farberware. It lacks features (example: no digital timer) but it works like a charm. The hot crocks are fine for things that contain a lot of liquid (soups, hot drinks) but for recipes that call for little liquid (roasts, chicken, desserts) they will ruin them completely.
Comment posted by Sam
I discovered with my Rival that if a recipe says to cook on low, I need to cook it on the keep warm setting. If it says high, then I use the low setting. Since I've discovered this, I've had very few ruined dinners.
Comment posted by Julie
I am so glad I found this site as I am new to slow-cooking or as my husband calls it "everything looks the same" cooking. I just bought a Rival..all the bells and whistles,but everything turns to mush...I just cook a chuck roast with Indian simmer spice. All day enjoying the aroma, but at dinner time the meat was in shreads. SIGH. Now I know to adjust my time, brown my meat and trim fat(it was also swimming in grease). Hopefully, I will improve in time, but really need help. Every meal looks the same. Overcooked meat,potatoes and carrots. Will continue to research on the web for help. Thanks for these starter tips.
Comment posted by mp3
Thanks for this. In my newish Rival crock pot, meat is reduced to tasteless strings that have to be fished out of the pot with a spoon. Yuck. And reducing cooking time isn't a perfect answer, because the meat gets tough when it's boiled like that, for any length of time. But I have a question: does anyone have any idea *when* the manufacturers made this change? I'd love to buy a less hot model used, but I'm wondering what my cut-off should be -- anyone have a model from the mid-90s that's not too hot?
Comment posted by Janie
I live in the Los Angeles area and about a year ago there was talk about crock pots on a local radio food show. Many, many people called in about their "too hot" crock pots and I was one of them. When I had contacted Rival, they basically told me (in a nice way) that it was "user error." I wish Rival had been courteous enough to let me/consumers know that they had to make their pots "hotter" due to regulations. I could have lived with that answer, would have passed the info along to friends and gone from there. Instead, I told ALL of my friends and anyone who would listen that I was DONE with Rival. The fancy ones that match the newer kitchens with the digital timers, etc., you can keep them. I'm using the 3 old ones that I have. They are ugly . . . orange, harvest gold and blue, but they WORK!!!
Comment posted by peggy
I bought a "new" Rival crock-pot about 5 years ago; used it the same way I did the old one and it burned the cheese dip for my party. :) Haven't used it since so am still using the old one from 1987 - it works great. The point of the crock-pot is to turn it on and go; I don't have time to monitor the temperature on the new one.
Comment posted by Sue
I agree with everyone. I love cooking in my crock pots and was thrilled when they came out with removable crocks which made it so much easier to clean. I also noticed that the new pots cook at a much higher temperature. As a matter of fact I have noticed that there is not much difference in the low vs high setting. They both are too hot. Perhaps I should go back to my old pots again. I do like the oval shape of the new pots though, it's easier to cook a whole chicken or a potroast.
Comment posted by Realtor Rose
Thank you, everyone! I have a couple older crock-pots and they're okay but I'd been thinking about getting a new one with all the bells and whistles. Nope - I now have a new appreciation for the oldies - the goodies! :-)
Comment posted by Becky
High temperatures (above 185F) cause red meat fibers to contract; this causes a 'springy' kind of feel to the meat. The tender Chuck Roast contracts under boiling temperatures and becomes crappy.
SLOW COOKERS on LOW shouldn't get above 185F.
ALL of the current ones DO, because the FDA mandates that they eventually get to a low boil. When setting LOW, they just theoretically take longer to get there. "Longer" depends on the thermal mass which they are heating; more liquid in the pot means it takes longer. Less liquid in the pot (as is usually desired) means that it take less time, and you BOIL (over-cook) your meat for a much longer time.
I'm actually rather tired of seeing boil bubbles and springy meat when I cook on LOW.
I'm starting to work on a Croc Pot mod that will allow me to control the cooking temperature at 180F when on low (I never use high, anyway).Comment posted by Casey C.
just bought a new CROCK-POT 7 qt model...previously had the smaller version for years, loved it)..cracked the lining on the old units by adding cold broth when unit was hot...question on the new one...the exterior ( metal) is too hot to the touch...the old one was not like that....comment? have a very large concern...
Comment posted by PETE
One difference between older crock pots and newer ones is that the newer ones do heat at a higher temperature (you'll find they cook food faster which means you'll have to adapt any old recipes for the shorter cook time). We have several crock pots (official Crock-Pot brand and other brands) and all the new ones do get rather hot to the touch on the exterior. When using one unattended, make sure it's not touching anything on the sides. The owners manual may address the heat of the exterior as well so be sure to read it if you have one.
Comment posted by CDKitchen
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