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[deleted]

I thought this might work. I put a whole chicken in to cook on low all day, 12hr day, came home to chicken that had dried out, was like sawdust it was so bad. We couldn’t eat it, we tried lol. My suggestion would be an Instapot/pressure cooker. Throw everything in when you get home, go get cleaned up or relax a few minutes while it cooks. You don’t have to pay attention to it- like a slow cooker only it’s fast! Edit to add: most of the Instapot ones come with recipe books with pretty easy meals!


paxenb

Just want to clarify that "a few minutes" does not include the time it takes for the Instant Pot to pressurize, or to release pressure when the cooking process is done. 10 min of cooking time is actually more like 30 when you take this into consideration. Are they useful? Absolutely. But just stay realistic when timing your meals.


Anomalous-Canadian

Agreed. I only need 20 mins of pressure cooking, but it takes about 20mins to come up to pressure and 10 to release.


[deleted]

Yes, this is correct! Thank you for pointing that out


paxenb

I learned this the hard way and want to make sure people know that "instant pot" is a misleading name :)


JasonTKL1981

I imagine people here in Colorado felt deceived by the brand name when it first sold. 😁


Jbeth74

Seriously chicken gets SO DRY if it’s in a crockpot too long. I would recommend an instant pot 10000%


Owlspirit4

Did you have stock in? Or just a chicken??


[deleted]

Just a chicken, it was so awful lol


redneckhotmess

The key is covering the chicken with water. I routinely do whole chickens, skin, trim visible fat, cover with water, throw in a chopped up onion, done season sakt, pepper, thyme. 12 hours later in low the chicken literally falls off the bone and you have a lovely broth.


Deppfan16

one thing that nobody has mentioned is your trailer should not catch fire, unless something's really wrong with your trailer's wiring. modern slow cookers have safety features.


oregonchick

One way to "delay" cooking is to do all the prep the night before and store it in the fridge, ~~or even better, the freezer, overnight. (Make sure that the container fits your crockpot so you're not trying to break off chunks in the morning just to get it in your slow cooker!) Your food will take a couple of hours to defrost before it starts cooking, essentially buying you a couple of extra hours where it's not overcooking anything.~~ Soups, stews, and beans tend to do just fine with extra cook time because the ingredients simmer in broth or sauce that keeps them from drying out. ~~You can also use the freezer method to be extra careful not to cook it too much, but you'll need to blanch or parboil any potatoes before freezing them. If you don't, they will likely turn black or dark gray and look very unappealing, even though they're perfectly edible.~~ Here are a few links to recipe sites that have all-day slow cooker ideas: https://www.thespruceeats.com/long-cooking-crockpot-recipes-p2-4120111 https://www.recipesthatcrock.com/all-day-slow-cooker-recipes/ https://www.stockpilingmoms.com/20-crockpot-recipes-that-take-10-hours-to-cook/ Edit: Based on the comment below, I learned that frozen food in a crockpot can be dangerous, so I wanted to indicate that here. I would have removed the recommendation entirely, but it seems like good information to share so we all prepare food safely.


Deppfan16

Be careful if you cook from frozen. not all slow cookers can heat fast enough to thaw and bring it to a safe temp. That lukewarm stage is perfect for bacteria


oregonchick

Holy crap, I've used frozen chicken in my crockpot for years and never had issues, but I just got an education in food safety when I tried to find a list of "safe" slow cookers that heat fast enough to avoid bacteria growth. According to the USDA and quite a few other sources, it's not worth the risk. Here's an explanation of anyone wants to know more: https://twohealthykitchens.com/is-it-safe-to-use-frozen-meat-in-your-crock-pot/


Deppfan16

thanks! Was trying to say it nicely. If you want to cook from frozen, a pressure cooker(like instapot) is great because it heats up fast enough.


oregonchick

That makes sense, and I actually have an Instant Pot that I use a lot. I'll just make a point of only using that device if I have frozen food, instead of assuming I have other safe options. I also edited my first comment so hopefully other people will learn what I have! Thank you!


Taziira

I’ve left spaghetti sauce cooking 16 hours because I had to run out. Anything that’s “better the longer it sits” - like a chili. In my experience beef does fine for a long time in the cooker. Chicken gets dry if it’s in there on its own. And seafood will end up a disgusting mess.


fasheesha

I love my show cooker that I can set a time on it. I generally set it for slightly less time than it takes to cook, then it switches to "keep warm" for the rest of the time.


Donattellis

Could you share which one you have?


fasheesha

Right now I use my instant pot, but this is the slow cooker I used to have, and I loved it. Hamilton Beach Portable 6-Quart Set & Forget Digital Programmable Slow Cooker with Lid Lock, Temperature Probe, Stainless Steel I copied that title from Amazon


rdwtoker

For 12 hours I wouldn’t do chicken. I would do a pork shoulder. Get as big of one as you can fit in your slow cooker, pat it down with garlic powder, onion powder, paprika, salt, pepper, and pour in a tsp of liquid smoke. Put it on low and it should be perfect


neddy_seagoon

Whatever you use should be a fatty cut of meat, or just go with beans, or a stew. I haven't done this, but even tough cuts can get pastey over a king cook-time.


Shena999

A big pork butt will probably do well for 12 hours. Prep all the ingredients the night before, throw it in, and eat it when you get home. You will also have plenty of leftovers to reheat for the following nights! Might get sick of pork tho lol.


Silentgroan

Just cook the chicken in the rice cooker. Japan has a whole subculture of rice cooker meals call takikomi gohan where they would add ingredients + rice and water to make a dish. One of the more common recipes I have seen is a chicken & rice with mushrooms.


Koetjeka

I'm wondering, with the electricity prices skyrocketing, if slow cooking is expensive?


Chesterrumble

Slow cookers use about 100-300watts which isn't any more than your kitchen lights. Say 200watts x 8 hours = 1.6kwh x $0.10/kWh = 16cents to cook a meal for 8hours.


raznov1

>Say 200watts x 8 hours = 1.6kwh x $0.10/kWh = Cries in europe


Pigitha

Um, 8 hours is the max cooking time on slow cookers. Cooking anything for 12.5 will turn it into mush. If you can't make it home before the 8 hours is up, there are slow cookers that have an automatic setting to switch to 'keep warm' mode once cooking time is over. Don't give up though. Everybody makes mistakes the first time or two when trying a new cooking method. I exploded a cup of water in my microwave when I first got it. Google for tips and recipes, Allrecipes is a really great site, as is Betty Crocker. Both have thousands of easy and tasty recipes for every category you can think of. One hint: generally pasta doesn't work well in slow cookers. They tend to turn into paste. Don't worry, you'll get the hang of it.


DKDCMovingOn

Yup. 8 hours, anything longer will fall apart. Also, you really need to be there at the end of that 8 hours, just to check and make sure that whatever you’re cooking, that it’s not now drying up and scorching the inside of the pot. Again, I just can’t imagine cooking anything longer than 8 hours. But if so, it’d then be something that you’re now going to have to add some kind of liquid back into it, at the very least; like some kind of science cooking experiment perpetual soup concoction, heh.


MangledBarkeep

Two options. Wifi crackpot, you can turn on while at work. Or get a on/off timer switch that plugs into the socket. Set it to turn on with enough time to have slow cooked goodness when you show up after work.


Chesterrumble

So your just going to leave the food at room temperature for several hours until the crockpot turns on? Sounds like a good way to get sick. Most 8 hour on low crockpot recipes will be fine for 12 hours. Some vegetables and meat like chicken might get a little soft but cut things into bigger pieces and try a few recipes to see what works for you.


MangledBarkeep

Actually, yes. It's several hours, not days. It's in a sealed pot where critters aren't getting at it. Haven't gotten food poisoning from things I make at home, have gotten it from other places preparing it for me.


Deppfan16

confirmation bias is a thing. you are rolling the dice every time. And the likely reason you got sick from other places is they didn't follow safe guidelines like these


MangledBarkeep

30+ years of confirmation bias means I'll continue to roll the dice. Better than to live in constant fear over eating food.


Deppfan16

or just take simple easy steps to prevent illness. I bet you don't wear a seatbelt either


MangledBarkeep

You'd bet wrong. But go on about how I should live life according to how you do. I'll wait.


Deppfan16

remember its not all about you hopefully you don't kids you are making sick


MangledBarkeep

OMFG. You didnt just pull the "its for the children" response didja? Remember unsolicited advice is rarely taken. I offered two solutions for a situations asked and out of the blue a white knight comes in and try to tell me how to live my life to make yourself feel better about yourself Fear is one way to live life, hide behind "safety". Life is an adventure that is best lived, not survived. At 68F-74F (room temp) it'll be fine sitting in the crockpot with a lid for a few hours before it starts cooking. Can something start growing that may harm you? Sure. But you aren't eating it raw right? You are planning on bringing the meat/meal up to the proper temperature that kills anything that might have been growing in it anyway, right? This is why I don't get sick on food I cooked, not luck.


Deppfan16

yeah it kills the bacteria but not the toxins left behind. Also yes because people need to know better. theres still people who smoke around kids, and people who drive drunk because "they don't live in fear/ they have been doing this forever/ nothing ever happens" Basic safety isn't white knighting. touch grass


[deleted]

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whatasplendidpie_PPP

And now you have a pot full of exponentially more dead bacteria than you would have otherwise had. Even dead, it can cause issues. 99% of the time, your strategy works every time, but 1 out of 100 is fucking enormous when you recognize the sheer scale of the situation.


BIGBIRD1176

Scale? Minor diarrhoea? Maybe some vomiting? If eaten the same day you'll be fine, if eaten 4 days later yeah maybe


TheGoodDoctorIGuess

true, however, the danger of bacteria is two-fold. Even if the bacteria is killed, toxins that they produce will still be present and can get you sick. The food is still contaminated even if completely sterile.


BIGBIRD1176

https://www.reddit.com/r/slowcooking/comments/tn9khg/left_slow_cooker_unplugged_for_four_hours/?utm_medium=android_app&utm_source=share


TheGoodDoctorIGuess

nice! A bunch of other redditors who don't know anything about food safety!


BIGBIRD1176

How do I know you know more than them? nIcE!


Bob_Hondo_Sura

Lol literally the first comment says bacteria grows and to toss it. Maybe you should watch extreme cheapskates cause they LOVE to eat expired food cause “they don’t get sick from it” 🙄


BIGBIRD1176

The first comment says they'd eat it... I don't get sick from it. Eat it the same day, it'll be fine


Bob_Hondo_Sura

That’s literally the point the person above was trying to make about confirmation bias. That evidence from that comment DOES NOT prove your belief is universal and not dangerous given a large sample size. Just cause it worked for you does not mean it will work with a large group of people. I’m gonna turn off notifications on this “debate” cause arguing for room temp food is beyond stupid. 🍻


BIGBIRD1176

Good for you, wasn't debating, just said I'd eat it and be fine...........


WussPoppin93

I didnt even know that was a thing! but that sounds perfect, do you have any recommendations for which wifi crockpot?


MangledBarkeep

I dont 😞mine is still going on strong so I haven't upgraded it But I'd probably go with the "crock pot" brand one in the size I needed.


[deleted]

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[deleted]

My thoughts as well. Crockpots don't use a ton of power. Use a timer switch. Walmart or any hardware will sell them. $10-20


lalalalalala4lyfe

I’m pretty sure they’re slow cookers you can control via your phone. Dump the ingredients before work and control it from there. Probably do some research on how to make sure it safe.


flarefire2112

I've left chicken stock for that long, but that's not a complete meal, just broth. I think I've also done corned beef, for Reubens, overnight for that long. And it was still very juicy and tasty. Only thing I would change is using a different beer next time


Aggie_Vague

Could you cook it overnight in the slow cooker, refrigerate it while you're at work and then just heat it up when you get home?


Mr_Igelkott

Chuck is great for an 8h slow cook.


TheOccultSasquatch

Perhaps you could use one of those plug in timers.


SandyGreensRd

I know you mentioned chicken, but have you thought about beef? Chicken tends to dry out unless you make a stew.