NBR: Question for crock pot users

mdnawils

I am going to try to start using my crock pot more but I see that it says you should thaw meat before you put it in there to cook.  Do you always thaw the meat before you cook it in the crock pot or can I just put it in frozen?  It seems like it will have plenty of time to cook.

ScissorTailedFlycatcher

I'm interested in hearing the answers to this. I always thaw/cook the meat first, but it's only because my recipes say so. I know there was one recipe shared that mentioned she just added a few more hours if she was going to put in frozen. 

slmcronelaw

I have put frozen chicken breasts in the crock pot before for chicken n dumplins.  That is the only meat that I have put in frozen

LarloBlue

I don't thaw chicken out. If you were making a roast, I would definitely thaw it out just because of the size. Same goes for loins.

BaltimoreJen

I have put frozen meet in when I am going to leave it for more than 8 hours

shortstuff15

Unless it's something where I have to fry the ground beef first, I always put the meat in frozen.  Just start it on the low setting for the first couple of hours and then put it on high.  If you are leaving it for all day while you are at work, then just use low and put it on in the morning and it'll be perfect when you come home.  That's what I did all the time when I worked.

diana.filipi

If you are going to put it in frozen it's best to do it on low for longer.  Done on high from frozen you're likely to have a very tough piece of meat when you're all done.

What kind of meat are you thinking of?  I love my crock pot!

JLG95

I usually thaw and brown meats before tossing them in the slow cooker.  I like the seared meat flavor.

There's only one recipe where I even use raw meat, holubky (Slovak cabbage rolls).

mistywhite400

It kinda depends on what you are cooking.  If it's just meat then no.  If you have vegetables in there then probably so.  They will turn to mush by the time your meat is cooked. 

If I cook a pot roast, I just put it on the night before & cook over night & then a couple hours before dinner time I add the potatoes & carrots to cook.

mdnawils

diana.filipi:

If you are going to put it in frozen it's best to do it on low for longer.  Done on high from frozen you're likely to have a very tough piece of meat when you're all done.

What kind of meat are you thinking of?  I love my crock pot!

Most of the time it would probably be chicken and maybe the occasional pork tenderloin.  But these answers are very helpful I'll just put it on low since it would always be cooking for at least 7 hours while I'm at work.