crockpot help needed please!

jnk062602

So many recipes call to be cooked for 6-8 hours on low.  I work 10 hour days, so I needed it to cook 10 1/2 hours roughly.  Today, since DH was home, I put it on low at 8am and told him to turn it down to buffet at 4pm.  The meat was pretty dried out by 6:30pm. 

1. Can I prepare everything and put it in the crock in the fridge and have him place from the fridge to the base at a certain time?  My last crock cracked, and I don't know if this was the reason....going from fridge to base.

2. Can I have it in the crock at room temp and then just have him turn it on at a certain time?  I guess I just don't know if meat can sit out like that for several hours or if it is not a big deal since it will be cooked afterwards

erino&chrish

I wouldn't leave it sitting out, but you can have him put it in the crock from the fridge: that's what I do whenever I crock pot.  I used to work long hours and had the same exact issue.

achase123

That's a good tip from Erino.  I always have the issue of everything being a little dry.  I find mine stay in the crock even longer because we don't usually eat until at least 6:30 or so.  So if I start it at 7am and it has to wait until then it's dry.  I think also, turning it down to warm when you get home would help.

MeghanF13

Definitely don't leave it sitting at room temperature for a few ours first - MAJOR food safety issue.

If you use it a lot, I would suggest investing in one that has a timer that then turns to "warming" after it has finished cooking. I can set mine for however many hours it says to cook and then when the time is up it just goes to warming mode until I get home to turn it off.

monica93555

MeghanF13:

Definitely don't leave it sitting at room temperature for a few ours first - MAJOR food safety issue.

If you use it a lot, I would suggest investing in one that has a timer that then turns to "warming" after it has finished cooking. I can set mine for however many hours it says to cook and then when the time is up it just goes to warming mode until I get home to turn it off.

I have one of these and it works great!

jnk062602

monica93555:

MeghanF13:

Definitely don't leave it sitting at room temperature for a few ours first - MAJOR food safety issue.

If you use it a lot, I would suggest investing in one that has a timer that then turns to "warming" after it has finished cooking. I can set mine for however many hours it says to cook and then when the time is up it just goes to warming mode until I get home to turn it off.

I have one of these and it works great!

Ya, that is the kind I used to have before it cracked.  But that is essentially what DH did for me tonight since I had him turn it to warming/buffet at 4pm.

So you guys never had a problem with the crock cracking when you took it directly out of the fridge?