Freezing slow cooker first?

Hi All

I prepped all the stuff for a beef stew for tomorrow after work. Now I popped it into the freezer (the removaeable sleeve of the cooker) so that the ingredients remain fresh & so that my food doesn't overcook throughout the day.

What do you think about that? Will the pot crack if I put it into the warmer piece on low tomorrow? Will it be overextending the cooking process too much? Or will it come out tasty & tender at 4 pm if I turn it on at 7 am?

I have always read that you shouldn't put frozen items into a slow cooker - I think you're not only risking cracking, there's also a good chance that the center of your stew won't come up to temp in time...the USDAsite seems to agree with me that you should thaw first.

It sounds like you are putting ingredients in the freezer for less than a day. Although I don't know what ingredients you are using, I can't imagine they would deteriorate that much in the fridge in 24 hours.

Personally, I wouldn't bother with the freezing step. If everything's prepped, you could either put it in the refrigerator, or even just put it in the slow cooker on low. A few extra hours on low won't hurt a beef stew.

Thanks for all the replies.

Well I went to put it into the cooker this morning & set it on low, but there was a funny smell (like burning plastic) coming from the cooker & it was really really hot to the touch (on low!) and so I kind of freaked out & turned off & unplugged the whole thing and put the pot of food into the fridge to thaw.

I just bought this crockpot & its the first time I have used it, so I am not sure if that was a "new pot" smell or if something is wrong with it or if its because the insides were frozen or what.

So it looks like I will be cooking it on another day, when I am at home to actually oversee the cooking.

I always prep the nite before, put the sleeve and ingredients in the frig and pop it in the outer cook part in the morning when I leave to work-on low-
sometimes I'll call home at 3 when my kids get home and ask if its bubbly, and if they say no I'll have the turn it up to hi-
always turns out fine

I really want to buy one of the fancy new shifting ones thats bigger and oval so I can fit in a whole pot roast, without cutting it up into stew...
I don't think it's a good idea to put it in the freezer-
and have a whole frozen block-
but if you cut things into chunks and froze them,
and then suspended the frozen chunks in liquid in the AM-
you'd be OK and WOULD extend your cooking time

HI,

If your sleeve is made from ceramic, then you could also risk thermal shock causing the sleeve to crack.

Well I went to put it into the cooker this morning & set it on low, but there was a funny smell (like burning plastic) coming from the cooker & it was really really hot to the touch (on low!) and so I kind of freaked out & turned off & unplugged the whole thing and put the pot of food into the fridge to thaw.

Good call because goodness knows what may have happened after you walked out the door. Experiment tonight while you are around to supervise. You could go one step further by putting it into the kitchen sink. If something goes wrong, it will contain and limit any damage.

Regards,

Good idea! I will do that.

I have never had a cooker emit any kind of smell other than food before.

Hi,

I don't have any experience with a frozen sleeve, but I'd think the whole unit should be room temp when you start, as Cathy2 noted, to avoid any shock of rapid changes in temp causing cracking.

Usually when I'm going to make something in my crock pot, I toss everything in a freezer bag or bowl the night before (frozen and non frozen ingredients), store it in the fridge, and then dump the contents into slow cooker in the morning before heading out to work.

That burning smell is most likely because it is new. My Rival Countdown was a little stinky the first time I used it (slight burning oil smell), but it didn't change the flavor of the food. The second time I used it there was a bit of a smell, but by the third time it was all gone.

Peter

I thought of doing that (freezer bag) - this morning

Glad to hear that the smell is a normal thing. Thx!