Can I Use a Slow Cooker to Reheat Food
 

We're new to slow cooking and are a bit confused by the Owners Guide
warning, "4. Do not reheat foods in your Crock-Pot slow cooker."

One of the dishes my wife wants to prepare for Thanksgiving takes a lot
of kitchen space and is somewhat messy. She's thinking it would be
great if we could prepare it the day before and just reheat for our
guests. We often reheat a few portions in the microwave but that won't
work for 20. I suggested the slow cooker but then there's this warning.

Anybody understand what the issues are? Other cautions? Thanks to
groups.google.com there seem to be many posters who've done this but I'm
looking for confirmation.

TIA,

Johnny

in article ,
Johnny Cache at wrote on 10/16/04 5:56 PM:

> We're new to slow cooking and are a bit confused by the Owners Guide
> warning, "4. Do not reheat foods in your Crock-Pot slow cooker."
>
> One of the dishes my wife wants to prepare for Thanksgiving takes a lot
> of kitchen space and is somewhat messy. She's thinking it would be
> great if we could prepare it the day before and just reheat for our
> guests. We often reheat a few portions in the microwave but that won't
> work for 20. I suggested the slow cooker but then there's this warning.
>
> Anybody understand what the issues are? Other cautions? Thanks to
> groups.google.com there seem to be many posters who've done this but I'm
> looking for confirmation.
>
> TIA,
>
> Johnny
>

The issue is that food that's been cooked, then cooled then reheated is a
breeding ground for bacteria. That's why you need to reheat it--quickly--
and get it very hot--when reheating leftovers. The high heat zaps any
bacteria that may have settled in. The quick part helps keep them from
proliferating. The slow-cooker is hot enough to cook your food at slow
simmer. However, because it heats from the sides, there is a danger that
the food in the middle will be in the "danger zone" (somewhere around room
temp) long enough to really become a vehicle for food poisoning.

A better idea would be to make the food the day before, put it in the oven
to GET hot pretty early in the day, (before the turkey goes in, if that's a
concern) and then transfer the already hot food to the crock-pot and put it
on low to KEEP IT HOT. That's different. Then you're not reheating in it,
you're just keeping it heated.

What is the dish that you want to make ahead? That might help someone come
up with a better idea for you.

in article ,
Johnny Cache at wrote on 10/16/04 5:56 PM:

> We're new to slow cooking and are a bit confused by the Owners Guide
> warning, "4. Do not reheat foods in your Crock-Pot slow cooker."
>
> One of the dishes my wife wants to prepare for Thanksgiving takes a lot
> of kitchen space and is somewhat messy. She's thinking it would be
> great if we could prepare it the day before and just reheat for our
> guests. We often reheat a few portions in the microwave but that won't
> work for 20. I suggested the slow cooker but then there's this warning.
>
> Anybody understand what the issues are? Other cautions? Thanks to
> groups.google.com there seem to be many posters who've done this but I'm
> looking for confirmation.
>
> TIA,
>
> Johnny
>

The issue is that food that's been cooked, then cooled then reheated is a
breeding ground for bacteria. That's why you need to reheat it--quickly--
and get it very hot--when reheating leftovers. The high heat zaps any
bacteria that may have settled in. The quick part helps keep them from
proliferating. The slow-cooker is hot enough to cook your food at slow
simmer. However, because it heats from the sides, there is a danger that
the food in the middle will be in the "danger zone" (somewhere around room
temp) long enough to really become a vehicle for food poisoning.

A better idea would be to make the food the day before, put it in the oven
to GET hot pretty early in the day, (before the turkey goes in, if that's a
concern) and then transfer the already hot food to the crock-pot and put it
on low to KEEP IT HOT. That's different. Then you're not reheating in it,
you're just keeping it heated.

What is the dish that you want to make ahead? That might help someone come
up with a better idea for you.

"Sheryl Rosen" > wrote in message
...
> in article ,
> Johnny Cache at wrote on 10/16/04 5:56 PM:
>
>> We're new to slow cooking and are a bit confused by the Owners Guide
>> warning, "4. Do not reheat foods in your Crock-Pot slow cooker."
>>
>> One of the dishes my wife wants to prepare for Thanksgiving takes a lot
>> of kitchen space and is somewhat messy. She's thinking it would be
>> great if we could prepare it the day before and just reheat for our
>> guests. We often reheat a few portions in the microwave but that won't
>> work for 20. I suggested the slow cooker but then there's this warning.
>>
>> Anybody understand what the issues are? Other cautions? Thanks to
>> groups.google.com there seem to be many posters who've done this but I'm
>> looking for confirmation.
>>
>> TIA,
>>
>> Johnny
>>
>
> The issue is that food that's been cooked, then cooled then reheated is a
> breeding ground for bacteria. That's why you need to reheat it--quickly--
> and get it very hot--when reheating leftovers. The high heat zaps any
> bacteria that may have settled in. The quick part helps keep them from
> proliferating. The slow-cooker is hot enough to cook your food at slow
> simmer. However, because it heats from the sides, there is a danger that
> the food in the middle will be in the "danger zone" (somewhere around room
> temp) long enough to really become a vehicle for food poisoning.
>
> A better idea would be to make the food the day before, put it in the oven
> to GET hot pretty early in the day, (before the turkey goes in, if that's
> a
> concern) and then transfer the already hot food to the crock-pot and put
> it
> on low to KEEP IT HOT. That's different. Then you're not reheating in
> it,
> you're just keeping it heated.
>
> What is the dish that you want to make ahead? That might help someone come
> up with a better idea for you.

We always put the mashed potatoes in the crock pot at Thanksgiving to keep
them hot. Of course, they are hot when we put them in there! Works great!

Janet
>

"Sheryl Rosen" > wrote in message
...
> in article ,
> Johnny Cache at wrote on 10/16/04 5:56 PM:
>
>> We're new to slow cooking and are a bit confused by the Owners Guide
>> warning, "4. Do not reheat foods in your Crock-Pot slow cooker."
>>
>> One of the dishes my wife wants to prepare for Thanksgiving takes a lot
>> of kitchen space and is somewhat messy. She's thinking it would be
>> great if we could prepare it the day before and just reheat for our
>> guests. We often reheat a few portions in the microwave but that won't
>> work for 20. I suggested the slow cooker but then there's this warning.
>>
>> Anybody understand what the issues are? Other cautions? Thanks to
>> groups.google.com there seem to be many posters who've done this but I'm
>> looking for confirmation.
>>
>> TIA,
>>
>> Johnny
>>
>
> The issue is that food that's been cooked, then cooled then reheated is a
> breeding ground for bacteria. That's why you need to reheat it--quickly--
> and get it very hot--when reheating leftovers. The high heat zaps any
> bacteria that may have settled in. The quick part helps keep them from
> proliferating. The slow-cooker is hot enough to cook your food at slow
> simmer. However, because it heats from the sides, there is a danger that
> the food in the middle will be in the "danger zone" (somewhere around room
> temp) long enough to really become a vehicle for food poisoning.
>
> A better idea would be to make the food the day before, put it in the oven
> to GET hot pretty early in the day, (before the turkey goes in, if that's
> a
> concern) and then transfer the already hot food to the crock-pot and put
> it
> on low to KEEP IT HOT. That's different. Then you're not reheating in
> it,
> you're just keeping it heated.
>
> What is the dish that you want to make ahead? That might help someone come
> up with a better idea for you.

We always put the mashed potatoes in the crock pot at Thanksgiving to keep
them hot. Of course, they are hot when we put them in there! Works great!

Janet
>

In article >,
says...
> We're new to slow cooking and are a bit confused by the Owners Guide
> warning, "4. Do not reheat foods in your Crock-Pot slow cooker."
>
> One of the dishes my wife wants to prepare for Thanksgiving takes a lot
> of kitchen space and is somewhat messy. She's thinking it would be
> great if we could prepare it the day before and just reheat for our
> guests. We often reheat a few portions in the microwave but that won't
> work for 20. I suggested the slow cooker but then there's this warning.
>
> Anybody understand what the issues are? Other cautions? Thanks to
> groups.google.com there seem to be many posters who've done this but I'm
> looking for confirmation.
>
> TIA,
>
> Johnny
>
The main problem with the slow cooker is that it is slow. At cooking.
And at reheating.

A secondary problem is that slow cooker manufacturers typically don't
want to deal with food poisoning lawsuits, so they put every caveat they
can think of into their Owners Guides.

The bottom line is that you're left to figure it out for yourself.

For what it's worth, since you've left the dish it is you're talking
about to my imagination, I'll speculate that it's spatchcocked water
buffalo. This indeed takes a lot of kitchen space and is somewhat
messy, as you've stated. (But done right, the results truly are both
tasty and impressive, so I applaud your wife's choice!)

Given that you've been able to cook your WB the day before, how will you
quickly cool it down to preserve it overnight? This could actually be
the more important question.

Assuming that you're able to cool the WB down after your day-before
cooking, you could pack it up in meal-sized quantities in boilable bags,
then simply drop one or more bags into boiling water as needed to
reheat. This is what I would do. Once the stuff in the bag gets heated
up, you could put quantities of it into the heated slow cooker if you
wanted, and you could serve it from there as needed.

As for looking for confirmation, I'd recommend that you consult your
local Bishop.

Good luck. ;-)
--
Bob
(remove ZZ to email)

In article >,
says...
> We're new to slow cooking and are a bit confused by the Owners Guide
> warning, "4. Do not reheat foods in your Crock-Pot slow cooker."
>
> One of the dishes my wife wants to prepare for Thanksgiving takes a lot
> of kitchen space and is somewhat messy. She's thinking it would be
> great if we could prepare it the day before and just reheat for our
> guests. We often reheat a few portions in the microwave but that won't
> work for 20. I suggested the slow cooker but then there's this warning.
>
> Anybody understand what the issues are? Other cautions? Thanks to
> groups.google.com there seem to be many posters who've done this but I'm
> looking for confirmation.
>
> TIA,
>
> Johnny
>
The main problem with the slow cooker is that it is slow. At cooking.
And at reheating.

A secondary problem is that slow cooker manufacturers typically don't
want to deal with food poisoning lawsuits, so they put every caveat they
can think of into their Owners Guides.

The bottom line is that you're left to figure it out for yourself.

For what it's worth, since you've left the dish it is you're talking
about to my imagination, I'll speculate that it's spatchcocked water
buffalo. This indeed takes a lot of kitchen space and is somewhat
messy, as you've stated. (But done right, the results truly are both
tasty and impressive, so I applaud your wife's choice!)

Given that you've been able to cook your WB the day before, how will you
quickly cool it down to preserve it overnight? This could actually be
the more important question.

Assuming that you're able to cool the WB down after your day-before
cooking, you could pack it up in meal-sized quantities in boilable bags,
then simply drop one or more bags into boiling water as needed to
reheat. This is what I would do. Once the stuff in the bag gets heated
up, you could put quantities of it into the heated slow cooker if you
wanted, and you could serve it from there as needed.

As for looking for confirmation, I'd recommend that you consult your
local Bishop.

Good luck. ;-)
--
Bob
(remove ZZ to email)

You're not far off . . . .

The dish is BBQ Beef Brisket.

Our crowd has increased in size. Last year, our son-in-law cooked a
second turkey on our back deck in his turkey frier -- that's the
fallback plan -- but Mrs. Cache and I thought that we could do a turkey
and beef combo.

Idea was that we'd cook and slice about 12# on Wednesday then cool in
the refrigerator. It would be cooked (roasted in the oven), sliced,
then cooled in the refrigerator on Wednesday. Then, the appeal of using
the slow cooker on Thursday to reheat was that it wouldn't need any
attention.

Access to the oven or stove top on Thursday is a problem . . . oven is
committed from early AM, first for pies, then turkey, sweet potatoes and
stuffing. Stove top is committed to wassil, cranberry sauce, and
vegetables.

Bottom line, don't think I can do the boilable bags. Using the oven to
"preheat" the beef (before the pies go in) is a possibility. Will also
check the wattage on the "Nesco" roaster to see if that's a possibility
for either "preheat" before using the slow cooker or for the whole
reheat and hold.

Thanks to all for your input and great suggestions.

Johnny

yetanotherBob wrote:
> In article >,
> says...
>
>>We're new to slow cooking and are a bit confused by the Owners Guide
>>warning, "4. Do not reheat foods in your Crock-Pot slow cooker."
>>
>>One of the dishes my wife wants to prepare for Thanksgiving takes a lot
>>of kitchen space and is somewhat messy. She's thinking it would be
>>great if we could prepare it the day before and just reheat for our
>>guests. We often reheat a few portions in the microwave but that won't
>>work for 20. I suggested the slow cooker but then there's this warning.
>>
>>Anybody understand what the issues are? Other cautions? Thanks to
>>groups.google.com there seem to be many posters who've done this but I'm
>>looking for confirmation.
>>
>>TIA,
>>
>>Johnny
>>
>
> The main problem with the slow cooker is that it is slow. At cooking.
> And at reheating.
>
> A secondary problem is that slow cooker manufacturers typically don't
> want to deal with food poisoning lawsuits, so they put every caveat they
> can think of into their Owners Guides.
>
> The bottom line is that you're left to figure it out for yourself.
>
> For what it's worth, since you've left the dish it is you're talking
> about to my imagination, I'll speculate that it's spatchcocked water
> buffalo. This indeed takes a lot of kitchen space and is somewhat
> messy, as you've stated. (But done right, the results truly are both
> tasty and impressive, so I applaud your wife's choice!)
>
> Given that you've been able to cook your WB the day before, how will you
> quickly cool it down to preserve it overnight? This could actually be
> the more important question.
>
> Assuming that you're able to cool the WB down after your day-before
> cooking, you could pack it up in meal-sized quantities in boilable bags,
> then simply drop one or more bags into boiling water as needed to
> reheat. This is what I would do. Once the stuff in the bag gets heated
> up, you could put quantities of it into the heated slow cooker if you
> wanted, and you could serve it from there as needed.
>
> As for looking for confirmation, I'd recommend that you consult your
> local Bishop.
>
> Good luck. ;-)

You're not far off . . . .

The dish is BBQ Beef Brisket.

Our crowd has increased in size. Last year, our son-in-law cooked a
second turkey on our back deck in his turkey frier -- that's the
fallback plan -- but Mrs. Cache and I thought that we could do a turkey
and beef combo.

Idea was that we'd cook and slice about 12# on Wednesday then cool in
the refrigerator. It would be cooked (roasted in the oven), sliced,
then cooled in the refrigerator on Wednesday. Then, the appeal of using
the slow cooker on Thursday to reheat was that it wouldn't need any
attention.

Access to the oven or stove top on Thursday is a problem . . . oven is
committed from early AM, first for pies, then turkey, sweet potatoes and
stuffing. Stove top is committed to wassil, cranberry sauce, and
vegetables.

Bottom line, don't think I can do the boilable bags. Using the oven to
"preheat" the beef (before the pies go in) is a possibility. Will also
check the wattage on the "Nesco" roaster to see if that's a possibility
for either "preheat" before using the slow cooker or for the whole
reheat and hold.

Thanks to all for your input and great suggestions.

Johnny

yetanotherBob wrote:
> In article >,
> says...
>
>>We're new to slow cooking and are a bit confused by the Owners Guide
>>warning, "4. Do not reheat foods in your Crock-Pot slow cooker."
>>
>>One of the dishes my wife wants to prepare for Thanksgiving takes a lot
>>of kitchen space and is somewhat messy. She's thinking it would be
>>great if we could prepare it the day before and just reheat for our
>>guests. We often reheat a few portions in the microwave but that won't
>>work for 20. I suggested the slow cooker but then there's this warning.
>>
>>Anybody understand what the issues are? Other cautions? Thanks to
>>groups.google.com there seem to be many posters who've done this but I'm
>>looking for confirmation.
>>
>>TIA,
>>
>>Johnny
>>
>
> The main problem with the slow cooker is that it is slow. At cooking.
> And at reheating.
>
> A secondary problem is that slow cooker manufacturers typically don't
> want to deal with food poisoning lawsuits, so they put every caveat they
> can think of into their Owners Guides.
>
> The bottom line is that you're left to figure it out for yourself.
>
> For what it's worth, since you've left the dish it is you're talking
> about to my imagination, I'll speculate that it's spatchcocked water
> buffalo. This indeed takes a lot of kitchen space and is somewhat
> messy, as you've stated. (But done right, the results truly are both
> tasty and impressive, so I applaud your wife's choice!)
>
> Given that you've been able to cook your WB the day before, how will you
> quickly cool it down to preserve it overnight? This could actually be
> the more important question.
>
> Assuming that you're able to cool the WB down after your day-before
> cooking, you could pack it up in meal-sized quantities in boilable bags,
> then simply drop one or more bags into boiling water as needed to
> reheat. This is what I would do. Once the stuff in the bag gets heated
> up, you could put quantities of it into the heated slow cooker if you
> wanted, and you could serve it from there as needed.
>
> As for looking for confirmation, I'd recommend that you consult your
> local Bishop.
>
> Good luck. ;-)

Johnny Cache > wrote in
:

> Bottom line, don't think I can do the boilable bags. Using the oven to
> "preheat" the beef (before the pies go in) is a possibility. Will also
> check the wattage on the "Nesco" roaster to see if that's a possibility
> for either "preheat" before using the slow cooker or for the whole
> reheat and hold.
>

The microwave could possibly be used to reheat the sliced brisket in
batches prior to holding warm in the Slow cooker.

--
Starchless in Manitoba.