General Crock Pot Question

Nina74

I love all of your recipes for the crockpot and have one at home (that never gets used!). I want to try some of the recipes, but most of them say cook for 6-8 hours. I tend to be away from home for 12 hours a day and my pot isn't fancy (no timer or anything). Could I keep it on low for the whole 12 hours? I noticed a lot of you wrote about the chicken possibly getting too dried out. Should I add extra water, etc given the extra "cooking" time? I wanted to try the salsa chicken and the chicken with the cornmeal topping. Sounds delic!

seczneyd

Maybe you could buy an outlet timer - you know, like the ones people use to turn their lamps & christmas lights on and off at certain times?

sweetbn

I use the outlet timer that we use for Christmas lights! It works fantastic - just remember raw chicken/meat really shouldn't be above 41 degrees for more than 4 hours (when it starts having too much bacteria) so don't leave the food on your counter much longer.

I also find using a bit more broth/water helps with the dryness. GL!

tamalea

I have to leave my for that long also, so I use frozen chicken breast and put it on low. I never have any problems.

jrich1

I do pork tenderloin and stuff for 10-12 hours without problem, just make sure you have enough moisture

GooBeGone

I do pork tenderloin and stuff for 10-12 hours without problem, just make sure you have enough moisture

but what do u use for moisture? wouldn't water evaporate 2 soon?

jrich1

I do pork tenderloin and stuff for 10-12 hours without problem, just make sure you have enough moisture

but what do u use for moisture? wouldn't water evaporate 2 soon?

I have a recipe that I use vinegar, OJ and liquid smoke.. to make like a pulled pork

GooBeGone

I do pork tenderloin and stuff for 10-12 hours without problem, just make sure you have enough moisture

but what do u use for moisture? wouldn't water evaporate 2 soon?

I have a recipe that I use vinegar, OJ and liquid smoke.. to make like a pulled pork

liquid smoke? what's that? LOL. sorry but i'm not use 2 crockpot cookin altho i CAN cook, i'm just not a crockpot cooker. yet :happy:

maestrachistosa

I was having the same problem, and decided to have the crock pot cooking while I was asleep. I turned it on before bed, and then 7 hours later, I got up, turned it off, and put the pot in the fridge. (I also really like the idea of an outlet timer, but am concerned about the pot being "off" and the food just sitting there.)

ropsnik

I think the timer is your solution. And here is a good link someone posted on MFP long ago for crock pot recipes.

http://www.50plusfriends.com/cookbook/crockpot/index-5b.html