crock pot + ground meat question
Hello,
I read somewhere that you're not supposed to put raw ground meat in a crock pot (like for chili) because it doesnt' get hot enough fast enough to kill bacteria. But then I thought about meatballs - you don't have to cook those the whole way through to make them in the crock. So if, for instance, I were to cook chili without browning the meat first, would this be unsafe or just lack the extra flavor oomf that browning first gives?
Thanks
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11 Comments:
Can't say I ever heard that bit of advice before, and I'm going to need a bit more coffee before I decide if I want to worry about it or not.
If you're against the idea of browning first, you could wait to put the meat in until everything else is warmed.
As far as how long it takes to get up to temp, I guess it depends on your crockpot, and on the starting temps of everything. If you're starting with room temp veggies and canned goods, it's going to heat up a lot faster than if you're starting with a hunks of frozen stuff from your freezer.
Mine seems to warm up pretty fast. Not as fast as on high heat on the stove, but it's not like it sits for hours at 50 degrees. You can also speed up the heating by starting on high for a half hour or so, and then go back down to low, if that's the temp you need to cook at.
dbcurrie at 1:32PM on 12/04/08
Well you throw a raw roast in there don't you? But I don't know there is something unsettling about raw ground meat added to chili. I'd brown it. Or at least "boil it" in liquid in the crock pot and then add the beans and all that.
thegirliscrafty at 1:57PM on 12/04/08
Oddly enough, I just finished rolling 3lbs of meatballs that I dropped raw into my crockpot full of sauce. This is how I have done it for 15 years, this is how I will do it for 50 more and I will happily challenge anyone to a sauce and meatball cook off.
HOWEVER, the grease that would come from the raw meat into the chili would be just plain gross. I always brown off, season and drain my ground beef for chili before putting in my crock.
ChelleyD01 at 2:04PM on 12/04/08
Definitely cook meat first....even with a roast, always sear first....just to be safe, its not like it takes that long.
kellyporter at 2:07PM on 12/04/08
I was without a gas hook up over Thanksgiving break (i.e. no way of browning ground meat first) and I ended up not making chili just in case there was any truth to it.
joyyy at 2:07PM on 12/04/08
You can by all means cook ground beef in a crock pot, but for a chili recipe you may want to brown the beef seperately so as to drain the fat off. Otherwise, if it is extra lean say 93% or above.... just throw it in the crockpot. The only reason to brown meat of any kind before throwing it into a crock pot would be to add a layer of flavor through carmelization. Your crock pot will almost certainly cook food hot enough to kill off most harmful bacteria.
Pavlov at 2:34PM on 12/04/08
My mom always made meatloaf in the crockpot- raw ground beef, I'm pretty sure the suggestion came from the crock pot manual. We are all alive and well.
The texture is different, there is no firm outer "crust" on the loaf. One concern for raw meatballs woud be that they may fall apart if not browned first. I would make sure they are tightly rolled and use a good egg/bread crumb ratio.
Another issue may be fat/grease. When you brown meat for chili, you release a lot of fat. Raw ground meat may produce a greasier/fattier chili. Maybe try to use a leaner ground beef.
KtMc24 at 3:50PM on 12/04/08
The temperature would get high enough, but if you don't brown the meat first, it's often get a sort of 'wet-dog smell' while cooking. Other ingredients can modify/conceal that, but it seems more appealing to just brown the meat.
mongoose at 4:18PM on 12/04/08
Well, frankly I think that's hogwash. Of course I would leave it on Low instead of Warm, but that's exactly the same kind of cooking as when I put pork ribs in the oven at 200 degrees F, let them cook all day ... and they still reach a scorching-hot temp when they're fall-off-the-bone good. Still, as others have said the oils and fats are a major issue, and you'll end up with soggy balls unless you brown them first.
LunaPierCook at 5:45PM on 12/04/08
I make a great chili in the crock pot with ground dark meat turkey. It's rich and spicy and a treat. I've both browned the meat and thrown it in raw and it works both ways...the only reason I started to brown the meat was because all the recipes I've seen call for browning...but I'm going back to putting it in raw...I prepare it before I go to work, no time to brown, it cooks all day and gets plenty hot, and there is no grease problem because it's turkey. A great healthy meal...and whenever possible I use a combination of black and red beans.
mermaid at 9:27PM on 12/04/08
I would definately brown the ground beef meat and/or balls first, mainly because of the grease and color factor. On the other hand I cook a great chili in-crock using cut up/cubed round steak or lean chuck steak which dissolves into melt-in-your-mouth goodness in the crockpot. That's just my 2 cents worth.
lamora at 10:24PM on 12/04/08