How Long Can You Cook In A Slow Cooker

Earlier this year, hearts everywhere broke when Jack Pearson's cause of death was revealed. Despite a very swift calming of fears by both Crock-Pot and the This Is Us cast and crew, when season two rolled along, the slow cooker side eye was fresh in people's minds once again.

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(SEASON TWO SPOILER ALERT, GUYS) But no, your slow cooker is not going to kill you—in a statement back in January, Crock Pot said "the safety and design of our product renders this type of event nearly impossible." (ICYMI, and, again, I am very sorry for the SPOILERS, an old, faulty slow cooker caused a fire in the Pearson's home that led to Jack's death. Watch the show already!).

Still, I had questions. When you leave your house in the morning, how soon do you need to return if your slow cooker is on? How long could you THEORETICALLY wait before returning? What if my train gets stuck underground for an hour and I'm still not home after THAT amount of time?

I spoke to Pat Schweitzer, director of Hamilton Beach's Consumer Test Kitchen, and Mary Beth Brault, the group manager of Hamilton Beach's Corporate and Consumer Communications, to get some answers.

Let's cut to the chase: How many hours can I leave my slow cooker on?

That varies by what's inside the slow cooker and also by the appliance's setting and model, the experts say. Most recipes for all-day cooking call for 6 to 8 hours on low. Quality- (and safety-) wise, another 1 to 2 hours in 'keep warm' mode won't mess things up. And after that, you've still got a good amount of buffer time.

While leaving it on for days is certainly not recommended, most programmable slow cookers have a 24 hour cycle; after that, the slow cooker would shut off automatically. That's a lot longer than I was expecting, and than I would assume anyone plans to leave their slow cooker on. To clarify, even if you leave your house at 7 a.m. and for some reason don't get home till 10 or 11 p.m., you are fine. Do not worry. Your slow cooker was made for this!

Also, to note, Hamilton Beach tests all of their products (toasters, deep fryers, etc.) in extreme situations, and a slow cooker is not high on Schweitzer and Brault's list of concerns.

Are there slow cookers made for worriers like me?

Set 'n Forget Programmable Slow Cooker

Hamilton Beach amazon.com

Essentially, yes! Many newer models have programmable settings to switch the heat to 'keep warm' after a set amount of time, as well as automatic off switches after 24 hours. Hamilton Beach's Set and Forget models, like the this one, can be programmed two ways: to switch to keep warm after a set length of time, or to switch once your food gets to a certain internal temperature (helpful with meat dishes so your chicken doesn't get dry).

What other precautions should I take when I use my slow cooker?

This was interesting: Schweitzer and Brault told me a good rule of thumb is to make sure your slow cooker is half full; it's even better to have it two-thirds full. This keeps the food from overcooking. Conversely, to make sure foods aren't undercooked, don't stick something frozen directly into your slow cooker. For food safety reasons, it needs to be thawed first.

Bottom Line:

Slow cookers are, by nature, very low wattage appliances. They're meant to cook food slowly and safely. All in all, "you can feel very confident leaving it to cook all day unattended."

Madison Flager Lifestyle Editor Madison Flager is the Lifestyle Editor at Delish.com; she covers food news and trends, travel-worthy food experiences, and the products you need in your kitchen right now.

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