Tselani Richmond, aka Chef Tse, joined us today to share a tasty recipe using a slow cooker..and to give her tips to keep slow cooking safe.

Slow Cooker Safety Tips

1. Do not use frozen ingredients – especially meat. Bacteria thrive in the “danger zone” which is between 40 to 140 degrees. Food should pass through this zone as quickly as possible. Frozen ingredients take too long to heat up and pass through that zone, so if possible use hot or room temperature ingredients.
2. Avoid peeking. Although it may smell good, try to avoid removing the lid during cooking. Doing so can reduce the inside temperature by as much as 20 degrees and take another 20 minutes to return to temperature.
3. Use the warm setting. Try to purchase a slow cooker that has a warm setting once the cooking is complete. If you aren’t home and the slow cooker turns off, you should serve the food within 2 hours. Past that and your food can fall into the danger zone.
4. Don’t use the slow cooker for reheating. Slow cookers are not designed for rapid heat. Instead use the stove to reheat ingredients.

For her Chicken Provencal recipe, head to our recipes page.

For more from Chef Tse, check out her website.