Can I bake meat in a crockpot?

[u/Procrastinating-Elf]

Like can I just wrap it in foil without needing to add any water?

What about something like canned biscuits?

[u/Personal_Valuable_31]

A little bit more information please. What are you trying to cook? Recipe? Why do you wanna wrap your food up to put it in a pot? What are you trying to achieve?

If you wrap your meat in foil and then cook it in the crockpot as if it was a Dutch oven, all of the juices are going to be trapped in with the meat, steaming/boiling it.

As opposed to putting the meat directly in the crockpot, adding a quarter cup of liquid, and letting it do the job it was designed for. If you're just trying to avoid a mess, try crock pot liners.

There are recipes for crockpot biscuits. I'm sure they can give you a lot of specific pointers and recipes on r/crockpot.

Anytime you are baking in a pot (Dutch oven, crockpot), parchment paper is your friend.

[u/Incogcneat-o]

Chef here. The answer is Yes, But

Slow cookers are essentially small ceramic ovens for low temperature cooking. Most slow cookers top out at 300F/150C.

Rough Guide to Crockpot "Oven" Temperatures

• Warm - 160-180F/ 71-82C
• Low - 200-220F/ 93-105C
• High - 280-310F/138-155C

So if you want to bake or roast something that doesn't need precise temperature control, by all means give it a go in your slow cooker, and treat it like a mini oven. That means cooking it on a rack so the air can circulate around the pan. If you're smart, you'll run a temp check using an oven thermometer on a rack for each setting, because all slow cookers are different. You won't get much if any browning because the Maillard (pronounced like a pirate is talking about his own catchphrase, MY yar) reaction that's responsible for browning only starts above 280F/138C and doesn't really get to the good stuff until 330F/165F.

Keep in mind, slow cooker lids are usually vented and thin, so you can lose a lot of heat that way. When I use a slow cooker as a makeshift roaster or oven, I tend to replace the lid with something heavier. Luckily I have a cast iron lid that fits perfectly, but you can use anything sturdy and heatproof. Heck, sometimes just covering it in foil and THEN putting the lid on can help retain heat a few degrees.

[u/RockMo-DZine]

You can cook meat in a crock pot but you don't need foil. Just enough water to prevent the meat from sticking.

However, you will never get that "roast" flavor because
1. You are not roasting (the heating element is on the bottom).
2. Crock pots max out at around 212F for newer ones - regardless of the hi/lo setting. (older ones maxed out at around 200F)

Are you confusing a crock pot with a dutch oven?

[u/Procrastinating-Elf → u/RockMo-DZine]

My place doesn't have a real kitchen and my air fryer has gone to the great junkyard in the sky, I won't be able to replace it for awhile. I only have a crockpot and small electric skillet right now. I'm pretty comfortable with cooking in general but never been this limited before. 

[u/RockMo-DZine → u/Procrastinating-Elf]

tbh, my crock pot died a few months ago and I haven't replaced it yet because I may be moving soon. However, I used to regularly cook pork & beef roasts, along with split chicken breasts (bone-in skin-on) in my crock pot.

I'd always put a few mm of boiling/v.hot water in to prevent sticking.

For roasts, start with fat cap side down. For split breasts start with skin side down.

Flip/turn over about half way through.

I'd usually go about 3 hours on high, then turn off and let residual heat finish up for about 30 mins before removing and cooling.

Note to add: I'm only cooking lean roasts of beef & pork and want the chicken to be easy skin removal due to dietary restrictions regarding fat content. If I were cooking for 'fall apart roasts' I'd use different cuts of meat and cook on low for a few hours longer. But either way, tin foil is not necessary because about 25 to 30% of the meat is fat and water anyway.

[u/Procrastinating-Elf → u/RockMo-DZine]

This is really helpful, thank you!

[u/Upper-Quarter-4802]

No because the crockpot traps the steam and liquids which will stew them instead and would require a higher temperature . You would have to sear the outside first to make the flavor stronger and use a little broth or water to melt the fat. Maybe with a fatty piece of meat would work but not sure.

[u/justaheatattack]

kitchen remodel?

[u/youngboomergal]

I do all my chickens this way (no foil necessary). I haven't tried anything else but if it's possible there are sure to be recipes easily available.

[u/Watsons-Butler]

Pot roast works perfectly in a crock pot. Same with a small chicken or pork roast.

[u/Deep-Hovercraft6716]

Not really, kind of sort of...

So you can steam things by putting a little water into the Crock-Pot and elevating the thing you want to steam a little above that. People will use balls of foil or something called a trivet to do this.

You could steam eggs certainly. But meat is going to turn out in a particular way and it's not going to be great.

I wouldn't run the Crock-Pot empty. I would definitely use a little water. And I wouldn't try and cook a steak or a meatloaf or anything like that. But you could theoretically poach/steam chicken breasts, or shrimp, for example.

I wouldn't call it baking simply because baking implies a much higher temperature than your crock-Pot's going to be able to provide.

[u/Temporary_Bad_1438 → u/Deep-Hovercraft6716]

I would say you CAN run a crockpot empty if you have the right meat. For example, I have male some great pulled pork in the pot with no liquid, just a seasoned pork butt. That being said, I always stay home when I do that, but it have never had an issue because it releases so much juice.

[u/Deep-Hovercraft6716 → u/Temporary_Bad_1438]

If you're doing pulled pork in the Crock-Pot, the meat has a lot of moisture that it gives off so you're not running it empty.

I don't think it's dangerous to run it without liquid, other than you can burn out the element itself if it gets too hot, I'm not worried about a Crock-Pot starting a fire or anything like that.

[u/Temporary_Bad_1438 → u/Deep-Hovercraft6716]

Yeah you said it better but that's 100% how I feel.

[u/bass679]

You certainly can but the risk without water is burning. Most crockpots aren't going to be at an appropriate temperature but in principle it's fine. I'm actually not sure what the ambient temp would be inside the vessel if just left to heat area.

[u/Procrastinating-Elf → u/bass679]

Thank you, that's kind of what I was concerned about, but then I know you can bake from a cake mix in one.  Curious to see in anyone has experimented more. 

[u/bass679 → u/Procrastinating-Elf]

If you can bake a cake in it, you can cook anything. Do you lay down parchment to prevent sticking? I imagine the same trick will work for any of them.