Crockpot Question- help for party tomorrow!

[liz]

I made meatballs and pulled pork ahead of time for our DC's birthday party tomorrow. I am keeping the food inside the crockpot dish and placing it in the fridge tonight. My plan is to reheat in the crockpot tomorrow. Is this safe? Will I damage the crockpot dish if I put it in cold and heat it up?

And how long should I give to reheat the meatballs and pulled pork? TIA!

[boolady]

Well, I do put my crockpot insert in straight from the fridge and have never had a problem, neither has my mom in all of the years she's been doing it, but some folks on here either have had or know someone who's had an insert crack. If it's already in the fridge in your inserts, I wouldn't take it out and dirty another set of bowls. I'd take them out of the fridge first thing tomorrow, let the crock inserts come up to room temperature a bit, then put them in the base and turn on. I don't know how big your reheating window is, but if the food's cold, it's going to need a few hours, especially to get meatballs warm on the inside. If you're pressed for time, start it on high, then go to low if it seems like your sauce is burning.

[mskitty]

I made meatballs and pulled pork ahead of time for our DC's birthday party tomorrow. I am keeping the food inside the crockpot dish and placing it in the fridge tonight. My plan is to reheat in the crockpot tomorrow. Is this safe? Will I damage the crockpot dish if I put it in cold and heat it up?

And how long should I give to reheat the meatballs and pulled pork? TIA!

No, you shouldn't damage the crock at all. I prep raw stuff the night before and refrigerate it in the crock. I normally put it on low for the first half hour or so (while I make lunches, eat breakfast, etc) before turning it up to high.

For party service, I usually reheat things on the stove and then just put in them in a crockpot to keep them warm. Items are brought to a food safe temperature rapidly and then maintained. They don't need to cook for several more hours.

mskitty