Slow Cooker: Fridge -> Heat

[Stephie]

I have an All-Clad slow cooker with a cast iron insert. I would like to prepare food at night, refrigerate, and then place to cook in the morning. I'm concerned about the rapid temperature change harming the cast iron. Does anyone do this with success? I might be able to eke out an hour in the morning to let it warm up a little bit, but it doesn't seem like it would be enough.

Thanks for any advice.

[pyrguy]

I have taken a cast iron dutch oven out of the fridge and placed it in a cold oven that was just starting to warm up. I never had an issue doing this.

I do not know haw thick your insert is but if you start with a cold cooker they should come to temp together with out too much stress. I would NOT place the insert into the cooker if it was anything above room temp.

[OliverB]

My guess would be that you can pull it from the freezer and put it in the cooker, though the cooker might not like that too much. But There's little you can do to cast Iron in your home kitchen, that would break it. I have the same cooker and will dust it off soon, slow cooked food is autumn and winter food :-)

I would not do this with ceramic (or glass) cooker inserts, though I'd think they'd be fine also. It's not like you're throwing it into fire.

Just my 2ct, I might be wrong but I doubt it. You can take a room temp cast iron pot and set it right into hot coals, a much more "cruel" treatment

[Stephie]

Thanks yall. Today was my first experiment with slow cooking frozen food, which was quite a success. Onward and upward!

[JAZ]

I take my Le Creuset pots directly from the fridge to the stove or oven all the time with no problems.

[mgaretz]

I think your insert is really anodized aluminum. It will be fine going from cold to the cooker.