eli5: Why you can safely cook meat in a slow cooker (approx 8 hours on low), if after 2 hours on the counter it needs to be tossed?

Question

Surely it’s in the “danger zone” for a long time before being fully cooked, right? Could you leave out meat for 4 hours THEN toss it in a slow cooker?

In: 0

Answer 1

You don’t “need” to throw meat away after two hours. I routinely eat leftover meat that I let sit in the pan over night or longer. Most of the time I don’t even reheat it in the morning. Our stomachs are far more capable than most people think.