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?
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First, you should never cook frozen meat in a crock pot style slow cooker. It takes too long for frozen meat in a slow cooker to reach bacteria-killing temperature, and there’s a sweet spot (between 40°-140°F) where harmful bacteria have an explosion of growth. Since a crock pot takes a bit to reach it’s cooking temperature (170°-300°F), there is a risk that frozen meat will become contaminated. 165°F is the cooking temp that kills bacteria, so even cooking low and slow at 170°F, does the job.
You can use frozen meat for some pressure-style cookers, depending on the settings. This is because pressure-style cookers heat up faster and cook frozen meat faster, keeping it out of the danger zone for a harmful bacteria population explosion.
Always thaw frozen meat in the refrigerator, or use your microwave defroster, *if you will be cooking the frozen meat immediately after defrosting*.
For thawed meat, many recipes call for bringing the meat to room temp before cooking, to cut down on cooking time, which theoretically helps prevent overcooking. I may get blasted for this, but it’s dangerous to do so (and just because you haven’t bacome ill from it, doesn’t mean it’s safe). It can take a 4.5lb pork shoulder 10 hours to come to room temp. It takes a bit more than an hour for a 3/4 inch steak to come to room temp. **But in just 20 minutes, the outer layer of meat is warm enough to start a growth explosion of harmful bacteria. Sure, searing it will kill the surface bacteria, but muscle is full of nooks and crannies, where harmful bacteria can create pockets *inside the meat*, which can’t be “seared/grilled away”.**
The *safest* ways to cook a piece of meat so they remain tender are either sous vide (and reverse searing), or low and slow in a crock pot, smoker, roaster, or oven. Moisture is also key. Injecting the meat’s own juices, butter, apple juice, brine, or your choice of liquid into the meat, prior to cooking, will keep it tender. Frequent basting or spraying with your choice of liquid/fat also helps. For crock pots/pressure cookers, you also need to add moisture. This can be done with butter, bullion, stock, or whatever your choice of liquid/fat is.
**Edited to add that it does not take too long for a crock pot to reach the temperature necessary to start killing bacteria on *thawed meat*. In addition, you’re supposed to sear meat prior to cooking in a crock pot, which seals in moisture, and helps “lock” the surface of the meat, helping to prevent bacterial growth while the crock pot is coming to temperature.**
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