FrenchChef wrote:
> Sheldon,
>
> You are in sorry need of education! Perhaps you would care to explain
> to your viewers how it is that stuffed, raw turkeys are a source of
> danger? After all, your premise is that only exteriors are a source of
> trouble? Bacteria needs moisture, protein, a moderate to slightly
> acidic ph, and warm temperatures to breed. A crock pot (or turkey
> cavity) is an ideal breeding ground!
>

The cavity of a turkey is an exterior surface; you are intentionally
misinterpreting what sheldoon said. Also, the original poster was
asking about a "pot roast", not a whole bird (especially not a stuffed one.)

That being said, I don't know if a crockpot provides enough energy to
heat the exterior of a roast out of the danger zone while the interior
is still frozen -- or to thaw the whole thing quickly enough that it
thaws and then moves out of the danger zone before the surface can
spoil. The worst case is that the surface bacteria grow explosively and
are then killed by the heat, but were active long enough to ruin the
taste of the meat and *perhaps* produce heat-stable toxins. For
example, staphylococcus toxin is heat-stable.

Cooking frozen meat in the oven or in an electric roaster works just
fine. A crockpot will do it too, but *might* not heat fast enough to be
safe.

I wouldn't even cook a stuffed turkey in the oven unless the stuffing
went in warm-to-hot, and I'm not much of a germ-phobic.

Best regards,
Bob