In a recent article from Today Food, we read that the USDA is highly recommending that people stop putting frozen chicken in their slow cookers. While this is habit and tradition for some cooks, there are others who look at the risk of food poisoning bacteria that can quickly grow when meat is in what is called danger zone temperatures and will only use thawed meat. The USDA doesn't slam slow cooking as an unsafe method to cook, it actually considers slow cooking to be safe, but it does repeatedly state that meat should be thawed safely before going into the slow cooker.

Interestingly enough The Food Safety Information Council Australia doesn't mention any risk associated with cooking frozen chicken on their How to handle riskier foods page. Although they briefly address re-freezing chicken practices here.

We recommend thawing meat before putting meat in the slow cooker. Refrigerator thawing as it is considered the most effective and safest thawing option. To do refrigerator thawing simply take the meat out of the freezer, pop it in a container to catch the juices and place it in the fridge until its thawed. Although it is the safest option, the thawing process it might take longer than you'd like. A smaller portion of meat like mince can take an entire day to thaw out. For large cuts like a whole turkey or ham, you'll be expecting a wait time of 48 hours or more. Once defrosted in the fridge meats like poultry, fish and minced meat can keep for 1 to 2 days in the refrigerator before needing to be cooked as where beef, pork, lamb and veal will keep in the fridge about another 3 to 5 days before needing to be cooked.

Where do you stand on putting frozen chicken into the slow cooker?