Slave to your oven?

Wife and I have a disagreement. She doesn’t like leaving the oven on in an empty house, specifically an oven at less than 300 F (don’t ask why, but I decided to make pulled pork today)…I think it’s not a big deal.

Thoughts?

we’ve done so many times, never an issue. this topic came up recently as we have a friend who’s afraid to even leave the croc pot on if she runs out for a short time, never even phased either of us…

Funny, but I was thinking I would be uncomfortable leaving the oven on while away, then remembered how many times the crock pot was on all day while we were at work. We worried the liquid would cook off in the crock pot and burn the food. If the pork is in a pan to keep any fat/grease from dripping on a heating element, it should be no problem.

You do have a sprinkler system in the house don’t you?

Never have understood this… if you think there’s a chance of it catching fire etc, why would you rather be inside the house and thus a potential victim?

This is a basically irrational fear - we put thousands of hours on an oven, sometimes for long hours at a time. OUr presence in the house does zilch to make the oven behave differently. To think otherwise is magical thinking, not a rational deduction.

Bingo:

This is what insurance is for…right?

How long have you been married?

My dentists house was almost a total loss when an element broke and caused a fire.

I do run to the market without worrying about the oven on but would never do so with something on the burners. I have several times, one recently, did so when I was IN THE HOUSE and just threw out the pot and the residue.

Do you have fire extinguishers if there is a fire when you are there?..cause if not…that would be pointless.

Ron,

Aside from the issue of whether you have a fire extinguisher I think of the burners differently - it’s very possible to have the thing you’re cooking on a burner evaporate any liquid and then you’re applying direct heat to somethng that, given time, will be dry. Might just turn into ash, might catch fire… so I can see not going away for hours with something on the stovetop. But in the oven? meh. The risk is amazingly slight and, well, see above. I’d rather have the house burn down without me in it.

Pulled pork? The alimony is worth it.

Especially if it is a gas oven, I would not worry about it. I mean, if you have a gas heater, it is on when you are not at home, no?
I would actually be more worried about the inexpensive electrical appliances (e.g. the crock pot). I have known more than one person whose houses burned down due to electrical appliance failure. One was a coffee pot that was not even in use, the other was an electric alarm clock, which everyone obviously leaves plugged in continuously.

As as matter of fact, I put a pastrami in the oven to steam today while I went out and caught Dehli 2 Dublin’s set at the Ananda Mela festival in Redmond. Great set of music, and delicious pastrami when I returned.

Now, if you want to talk about a fear of leaving the iron on . . . .

Tell your personal chef to watch the oven.

Must be nice to be rich.

Seriously, WTF?

Jorge, watch your next meals carefully.

On a serious note, I often do leave my oven on overnight, around 250F, when slow-roasting meats (food, not pet). No issues or worries.