Good brand of crock pot?

[Sunset]

I have an Instant Pot.
I bought a glass lid for it cost around $7 , not the official one but works great.

I use once in a while as a slow cooker, and threw out our giant slow cooker.

 

[pacergal]

I have an Instant Pot.
I bought a glass lid for it cost around $7 , not the official one but works great.

I use once in a while as a slow cooker, and threw out our giant slow cooker.

Same here. My IP has a "slow cook" button, that I can set on low or high just like my 30 yr old crockpot, so it does not pressurize. My glass lid has a vent hole also. Works well.

 

[T-Minus]

Our decade+ old Costco-purchased Crock Pot brand slow cooker is still working fine. However, I've bought a few newer kitchen gadgets and find the reviews on America's Test Kitchen to be pretty useful:

https://www.americastestkitchen.com...est-slow-cookers-top-rated-brands-what-to-buy

What with timers, alarms, heating patterns and accuracy...there's more to think about than I had realized. Sometimes ignorance is bliss, and our veggie crock pot chili is a perfect cold-weather complement...with no technology beyond a simple off/low/high rotary dial.

 

[walkinwood]

Yeah, I get that, but I'm talking about cooking stuff like a meat stew in an old-fashioned low temp crockpot. They changed the minimum temp with newer crackpots for a reason and I was wondering if it was because people got sick with older crackpots or it was just the change new in guidelines.

At 165F, bacteria are killed instantly. At lower temps, you need to maintain the temp for longer. See this link for poultry. The link on the page to the USDA site is broken.


https://www.seriouseats.com/the-food-lab-complete-guide-to-sous-vide-chicken-breast

Obviously - I'm no expert. Use this information at your own risk.

 

[fosterscik]

We haven't owned one for while now, but if I was in the market I'd get whatever wire cutter recommends: The Hamilton Beach Set & Forget 6 Quart Programmable Slow Cooker
https://www.nytimes.com/wirecutter/reviews/best-slow-cooker/
I use wire cutter a lot and feel they've pointed me toward some great products.

 

[ncbill]

Yeah, I get that, but I'm talking about cooking stuff like a meat stew in an old-fashioned low temp crockpot. They changed the minimum temp with newer crackpots for a reason and I was wondering if it was because people got sick with older crackpots or it was just the change new in guidelines.

As walkinwood noted, it's time plus temperature that counts.

Any recipe with meat in it is cooking 8-10 hours on low in my older crockpot.

 

[Scuba]

As walkinwood noted, it's time plus temperature that counts.



Any recipe with meat in it is cooking 8-10 hours on low in my older crockpot.

I think the only thing I use my crock pot for is dips for a party. All of the meat in the dips is cooked before it goes in. It is a pretty convenient way to bring something like Chile con queso, Buffalo chicken dip, or meatballs to a party.

 

[swakyaby]

We haven't owned one for while now, but if I was in the market I'd get whatever wire cutter recommends: The Hamilton Beach Set & Forget 6 Quart Programmable Slow Cooker
https://www.nytimes.com/wirecutter/reviews/best-slow-cooker/
I use wire cutter a lot and feel they've pointed me toward some great products.

This one does sound like a pretty good one. Ceramic interior, 6-quart, programmable, built-in temperature probe.

 

[Morgan22]

We haven't owned one for while now, but if I was in the market I'd get whatever wire cutter recommends: The Hamilton Beach Set & Forget 6 Quart Programmable Slow Cooker
https://www.nytimes.com/wirecutter/reviews/best-slow-cooker/
I use wire cutter a lot and feel they've pointed me toward some great products.

This is the one we had also. Worked great for us. Passed it down to our son. SIL has had one for years also.

 

[Jerry1]

We haven't owned one for while now, but if I was in the market I'd get whatever wire cutter recommends: The Hamilton Beach Set & Forget 6 Quart Programmable Slow Cooker
https://www.nytimes.com/wirecutter/reviews/best-slow-cooker/
I use wire cutter a lot and feel they've pointed me toward some great products.

This is the one we had also. Worked great for us. Passed it down to our son. SIL has had one for years also.

Same here. That's the one we own. We like it.

 

[Turbo29]

As you like. As an engineer its not clear to me why a "crock" and a stainless bowl would cook any differently. Crock will heat more more slowly and cool more slowly, but I don't think the food cares.

At any given temperature a shiny stainless steel insert will radiate less heat from it's exposed surfaces on to any part of the food not immersed in liquid than a crock will.

This will result in different cooking results for any food not completely immersed in liquid.

 

[lauradrops]

Same here. That's the one we own. We like it.

Forget 6 Quart Programmable Slow Cooker
https://www.nytimes.com/wirecutter/r...t-slow-cooker/


Same one here too, have it a long time and happy with it.

 

[OldShooter]

As walkinwood noted, it's time plus temperature that counts. ...

Yes. With longer times, temperature can be lower and the food completely safe. There are lots of sous vide charts around the internet that show temperatures and consequent minimum times. Example: https://sousvidesupreme.com/pages/cooking-guides

At any given temperature a shiny stainless steel insert will radiate less heat from it's exposed surfaces on to any part of the food not immersed in liquid than a crock will. ...

True enough, but in a pot situation, heat transfer is by conduction not by radiation. Heat transfer can be directly into the food or via intervening air or via intervening liquid by conduction from the heated vessel.

We have a fancy microwave that offers baking options using radiation from halogen bulbs but that is an entirely different mechanism than what happens in a slow cooking pot.

I also have a garage heater that is basically a 20 foot u-shaped tube with a gas fire at one end. The heated air flows through the tube and results in infrared radiation which warms whatever it hits. Since that heat transfer is by radiation the IR does not heat the garage air.

 

[ERD50]

At any given temperature a shiny stainless steel insert will radiate less heat from it's exposed surfaces on to any part of the food not immersed in liquid than a crock will.

This will result in different cooking results for any food not completely immersed in liquid.

I'd bet that radiation plays almost no role in the heat transfer. Seems to me it would be almost all by conduction. OK, the food not immersed in the liquid may be picking up some by radiation, but I'd still bet that convection (heat rising and circulating off the liquid and parts in contact from below) and conduction through the parts in contact with the liquid and/or direct contact with the sides would be the vast majority of heat transfer.

If I get motivated, I might test this using an infrared thermometer, if I can figure a good test set-up.

-ERD50

 

[OldShooter]

... If I get motivated, I might test this using an infrared thermometer, if I can figure a good test set-up. ...

IMO a gedanken experiment is enough. If heating is by radiation then the air in the pot will be cooler than the food. If heating is by conduction then the air will be hotter.

 

[Turbo29]

Yes. With longer times, temperature can be lower and the food completely safe. There are lots of sous vide charts around the internet that show temperatures and consequent minimum times. Example: https://sousvidesupreme.com/pages/cooking-guides

Also a table on page 35 of this pdf from the USDA along with more than you would ever want to know about cooking and killing bacteria.

 

[OldShooter]

Also a table on page 35 of this pdf from the USDA along with more than you would ever want to know about cooking and killing bacteria.

Good job. I remembered that there was a USDA piece that I found when I was getting into Sous Vide, but I was too lazy to chase it down.

 

[audreyh1]

My wife is shopping around for a large crock pot. Any suggestions on which brand or make or model to buy?

Instant pot is way more versatile. We got rid of our crockpots. I don’t even use slow cooker mode as the pressure cooking gives better results in far less time and the ability to sautée items in the instant pot before cooking under pressure is so useful.

 

[ElizabethT]

I consider my crockpot a warhorse for days I want to set-and-forget. I have several excellent slow cooker cookbooks that I know can be trusted to deliver food with flavor, flavor being the one area slow cookers sometimes don’t deliver.

This weekend I’m making slow cooker chicken curry, which will simmer away while we’re at a musical event, ensuring we return to a fragrant and ready dinner.

To the OP’s original question: I’ve never paid more than $25 for a new crockpot, and never had one malfunction. I get tired of the design on occasion, the only reason I’ve ever replaced them.

 

[meleana]

I have 2 RIVALs for many years.

 

[RASAP]

When purchasing a croc pot be aware of this...

If you plan to turn it on for an 8 to 10 hour cook and plan to leave the house until close to dinner time, if the crock pot has an electronic control panel as opposed to the basic off/low/high switch, and the power glitches (brief off - on), the electronic control panel version will not turn back on whereas, the off/low/high switch version will keep on cookin. Don't ask me how I know this.

 

[BubbaChris]

My crockpot used to “spit” onto the kitchen counter. The moisture on the lid would move to the rim and the heat would force some air out of the combo.

I switched to my Instant Pot and that problem is gone and less cooking smell permeates our home.

Best regards,
Chris

 

[TB1960]

We have an All-Clad 7 qt. We love it; however, we probably only use it 4 or 5 times a year. And remember if your looking your not cooking!

 

[djdawson]

My wife did a lot of research a few years ago and chose the Hamilton Beach 6qt Programmable Right Size slow cooker, model 33642. It's got an oval crock insert and is adjustable for 2, 4, or 6 quart cooking. We also have an Instant Pot (which we love), but the slow cooker does a better job on some things, like making chicken broth from the remnants of a roast chicken, and my wife insists that one should really have both an Instant Pot and a slow cooker. That specific model seems to have been discontinued, but the previous recommendations of the model in the Wire Cutter review would be our current choice.

 

[kannon]

We have an IP and a Slow Cooker. Have not used the IP as a slow cooker. Interesting reviews on using an IP as a slow cooker.

One word of advice. The Slow Cooker is our second one. The first one we used for over 25 years with no problem. But eventually had to replace. The one thing I discovered is that the newer Slow Cooker does get hot, much more so than our original Slow Cooker. So for me that would be a key question on a new Slow Cooker.

Good luck and happy slow cooking.