Crockpot Help...

I would like to buy a crockpot but have no idea what kind or the features it should have.  Can anyone help steer me in the right direction?

What brands should I look for?
All help appreciated.

Susan G.

I have the kind that  has 4 different settings and will turn on and off to accomodate the temp of it. I really like it. I think it is the Crock Pot brand but there are several brands out there to choose from. I would go and read the features and pick what suits you best. I needed a BIG one cause of my family size but here are all sizes and features.

I have tried many crock pots and my favorite is the $20 crockpot from Walmart.  It is digital and you can set it for as long as you like and once it is done cooking it goes to warm to keep your food warm, but not overcook.  It has warm, low and high settings.  It is stainless steel with a black removeable insert.  The only feature I wi**** had that it doesn't is a spillproof lid. 

My suggestion would be to find the size that is right for your situation.  I am very happy with ours, it has an electronic control that lets you set the length of cooking time and the high/low/keep warm setting.  I am very happy with it.  If you don't care about the bells and whistles, you can save some money and get one with a off/low/high switch.


here is a link for America's Test Kitchen (It is free, you just have to register you email address), from an episode earlier this year.  They also have some great recipes on the site (the white chicken chili is wonderful)

My wife and I love crock pot meals, they really tend to settle well.

Jim

don't you just love america's test kitchen and cooks illustrated?

i'm glad to see someone else who appreciates christopher kimball's approach to food.

sal

I grew up in a town not too far from where Christopher lives and writes about in his column, so I always find the people he writes about interesting.

Jim

Susan, since I've been "crock-potting", my last one is my favourite!!  Like the others have posted, it has 2 settings for low and high, plus a warm setting for when the time is up.   A removeable liner is best to wa**** up!! and a lid that is fairly heavy so not a lot of steam escapes during the cooking process, because that is important, not to lift the lid at all during the cooking.  I wanted one large enough too to handle turkey breasts, and a large roast, as well as large quantities of chili or soup.    Good luck in your selection....Patti K.

I just bought one at Target for $39.99... it's programable and EASY to use. Hamilton Beach Set'n Forget. It comes with a meat probe for roasts, cooks at high and low temps and it can be easily programmed to warm after cooking or programmed to shut off.

I've cooked Shrimp Gumbo from Real Simple and a Corned Beef and Cabbage with other veggies which was the bomb as well! I'm going to cook a pork roast from the Ocean Spray website next!

LOVE LOVE LOVE my slow cooker! And I thought it was sorta gooberish to get one but then I saw Williams-Sonoma selling one for $150 by All-Clad and Dr. Weil has one as well as Calphalon. So, it's hip once again and VERY healthy dishes can be prepared while we're working!

Kim

I really important factor that I didn't even think of when I bought my crock-pot is the timer.......I wish mine had a timer!!!!!

I have two crock pots, one is the traditional types, sort of tall doesn't come apart for cleaning. But my favorite one is a 6qt, it comes apart, can be used stove top, microwave, and in the oven. The best feature is that it is LONG OVAL. It can hold to whole chickens.