Recommendations for Slow Cookers please

millie

I bought one at a car boot sale today a tower compact, not very big but there are only 2 of us and it will help me make my mind up if I want to invest in a better one, as it only cost £2. If it ends up in the back of the cupboard I have not lost much.

tiff

Thats a bargain, hope you enjoy using it Millie. I did a whole chicken in mine today, while we were out putting up our tent for the first time. I dont know how the original ones ended up in the back of a cupboard, because I cant leave mine alone! Almost like a new man eh? LOL

filigree_2

I have to be Mrs Awkward, don't I?

I read all the recommendations and cogitated, I measured my existing casserole (seems huge to me and it's only 3 litres), stared at joints of meat in Sainsbury's and contemplated cooking them in oven vs. slow cooker. Realised I don't cook large joints of meat!

I compromised on the Anthony Worrall Thompson model from Argos for £29.99, which is 4.5 litres. It's oval which makes it more practical for smaller joints or birds, and it seemed to have a better spec than the really cheapo 3.5 litre models.

Got it home and it's HUGE! I think I would really struggle to find anywhere to store a bigger machine, as it is I'm going to have to stuff Anthony in the airing cupboard.

I got four poussins for £1.04 in Sainsbury's BOGOFs today, along with loads of cheap veggies so it's casserole ahoy tomorrow! We should be eating lots more healthy pulses soon, now I don't have the chore of watching a simmering pan for hours.

MrsMW

I have the Anthony Horrible Thompson one and I find that even on "low" it cooks much quicker than my old one did, but I like the size, I cooked a turkey in it at the weekend. I find the "auto" setting OK for doing cheaper cuts of meat. My old one was a Russell Hobbs, I bought it 18 years ago at a car boot sale and it has now been donated to my son.

kazd

Just checked my rpoints and the points have been added for the slow cooker, although will not be awarded until May, so will see if they get rejected in the meantime.

Ticklemouse

kazd - lucky you if you get to keep them. Maybe they think that if they say they won't give them, people won't order via them - though I don't know how this will work from a business point of view. Keep us informed.

foreverskint

must to report on my moneysaving bargainI ordered a hinari slo-cooker from empire using the voucher code from the on-line discount forum. It was a 1.5L one but only cost 4.99 after the £10.00 voucher was taken off. But the real bargain was that they didn't have the 1.5 litre instock so they sent me a 3.5l with auto function for the same price.:j

have just cooked my first rice pud in it for afters and it seems to work fine for a cheapie.

on the plus side I also got a free jacket from them, not that great but will serve a purpose.

go get em :j

skylight

Bought mine today!

Got a 6.5l one for 29.99 from index. Okay, not the cheapest one available, but its an oval Swan. I did try price checking them all out on the web - the 6.5 Morphy Richards I couldn't get anywhere (Argos upped their price on it!!), so settled for this one! Am checking out the recipe pages now!!!

I am sooooooo excited!!

millie

I tried out the slow cooker that I got from the car boot sale today. As it is obviously quite old and only has one setting, was it slow, the casserole I put on was still not cooked completely in 9 hours, but I think I probably overloaded it with veg because after I had eaten some, the liquid looked as though it was simmering better. I have decided that I need one with more settings, so I will have to look out for one.

Ticklemouse

Millie, the working capacity of a slo-cooker is only about 2/3rds of its total capacity ie the 6.5L ones have a working capacity of 4.5L. I also had problems when I crammed my Tower 4.4 PINT cooker to the brim with a veggie/beef curry, because the liquid can't get to all the veggies and it's not half hard to stir when every time the spoon goes in, a piece of veg flies out. That's why I went for (another) really big one.