Recommendations for Slow Cookers please

Zabl

Hi, I'm new to this board, so be gentle with me!

I know you guys all rave about slow cookers, and am off to uni in sept, to live in v.small studio with even smaller kitchen!
Am thinking of investing in a slow cooker, just would like some recommendations please??

Thanks in advance :T

marybishop

Having read all your messages with great interest I'm teetering on the brink of investing in a slow cooker. Sorry to be dense here but still trying to fathom out if cooking in a slow cooker for say 5 hours is going to work out cheaper than cooking a casserole in the oven (fan assisted) on a low setting for 2-3 hours - can you help? Also which size to get for a family of 4 - just thinking of the size of the thing (I have a redundant breadmaker sitting on the worktop which OH says was a complete waste of time - hate to think what he'll say if I invest in another bit of kit!!

Thanks for all the useful comments so far.

Pink.

Hi Zabl,

Welcome to Old Style.

I have merged your thread into this current one. All posts are listed in date order so if you read from the first page you should get ideas of which slow cookers other Old Stylers recommend. Also if you look in our Complete slow cooker collection you'll find more threads that might help.

Pink

Pink.

Hi marybishop,

I think this older thread may help: Question about slow cookers

For a family I would buy the biggest you can afford/have room for. You won't regret it.......There are five of us and I use mine at least twice a week.

Pink

marybishop

Pink-winged - thanks for the info. Didn't get your message til after I'd been shopping this pm. Went into Robert Dyas who had some good offers on SC's. I actually went for the Breville 4.5 ltr at 19.99 but they also had a MR down from 34.99 to 24.99 (maybe should have gone for that but it just seemed a bit big - hope I don't regret this!) and also the Paul Rankin one with I think £20 off (thought might be paying for the name - who makes it anyway?). Can't wait to try it out now - just going to get some recipes from the collection and then off to get the ingredients.

bargainqueen_2

Quick quessie while we are on the topic... When you make a chicken in it, do you put liquid (like stock) just in the bottom? And doesn't the chicken go all soggy and the skin wobbles round the place? Or am I just being dense? I love using my sc for curries, casseroles, soups etc but never could work out how to make a whole chicken in it?

Horasio

I am totally new to slow cookers and want to ask the following questions before I buy one

Does it use a lot of electricity being on so long?
compared to using the oven on low?

How does it compare to using the microwave on the lowest setting in a pot?

Do you have to preboil things before you put it in the SC or is putting it on high hot enough to boil things then turn to a simmer to cook on?

I hope I don't appear too dim but I am a SC virgin:D

Horasio

I have read all I can about slow cookers on here and it has answered a couple of my questions - I was looking for confirmation.

Can anyone answer my questions about microwaves v slow cookers

???

shammyjack

I recommed an old slow cooker ( try a car boot or charity shop but don't pay more than a tenner ! ).

The reason being new models on high setting use more power but much less than a microwave.

An old slow cooker on low setting uses about 60 watts or the same as a small light bulb. To acheive good results on low you should be looking for 6 - 8 hours minium cooking time. On high you can cut this time down but I allways recommend bringing potatoes or root vegatables to the boil in a pan first before putting in the slow cooker, also brown your meat in a hot frying pan first to seal it .

A good example is a 3lb Brisket joint which will be ultra tender and fall apart after 8 hours .


shammy

Horasio

Thank you - your answer has been most helpful:)