Buying a slow cooker (which? & why?)

daffodiltulip

I bought one a year or two ago that had a split dish,one slightly larger than the other. I tried it one evening and the chicken portions were cooked in about an hour!! I didn't dare use it for the purpose I bought it for, that of leaving it on all day, so had to give it away.

daffodiltulip

You would also have to consider the late night or early morning prep work and the likelihood that you may still have to tip it into another pan to reduce any excessive liquids.

wouldbeqaulitymoneysaver

I can put my container in the oven and microwave. That in itself is worth paying extra for.
I plan to graduate to a cooker I can fry in. A little spending in this department will pay you back in long ru.

Living_proof

Has anyone tried one of the very substantial looking Lakeland ones? I saw them yesterday and drooled, but they are jolly expensive and I am happy with the one I have at present. I would just like to know whether anyone considers them worth the extra.

Chickenopolis

We have have a small Arg** value slow cooker which is great for the two of us. I like them so much got my Mum and my sister one when they were about £6.99 and I got another one for us as a "spare" .

I know that I would "trust" it enough to leave it on a low setting all day or on high if food gooes in at lunctime to be ready for supper.

wouldbeqaulitymoneysaver

You can do more with a £60 one. I plan to get the Crock Pot Saute 5.7Litre. I will be able to fry in it for first time as well as shove it in microwave and oven. In this case more is definitely less and spending less would be a false economy.

I_luv_cats

mustmakealist wrote: »

Well I got one from Tesco today £9.00 http://direct.tesco.com/q/R.100-2168.aspx

I thought that this was too good a bargain to overlook. I also got one for my sister for Christmas and with a handblender for my daughter as well I was able to use £10 of my tesco vouchers.

Al I have to do now is find a few recipes and see what happens.

I have an Argos £4.69 one (last year sale, now £13.49) and a £9 Tesco one - they both work well. TBH there's not much to them to go wrong. Both have multiple heat settings, the Tesco one has a mains indicator.

louisa_

My first cheap little slow cooker died a couple of months ago and I'm really missing it - such a bad time of year for it to break!

I want to get a new one but am keen to get one that'll last.

My last one was about 3ltr but I'd prefer a bigger one this time - 5ltr or 6ltr ish. I'd want high/low settings but am not that bothered about a timer or anything fancy like that.

Anyone got any recommendations? What have you got?

HappyMJ

I have a cheap Asda one. As you say it's a bit small but fine for 2 good sized meals but just fits 4 small portions. So also have a larger Russell Hobs one for when I need a bigger one. It was on freecycle and quite a few years old and no glass lid which is kind of annoying but it has low and high settings.

mummyjane

I have a 6lt Russell Hobbs one. It is fantastic but I find I use it less than I did my previous 3 ltr one! I am going to try and bulk cook/freeze which hopefully will mean it gets used more. On the plus side, with a larger one you can easily cook a whole chicken/joint. Unless you are going to cook huge amounts regularly I would opt for a 4lt one as it would easily cook joints/portions enough for 4-6 people at least.