Best Crockpot

[lunaria]

I was wondering if anyone could recommend a GOOD crockpot. I had the old school Rival from the 80's that cooked great! It finally died a few months ago and had to be replaced. I bought another Rival... thinking I could't go wrong. WELL, this sucker is over cooking my meals! I mean actually boiling the liquid on the lowest setting. My Pot Roast (that I usually put on at 10 and is done at 5-6) was done at 2.... only 4 hours. Had I not been home, it would have been beef jerkey by the time I got home. Any suggestions??? Thanks Ladies

Jen

[Red'sGirl]

Great question. I have one that cooks really fast, too. Has ruined a few meals now, because it cooks before I can get home. Hello? It's a SLOW cooker.

[LeslieR]

I have a Rival that cooks really fast, too. I have heard the Crock Pot brand crock pot is the best.

[Adaya]

Originally Posted by Red'sGirl

Great question. I have one that cooks really fast, too. Has ruined a few meals now, because it cooks before I can get home. Hello? It's a SLOW cooker.

We must have the same crock pot. I've gotten used to it now and have just adjusted the time. Took some getting used to though.

[BethIrish]

I thought I read somewhere that the "newer" crockpots all cook much hotter/faster than the old ones.

[lunaria]

Sigh.... I am thinking of ordering one of the older ones from Ebay. It will be used and cost more in shipping than its worth but they work so well. Maybe I should try Goodwill or something. They are not the most attractive things but my Pot Roast comes out nice

[mmm0708]

Some of the newer crock pots have a keep warm feature, in addition to low, and a timer. Once the timer is done, the setting changes over to keep warm, to keep warm but not over-cook. I bought one recently.. but I only use a crock pot when I have parties.. so I can't comment on how it cooks yet. A friend recommended it.

[Hello Kitty]

Originally Posted by BethIrish

I thought I read somewhere that the "newer" crockpots all cook much hotter/faster than the old ones.

Yes, this is absolutely true. I've read that the new 'warm' setting is the old low, so that might be worth a try. Another option is to get an appliance timer to turn the pot on when you're not home and turn off 4 hours later or whatever.

The only time I use my crockpot is when one of us is home during the day to put it in and turn it on. So much for fix it and forget it.

[Adaya]

Originally Posted by mmm0708

Some of the newer crock pots have a keep warm feature, in addition to low, and a timer. Once the timer is done, the setting changes over to keep warm, to keep warm

That sounds like the one I have and I'm pretty sure it's a Rival. Now that I've gotten used to it, I use it quite often.

I do have an older, smaller one that I use for parties because the one I use regularly is huge.

[Ohana]

I had heard that new crockpots cook hotter and faster, too. Also, I've read that the crock itself should be filled something like 2/3 full for optimal cooking. If your roast didn't fill up the crock all the way, it would cook a lot faster.

I have the Hamilton 3 in 1 crockpot, and since I can use different inserts and don't have to cook a half full crock, I think I get pretty good results. The big downside to this crock, though, is that you cannot set it to cook for a certain amount of time and then automatically switch to low. It is either on or off. I can't cook chicken in it on weekdays because of that. The other downside is that the inserts are very bowl shaped, so I haven't figured out how to make things like layered casseroles and stuffed peppers.