I just received a very informative email on the subject from James R. Rummel and thought I'd share it with you:
So far as which crock to buy, you should read the comment left by htom [in this post --js]. A clear lid is important so you can check on the status of your stew without losing any heat. 5-7 quarts will hold enough stew to easily feed 4 big hungry guys. Cook up some egg noodles on the stove in a separate pot if you have more guests, and have them spoon stew over the noodles to stretch things.Think it's too big? Some crocks come with an extra earthenware insert that is divided into two compartments. Or you can just put a shallow layer into the big insert and make less stew. Be warned that cooking times will be much shorter if you don't fill the pot up all the way, though.
Cheap is okay for your first crock. It just applies heat while a timer is on, so anything fancy is kind of redundant.
But what I really want to talk to about is safety.
Most people just put the slow cooker on the counter. I did it myself, until I noticed that I was smelling something that was very similar to a soldering iron. (I have a very acute sense of smell.) The counter was made from a sheet of linoleum over a pine board surface. The heat was actually charring the boards!
I don't know how close I came to a fire, but it probably wasn't that close since most people use their crock on the counter without anything bad happening. I am not a guy who likes to take chances, though.
The way to avoid any problems is just to clear off the top of your oven and place the crock there. Ovens are, after all, big metal boxes designed to heat up to temps the slow cooker can't match. Nothing to burn, you know.
If the electric socket is too far for the cord to reach, just use an extension cord. I always use one of those orange heavy duty extension cords, but there is nothing wrong with a regular cord.
My crock is one of the greatest kitchen devices I ever purchased. Soups, stews, roasts, even barbecue brisket. Toss in the ingredients, set the timer, and go look up porn on the computer. Set the timer in the morning while leaving for work and walk in the door to a house that smells wonderful because there is a real, honest-to-Betsy home cooked meal waiting for you on the stove.
It saves money because I'm not eating fast food all the time, and I eat better for the same reason. And it really buoys up my rep as a great host when I have people over. Cheap and tough cuts of meat are tender as butter after being slow roasted for 12 hours, so I can get plenty of protein without paying those high prices for the prime cuts.
Cleaning is a breeze. The crock is a machine designed to apply heat over a long period of time, right? So just put soapy water in the crock and set the timer so it roasts off the mess at low heat for 4 hours. Dump out the water and all you have to do is rinse and wipe with a sponge.
Get a crock. You won't regret it as long as you use the thing.
James has a good point! I have always placed my crockpot on the stovetop. The last crockpot I got (a monster considering the family consists of 2 people) has a short cord, so I asked the Wonderful Spouse to get me something I could place the crockpot on if the stovetop wasn't available. He got me a marble slab (about 20 pounds worth) for Christmas, so I use that on the countertop.
Posted by: bogie at November 10, 2006 07:43 AMThis one is good -
The pot is separate - just sits on top, so you can wash it without worrying about the heating element.
You can set the pot on the stove, to speed things up.
It is a good size for spagetti, too.
Cook's Illustrated (America's Test Kitchen) rated it highly.
I suppose you could fry something on the teflon coated heating surface, but I never did.
Had one for years. No complaints.
I guess it's about time for another batch of chili and cornbread.
http://www.amazon.com/West-Bend-84755-5-Quart-Oblong/dp/B0002JA1K8/sr=1-1/qid=1163176095/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1/104-5749086-9695146?ie=UTF8&s=kitchen
Aubrey from the preceeding crockpot thread points out a recall on Rival Crockpots; mine broken one qualifies. :) Thanks to both of you.
I tend to use any heating appliance with a sturdy alumimum jellyroll pan under it, which gives the feet a flat place to rest and catches spills. I have noticed sometimes that that sheet gets warm, but that's all. Unintended heat distribution.
Posted by: htom at November 12, 2006 12:37 PMAs a side note, something else to consider:
The 6-7 quart crock is excellent, for a single guy it can do stew for a week. I've done up to a 5 lb turkey breast (you get them frozen, year-round.)
Yesterday I bought a 8 lb turkey breast, and no way could I get it in one piece into the 6 quart crock. So, Plan B: the 18 quart roaster.
Differences? First, it's 3 times bigger. Second, it draws 1350 watts, not 275. Third, you set a temperature in degrees, not "high" or "low." It's working towards being a second oven. The one I own (Rival) is on sale now at Target for $30.
It also comes with inserts for (3) 2 quart sub-trays... last weekend we had company over, and had two trays full of mulled wine (1.5 L bottle of Aussie wine, 1/4 C each sugar and brandy, 1 cinnamon stick, 3-5 allspice beans, 1-2 cloves, and some citrus peel (orange and lemon) ). I put an inch of water in the bottom for that "double boiler" effect. The third tray was mulled (nonalcaholic) apple cider with the same spices, no sugar or brandy. The 6 quart oval will do a gallon and a half of mulled cider (and you don't want to look at the price, or hangover from, a gallon and a half of mulled wine.)
Anyway, while I think of it as a larger "crock" it's really halfway to a second oven. But it has advantages:
It heats up much faster. My 6.5 (I think) quart crock draws 275 watts; my 1.5 quart draws 80 watts. The 1.5 qt was about ten bucks; we use it for mulled cider quite often in the fall. But they take time. The 6 quart will take 2 hours to bring 6 quarts of water to a boil. The big guy can do that in about half an hour.
It's bigger. Okay, that's not so good when you're a single guy, but it's just the two of us and we use it a fair amount. But sometimes a recipe just does not quite fit in the 6 quart crock. (caveat, I spent grad school in a house with 10 other people; I'm an expert at cooking for 20 and freezing meals, but cooking for two is a bit of a problem for me...) I also have a chest freezer in the basement, so leftovers are not a concern.
Anyway, just throwing it out there. Since it heats up faster than a crock, it should be decent for baking bread... I'm making bread this afternoon, and I decided to hold some back to cook in the roaster, on a timer so it doesn't turn on till 5:30 or so. This should give me fresh bread in the morning, something a crock just cannot do well (it heats up way too slowly.) Who knows? But I can't see buying a bread machine, and with this and my KitchenAid mixer, I may not ever want to.
Posted by: Dr_Mike at November 12, 2006 02:53 PMAfter all that, I owe you a recipe:
Take (1) 4-5 lb bone-in whole turkey breast. Thaw it however you like.
I make a brine of 1 can chicken stock, 1 T salt, 1/8 cup brown sugar, and 1/4 T each whole allspice and whole peppercorns. Soak the turkey breast in the brine for 6 hours. Yesterday, I did this by putting the frozen turkey breast in a ziplok baggie with the brine, sucking the air out, and putting it in a pot of cold water under the slowly running cold water tap in the sink, for 6 hours.
Throw in the crock pot with 1 C each of diced onion, celery and carrot, plus a head of garlic. Fresh herbs would be good here; I had some thyme in the fridge, and some parsley and rosemary in the garden (still alive on Long Island, your mileage may vary). Add 1 can of chicken broth, salt and pepper to taste. It takes ~ 5 hours on high, for a 4-5 lb breast in the 6 qt crock. The 18 quart roaster did an 8 lb breast (with all ingredients doubled) in about 2.5 hours. Turkey sandwiches this week.
Posted by: Dr_Mike at November 12, 2006 03:02 PMOK, the next day, just plugging the 18 qt roaster into a timer usually used for Christmas lights, I woke up to pretty decent piping hot bread. About 45 minutes at 350; with a little practice I can have things ready with my coffee... or better yet, time it to go with the second cup, when I'm awake enough to enjoy it. I just made bread sunday, saved 1/4 of the recipe (or a bit less than 2C of flour's worth) and threw it in a small pan sitting in the roaster.
It was not perfect, but it was certainly good enough to be worth trying again in the future.
Again, I doubt a true crock will work well at this, though I think I've seen crock pot bread recipes before. Hmm, I may have to experiment. I'll get back to you in a couple months.
Posted by: Dr_Mike at November 13, 2006 05:46 PMAll this talk of slow cookers got me to haul mine out and use it. So far I have made a couple batches of strew and a batch of chilli.
Been a while, but it is nice to come home to a ready meal. And freezing the rest, well I have 7 good sized servings of chilli in the freezer now, and one was dinner.
Maybe I'll use it more in the future. I still prefer pressure cookers for beans though. Lentil soup in a P.C. is hard to beat in winter when you are cooking from scratch.
Posted by: tomWright at November 14, 2006 07:12 PM