Slow cooker advice (urgent)

I have an old large Russell Hobbs with ceramic lift out inner. I'm veggie, so I mainly used it to cook large joints of beef for OH when on offer. Then sliced and frozen, with gravy, lots of handy meals.
There are various options here
www.robertdyas.co.uk/kitchen-electricals/small-appliances/small-cooking-appliances/slow-cookers

Meat cooked in a slow cooker is delicious. My favourite s/c recipe is diced beef tossed in seasoned flour (season with mustard powder and black pepper) then seared in oil. Put the meat in the cooker with sliced onions and a couple of chopped carrots. Deglaze the pan with a bottle of strong flavoured ale or stout, pour it over the meat and cook on low for 8 hours or on med/high for less time. You can thicken it after cooking with a bit of Bisto or cornflour in water if necessary, and if it needs more flavour add in a bit of horseradish sauce.

I hardly ever make it these days, as my husband is vegetarian, but it's my standard dish when my son comes home, with cheesy mash and peas.

Slow cookers are better for meat than veg; but if anyone has tried and tested veggie recipes for a slow cooker, I'd love to see them, please.

My slow cooker is about 40 years old. I inherited it from my aunt. I am not sure what make it is and the controls are minimal and there is a chip in the lid. But it does what is says on the tin. It cooks food slowly and makes the meat deliciously melt-in-the-mouth, so I will continue to use it until it stops working.

We are on our second slow cooker and it is a CrockPot, it is much better than the previous one. I agree a keep warm function is very useful. If you can afford it look at multi cookers which have more functions than just a slow cooker, including air frying.

JaneJudge

this looks interesting! and half price too

if it had metal pots i would jump at it

Another vote for the Ninja Foodi, does so much more that a slow cooker, he will love you forever if you get him that! ?

I have a Kitchenaid one. A bit more expensive, but I’ve had it for several years and use it a few times a week. It has several pre set programmes - low and high slow cook, simmer, boil, and sear. You can also set for things like soup and risotto. But I love the fact that you can sear meat in it before slow roasting or braising, and there’s an independent temperature setting, so very controllable.

Just to digress a bit, has he thought about a pressure cooker ? Mine gave out a couple of weeks ago and I was looking in the Black Friday sales for a replacement. Came across the ‘Kuhn Rikon’ website and plumped for something called a Duromatic Inox pressure cooker, and I’m really impressed. They’re a Swiss company and the quality is superb, but what really surprised me is how different the principle is - no more messing with jiggles and loud steamy cooking. You just put your ingredients in and heat until the button at the top pops up to show a red line on the steel rod beneath. Keep the pan on the same heat level and a second red line appears - you use these two pressure levels according to the food you’re cooking. The heat controls the pressure - when the desired pressure is reached you turn down the heat to keep the red line/s in view and it’s virtually silent.

De-pressurising is easy too - just take it off the heat for five minutes and then press the button at the top to release the pressure. I’ve been dying to tell people about this, as you can probably tell !!

I have just purchased Ninja 9 in 1 and I love it, so versatile. I have yet to try the slow cooker setting and I have an Aga. I use the Ninja most nights.

I have just a small (compact one). Ideal for me as it does two good sized portions - so,either me and someone else for meal, or just for me for two days.

I used to go along the lines of following the recipe to the letter, and using a large frying pan (or wok) to sear the meat, and do onions, etc prior to putting into this. Then I watched my daughter who just placed everything in her slow cooker straight from fridge, etc and all cooked perfectly. So that is what I do now and cannot discerne any difference in flavour at end.
The one my daughter had I originally purchased in a Sainsbury's sale about ten years ago, and found it not to my liking, so gave it to her and she does wonderful meals in it. I was inspired to purchase for myself the small compact one, and it is great in the winter months.

A Crock pot is a good one too I use the slow cooker liners with mine.

I have one from Aldi, works very well, if you want one that browns before slow cooking, then Morphy Richards do a good one, bought for my son. A one pot does even more, but more expensive.

I’ve got two. One is a basic Morphy Richards one which I also bought both daughters and they use them all the time. The other is from Aldi and their own make with a ceramic inner pot. Either of these are not too big. Also, your son could freeze leftovers for another day in the week.

this looks interesting! and half price too

Petera

There is one problem I had, that I don't know exactly how to solve, but I guess to look at the wattage. We had one for years that was fantastic and it eventually died. We bought a new one which turned out to not be slow enough (still have it). It seemed to handle most things in 5-6 hours which was hopeless if you want to put it on as you go out to work. We had a lot of dried up meals.

I have two like that, a small one and a large one. They are OK for us because I don't go out all day, but not for someone who wants to leave on while they are at work.
I think they Cookworks, or something like that- a cheap brand from Argos. Best avoided by the OP, I think, unless her son works from home.

U have one where the inner is metal. This means you can brown meat on the hob if so desired and also reduce the sauce if it is not thick enough. It does not have a keep warm setting which I would like.

Many thanks for your quick replies?

I think that in this case, size does matter .

Whereas it is true that you can't cook more portions in a small one, you will spoil small portions in a large one, as the cooker should be at least a third full to cook properly.

I have two - a large one that I've had since the dawn of time and was great when the children were at home, and this one which I would recommend for your son, as it is fairly small, and you can fry off onions and sear meat in it before slow cooking. My old one won't do that, so I have to use a separate pan, which is not the end of the world but is a bit more faff and creates more washing up.

I second the idea of an Instant Pot, though. They are really versatile, and Costco has them on special offer just now.

There is one problem I had, that I don't know exactly how to solve, but I guess to look at the wattage. We had one for years that was fantastic and it eventually died. We bought a new one which turned out to not be slow enough (still have it). It seemed to handle most things in 5-6 hours which was hopeless if you want to put it on as you go out to work. We had a lot of dried up meals.

I’d go along with those who say don’t get one that’s too small - 3.5 litres is ideal. I bought mine from Tesco ages ago and wouldn’t be without it, especially in the winter. Don’t be tempted to do what my DD did and get one with a pot that has two compartments! It seemed like a good idea at the time but is absolutely useless.

I love my slow cooker. It is a Russell Hobbs 3.5 litres, £25 on Amazon at the moment. I wouldn’t be without it. Very simple to use with great results. Ideal for a single, working person, coming into a healthy meal after a busy day. ?

I have a 2 litre slow cooker. it will comfortably cook a stew/casserole containing a pound of meat and lots and lots of vegetables.

Mine was from Aldi; big enough for 4 servings at least. I think it was around £14 or so? I don't use it a lot but when I make the effort, I'm always pleased with the results. Make sure that you get one where the inner pot can be put in a dishwasher.

I’d say 3.5 litre is a decent size for up to 4 people. It’s what I have, it’s fine when I’m cooking for just the 2 of us and easily holds enough for more. It and the Ninja are the most used things in our kitchen nowadays.

We've got this one:

www.wilko.com/en-uk/wilko-slow-cooker-35l/p/0468516

I think they do a larger size, but we find this is perfect for the two of us and easily fits enough food for a couple of dinners each.

Ridiculously cheap, but very good! If I ever needed to use a timer, I would just plug it into a separate timer.

I have a cheap one from Sainsburys and am very happy with it. It is large, though not sure exact size. Small ones are really not worth buying. You can always cook a bit less in a large one if need be.
I would not recommend an Instant Pot if it is mainly for slow cooking as it is not so good at that. I would still recommend the Instant Pot though as it is so useful altogether. I use the pressure cook facility rather than slow cooking. I use the airfry facility a lot which cuts down on costs in using the main oven. I cook most meat, fish, roast potatoes and chips in it.