I'd like to buy a slow cooker - any recommendations?

[foxfox]

Can anyone recommend their make of slow cooker? Will a £20 Argos one do the job, or should I be spending £70, £80, £90 +?

Are their any features I should look out for?

Thanks!

[dreamingofsun]

both my slow cookers have been around the 20 mark and the first one lasted for about 30 years. so i'd go cheap. then if you hate it, it doesnt matter. for a family of 5 the 3.5 litre one has worked well for us. you need a removable bowl and a high/low setting.

you will need to cook in a slightly different way - use very little liquid

[Gileswithachainsaw]

I have a sear and stew which has a metal inner dish which you can use on the hob

It's a morph Richard's

[sashh]

I have only ever had cheap ones and I've been using them for 30+ years.

[octopusrus]

Def recommend the Sear & Stew as well - the inner dish is metal rather than ceramic so it's miles lighter and easier to clean etc. It's handy to be able to brown the meat first if the recipe calls for it instead of using a separate pan.
I used to have a normal ceramic one but I broke the pot - I much prefer this one!

[Fluffycloudland77]

How about a pressure cooker instead?.

[dreamingofsun]

browning meat for a slow cooker is really not nec....only for sausages which look a bit like willies if you dont

[redexpat]

I have a crock pot. Before that I had a sainsburys one. It was better than the crock pot.

[NeverUseThisName]

Mine is a Crockpot with a time mer and high-low-keepwarm settings. I use them all and would get the same functionality again, were I to replace it.

It's oval, which is very convenient for countertop space, and also means I can fit a whole chicken into it.

The one downside is the ceramic pot. It's stovetop-safe (I can sear food in it, but never do) and oven-safe, and looks good enough to put on the table for dishing-up. But grains stick badly to it and the glaze is breaking down where food has stuck. It is also extremely heavy to wash. So I don't like this particular pot.

If I ever replace my slow-cooker, I would like one with a programmable timer. So I could, say, programme it to switch on in 2h, cook on high for 1h and then on low for 5h. But TBH you don't need that

[OnlyTheDepthVaries]

Another recommendation for the Morphy Richards Sear and Stew. I have the 6.5 litre one and it is huge. There is a smaller version. I bought it new about 3 weeks ago via eBay for only £24....Billy bargain!

[octopusrus]

Half price in Argos at the mo! £19.99!

link

[nong45]

On the other end of the price spectrum I had the Sage Fast Slo Pro for Christmas and it is the shit. It sears, slow cooks, pressure cooks and keep warm function. We can have a proper risotto ready in about 15 mins! £160 tho

[shadesofwinter]

I've just ordered the Morphy Richards sear & stew on the basis of recommendations here and a glowing Which review

I've bought the digital one which will be useful for the timer & keep warm functions, which my current, very basic, slow cooker doesn't have.

[foxfox]

Thanks all for your recommendations! I'd not thought of the bonus of searing the meat in the one pot, and after your glowing reviews I've decided to go with the sear and stew. I'm excited to get going with it! Fingers crossed I don't get bored and shove it to the back of the cupboard after a few weeks...