A request for those who live their slow cooker.

[Aparecium]

Dh knows how much I like the slow cooker, so he was very apologetic just now when he told me he'd accidentally broken the lid of the pot.

What he doesn't realise is that this is good news, because I've been wanting to replace it for a while. 😄

Current model is a very large, oval Crockpot, with Low/High/Keep Warm and a timer that switches to KW. It's relatively basic and makes lovely food.

Any recommendations?

Title was meant to say love, but live will do.

Sounds like I have the same as you. It does the job and, if it ever breaks, I'll buy the same or similar again.

I have one with a metal pot which I can fry in on the hob. I have gone off slow cooker at the moment though the meat always loses it's taste by the time I'm home from work

Have a look at a Cosori pressure cooker. It has a slow cooking function too, but means you can also make a tender stew in 30 mins. Any recipes for an Instapot work. Lots on you tube

I’ve had a few slow cookers and tbh I haven’t found much difference between the cheapest ones and the most expensive ones.
The one I currently have is a Crokpot. The previous one was from Lidl own brand and both are as good as each other

I’d recommend an Instant Pot. They have both slow cooker and pressure cooker function (and several other functions) and we find that particularly good e.g. for starting off stews and pot roasts using things like brisket and other long-cooking cuts of meat to cut off a couple of hours’ cooking time in pressure mode, and then switching to slow cooker mode to finish off / add vegetables and potatoes which cook too quickly under pressure.

I'm tempted by an Instapot. I have a pressure cooker that I use less often than the slow cooker, so I could get rid of it. Is the Instapot as flexible as an old-fashioned pressure cooker? I hate the way all our new white goods have specific 'programs', rather let you choose individual settings. Especially when these programs are designed to work with specific recipes, rather than your own food (or laundry, or whatever) preferences.

The Cosori is definitely adjustable within programmes, lots of demos on you tube

I have my eye on an over priced Laura Ashley one but that’s just because it looks pretty.

why does my meat in a slow cooker always have a horrible texture? I slow cook in a le creuset in the oven for 5-6 hours and it’s delicious. I’d like to use a slow cooker but the texture is always horrible?

I was secretly pleased when DP did his usual trick of breaking stuff when he put the hot crock into cold water.

I got the Ninja 15 in 1, as that meant I'd have a fully programmable pressure cooker, complete with venting, along with slow cooker and everything else - and importantly, a metal pot. OK, so he'll probably use metal implements on it and scratch the thing, not wash it up until there's stuff baked onto the sides, etc, but it's replaceable in a way that a standard SC crock isn't.

In a similar situation I went for a multicooker. If choosing again I'd do exactly the same, if the budget allows. And would look for one where you could buy a new inner every so often. I use the pressure cooker much more now than the slow cooker.

Instapot. Absolutely love mine. I also have the airfryer lid so can use that to roast, bake too. French onion soup made in the slower cooker then add bread slices and cheese and switch to airfry to grill the cheese, delicious. I would recommend a spare bowl too, love that I can switch.

I use my instant pot almost every day. It makes perfect risotto and grain dishes that don't need to be stirred. It steams vegetables, cooks little egg dishes in silicone tubs, it cooks dried beans without the need to presoak (much cheaper than tinned), slow cooks delicious strews, and once a week I use it to make a couple of litres of yogurt using 4 tablespoons of shop bought yogurt as a starter and 2 litres of long life milk. I even bought an extra metal inner pot and a glass lid so that I can cook a stew, hoik it out, put the glass lid on to keep it warm and make rice or quinoa in the other pot.

My Cosori also cooks a gammon joint in 30 mins...a slow cooker is ok if you plan ahead and can prep 8 hours before you want to eat.an electric pressure cooker will deliver similar recipes in 30 minutes...you can be at work or out and fancy a stew and buy the ingredients on the way home..boom

This sounds great! Can I ask which one you got?

This is the one I bought. I've had it for years and it gets used constantly. They do a larger and a smaller size. https://instantpot.co.uk/shop-all-products/instant/cooking-appliances/multi-cookers/instant-pot-duo-7-in-1-multi-cooker-5-7l/ I also get a lot of use out of the spare stainless steel inner bowl and the glass lid, and a steamer basket that I ordered off Amazon that fits inside but is low enough that I can make a bean stew in the bowl and steam sweet potatoes above the beans. I also have a silicone mold for making egg bites in the instant pot that I use quite a lot. Think I found that on Amazon too.
There are loads of instant pot cookery websites. So whenever I fancy cooking something new I search for someone who has already done all the work of calculating the perfect liquid to food ratio and times. I have found the hip pressure cooking site to be very reliable, and I love being able to make perfect quinoa without having to stand over the stove watching for the first grains to uncurl. https://www.hippressurecooking.com/category/ingredient/grains/quinoa/

Forgot to say that I don't recommend bothering with the air fryer lid attachment, I've got one that I never use. The real air fryer is so much easier to shake and turn stuff in without having to grapple with a burning hot lid.

I’ve just been to Costco. They a similar (but more fancy) Crockpot to mine at £60, and an Instant Pot Duo Plus at £85.