We’ve just upgraded our old, very basic slow cooker, because I wanted one with an automatic keep warm function - but I’m really struggling with the new one.
I put a joint of beef brisket in it with a halved onion, wine and stock, and left it on low for 12 hours. In my old slow cooker, this would have resulted in meltingly soft, falling apart beef. In my new one - it’s tough as old boots. Cooked, but not ‘done’. Even the onions were still pretty solid - in the old one, they would have practically dissolved into the juices. It's happened twice now, so it isn't just bad luck.
Does that sound right? How long would you expect to have to slow cook a beef joint for? I’m trying to work out whether there’s something wrong with our new slow cooker, or our old one was just way hotter than it should have been!