The slow cooker

yes, get one with a timer.

Bullshit.
Proof or GTFO, crock pot shill.

excellent for
salsa
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chicken
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What can a slow cooker do that cannot be duplicated with a pot on the stove or inside the oven (such as a dutch oven).

Answer: nothing.

That one is fine. If you don't mind spending a little extra, there are electric pressure cookers that moonlight as slow cookers, rice cookers and steamers. Some even have settings for other things, like yogurt.
I bought mine for $65+tax and use it 2-3 times per week.

I only really like slow cookers for cuts of red meat that are high in connective tissue like chuck roast. Pot roast is pretty damn great in a crock pot. So is beef stew. Pork shoulder ain't half bad either.

However there is a lot of shit that just doesn't work in a slow cooker that people try and force anyway. Like salsa chicken. Hell, I don't think the slow cooker is the right place for chicken period - it makes it too tender and the muscle fibers shred. Not my idea of good chicken tbqh

they are handy for a lot of different things I use mine all the time

It works for stews and chilis, I guess.
Not my kinda food.

So would it be a good purchase for someone with a overly simple kitchen?

Most of my meals are rice/beans or noodles and grilled/fried meat/vegs don't know if these really go on a slow cooker.

**Answer: make the same thing what pots on the stove/in oven taste better; that would otherwise be meh.

there ya go :)

Most kinds of chili are retard proof and impossible to fuck up

Get a pressure cooker / slow cooker combo unit

>add beans

There, I fucked up chili.

>pot on the stove

You'd leave the oven on, or a pot on the stove, all day while going to work, or overnight while you're asleep? Okay, genius. I'd tell you to die in a fire, but sounds like your life's heading that way already.

They kind of suck. Never being home or being some kind of sad sack worker drone is the only good reason to use one. Otherwise, you're better off getting a nice heavy bottomed stock pot or enameled dutch oven/casserole.

Tech-wise the reason they suck is thermocouple settings are gay and impossible to adjust beyond whatever the manufacturer deemed cool. And they drift. They fuck up stocks when they're too hot, and low settings can end up not getting hot enough then you just do it on the stove anyway.

They promote crappy cooking technique. Is this roast or stew really going to be good if you didn't sear the ingredients? You got this because you didn't have time. Oh, so you're gonna do it right so it tastes good? Now you have to wash at least twice as many pots so it actually costs you more time, and still makes crappier food. Bonus point: stupid thing that takes up space in the kitchen.

lol I agree, and I just used mine today. If my soup turns out to be shit this time. I won't be using it again.

They're great for winter.

Brown some beef, chorizo or whatever with onion, throw it in the slow cooker along with some spices, vegetables and/or beans and you're good to go.

Honestly, if you have limited time they're a great way to cook. And they're inexpensive.

Get a Sous Vide / Slow Cooker combo

Little more expensive, but wider variety of cooking and saves on counter space.

There is nothing wrong with leaving an oven on overnight, it's self contained.

On one hand I hate it for cooking anything with raw meat because it takes so damn long to heat up, so I can't really throw a dish together on a whim. I have to turn the thing on and get most of the stock/veggies in there at least 30 min before I even think about prepping meat lest I throw it raw into a cold or lukewarm pot. My oven gets to the same temp in

Slow cooker can never beat a proper dutch oven. If your slow cooker does a better job, especially with browning than the dutch oven you're doing it all wrong.

You sound like a working class chump. I bet you thought it would be a great "investment", how you would wake up to a warm, healthy breakfast to start off your long day. Maybe, you even had a couple thoughts about all the other nifty little uses you could find for the thing, how it would help you cook healthier meals in general, shed a couple pounds off the old gut, boost your confidence around work and with the ladies. Yeah, maybe that slow cooker would start your life cooking again, wouldn't it? I can see your strained hands holding the box and reading through it carefully at the store. A little bit pricey, but you're the type of guy who thinks everything is more than you can spend, aren't you. And look what happened to you. Look what the slow cooker did to you. Fucked you over, and made you clean it like a useless bitch. You don't even fucking like oatmeal. Piece of shit, you've been repeating those three words your whole life, haven't you. Yeah, how was work after that piece of shit fucked you over? I bet it was on your mind the whole day, you probably didn't say shit to nobody. Can't be telling people about your mistakes. How your little fix yourself plan, failed you. Don't want people to start thinking you're the failure. You're the piece of shit, all along. You don't want that do you? You don't want to be the piece of shit everybody secretly whispers about, do you? Was your father a piece of shit like you? I bet he never had a slow cooker. He had a woman, a house, a damn good job. I bet it's slow cooking you the fuck alive, isn't it. Comparing yourself to him. How one day when all the steam runs our of your life, you'll discover how you're nothing more than burnt shit to be scrapped off and thrown in the trash.

Creative writing paper overdue again?

>Sous Vide
meme of the highest order.

good for stews, pulled pork, indoor bbq stuff like ribs (then finish in oven), you can use it for marinara sauce but I don't

not sure what else to use it for

worth it for $25

You've obviously never had something cooked using this method. It's legitimate and soon to be a new standard. Get on board or left in the 50s.

I thought you just used a curling iron in a regular pot for that

Soups, stews, chicken and dumplings, meatballs, pulled pork/chicken - slowcookers are basically autumn/wintertime comfort-food machines.

Whats the difference between slow cooker and pressure cooker? Was told pressure cookers give same results in shorter amount of time, why the fuck do slow cookers exist if this is true? Wat do guys?

They work by different methods and are used for different ends - Pressure Cookers are great at getting done quickly what would take much longer in a pot or oven, but have to be used carefully - and the older ones tended to explode.

Slow Cookers are more about convenient, low-maintenance cooking for people who want to flip a switch in the morning and come home to dinner that evening.

Just thought I'd say that any slow cooker can be turned into a sous vide machine and the total price (for the cooker and the stuff to modify it for sous vide use) would be under $40.

Veeky Forums poster trying to cook chicken breast in one of these. How do I do it?

explain?

Feel better now bro?

>slow cooker meme
fgt pls

If you have the cash, get a thermal cooker instead. You get to brown the food and don't have to worry about fires from unattended heating devices. You just heat the pot up, put it inside the insulated layer, and come back in some hours.

>Sous vide

Enjoy your estrogen

I would say go for it, OP. Just made a pot roast with mine last night. Turned it on at midnight, woke up and had pot roast for breakfast. Pic related is some oxtail stew I've made a few times

Wrong pic. Here's the stew

For just one second I thought you were eating that out of a paper bowl. I was about to hunt you down and hit you with something heavy.

>sous vide
>get on board the memetrain or be left in the 50's
>it's 1950's fucking boil-in-the-bag technique but with the temperature too low to pasteurize the food

Thanks, but I prefer to avoid botulism and wankery.

>No, they simmer food.

He says overconfidently while being 100 percent wrong

Well yours might not, but mine creates a gentle simmer at top heat. It's what I use for stock and corned beef.

Fookin savage
>sounds like your life is headed that way
I kekd

I am very comfortable with gas. My whole country cooks primarily with gas. I have a pair of 100 lbs tanks outside my kitchen just to feed my hob and oven. I fix my gas appliances.

I'd have to take a railroad spike to the face and loose a chunk of my brain mass before I ever consider leaving my house with the oven or stove running, or even going to sleep with them burning away, a good idea.

...

>complains about it taking too long
>"slow" cooker

M8 can u read??

This exactly is what slow cookers are for.

Ha in fact my sister gave me her old slow cooker after the baton rouge flooding when she had to gut her place.

Hahaaaaa

Go to a thrift store, buy one for like $5-$8. Most of them are higher quality than the cheap new ones and are practically new. I got all of my appliances from thrift stores, you just have to check out a few. $300 microwave for $25, $40 crock pot for $6, $30 toaster oven for $5, $30 toaster for $3.

Surprised more people don't mention thrift stores for cooking supplies and appliances. Give them a quick cleaning and boom, good to go. Might have to make a thrift store thread actually.

I'll also mention I'm making french onion soup tonight which if I can remember my old recipe correctly was fucking god-tier last time I made it. Stews, corned beef, big cuts of meat (especially pork and chicken), stocks, anything really.

what is the temperature this thing cooks ?
If it's below 60 degrees celsius don't even bother

Micro organisms can survive up to 60. Also food in any stage of the prep should be out of a fridge no longer than 4 hours under 60 and above -18

Seems like the difference is how fast the machine reaches the simmer point 205F/98C .

There was a story about a year ago from New Zealand, in which a guy got a second hand slow cooker and his friends got 'sick' after eating food cooked in it. Turns out it'd been used in meth production. So yes- clean thoroughly when using second hand.

They kind of suck. Never being home or being some kind of sad sack worker drone is the only good reason to use one. Otherwise, you're better off getting a nice heavy bottomed stock pot or enameled dutch oven/casserole.

Lol "sad sack worker drones" don't cook. They get takeout/fast food. Why start dinner when you get home when you can have it done or close to done if you just turn on a crock pot?

>Tech-wise the reason they suck is thermocouple settings are gay and impossible to adjust beyond whatever the manufacturer deemed cool. And they drift. They fuck up stocks when they're too hot, and low settings can end up not getting hot enough then you just do it on the stove anyway.

Don't buy a cheap piece of shit. Any decent crockpot is not going to give you any of these problems

They promote crappy cooking technique. Is this roast or stew really going to be good if you didn't sear the ingredients? You got this because you didn't have time. Oh, so you're gonna do it right so it tastes good? Now you have to wash at least twice as many pots so it actually costs you more time, and still makes crappier food. Bonus point: stupid thing that takes up space in the kitchen.

Are you fucking retarded? Answer: Yes. You wash one pot and one llid, just like you would if you used a pot instead.

Sadly, you seen to have reading comprehension difficulties. Otherwise, I don't know how you think my point about going for better quality food by browning the meat first, consequently forcing you to wash that cooking vessel as well can be done in the slow cooker. If you have seared meat successfully in one without cracking it, I'd love to hear your secret. Could be you just don't know how to cook very well.

Granted, a nice slow cooker with accurate temperature control would solve some of the problems, however, OP is looking at cheap shitty ones. Reading comprehension again. I'm giving you the benefit of the doubt about you not being retarded yourself since you're typing complete sentences. You still have a chance to prove me wrong.

Not him, but my electric pressure cooker/slow cooker machine thing has a 'sear' function which browns meat quite nicely. (:

Neat. How much do those cost?

Dear lord haha. I actually just moved to Idaho and they have a big meth issue as well. Either way, I've used it numerous times and it's been great. Actually working on my french onion soup now and it's fantastic. Out to the bar, come home to piping hot, delicious soup. Once winter hits, I'm gonna have stews going all the time.

Refried beans maybe

I use mine mainly for awesome chili and lazy bbq pulled pork

It's also surprisingly awesome for turkey. I bought some frozen breasts, tossed them in still frozen with some salt and pepper tossed on top and a few chopped onions at the bottom, and just let it go for a few hours. then pulled it off the bone, sliced it up, and used it for sandwiches.

I also tossed the bones back in with a bunch of veggies and water and made some FREAKING AWESOME stock that I then skimmed and froze and use in all kinds of shit.

My parents gave me their old one after they bought a new one and I ignored it for years. Now it sits on my counter and I use it nearly every week.

Things I regularly make in my crockpot:

Lentil Soup
Split Pea Soup
Pasta Sauce
Salsa (big batches for parties and such)
Curries
Meatballs
Beef Stroganoff
Chicken and Dumplings
Pot Roast (yes, I sear before adding to the pot)
Corned Beef and Cabbage
Tri-Tip
Beef and Broccoli (the best I've ever tasted)
Pulled Pork (and Chicken)

Can I do all these things on the stove top? Yes.

Would I want to? No.

I cook for myself and three other people at least five nights a week. Having a cooking method that allows me to turn it on in the morning, go to work, and have a meal waiting when I get home, is priceless to me. And, I suspect, millions of other families around the country.

Get off the computer, mom.

But seriously, your post sounds like it came straight from some soccer mom Facebook group. Gross.

Yeah, well that's just your opinion, man.

what kinda salsa do you make in a crock pot?

also never thought about making my pasta sauce in one, good idea

If you prefer your vegetables on the soft side, a slow cooker is the best way of cooking them.

>Beef Stroganoff
In a slow cooker? Doing it very wrong I'm afraid.
I'm a big fan of slow cookers but that's one of many dishes that really needs to be cooked the proper way.

Any of these will do:

google.com/webhp?sourceid=chrome-instant&rlz=1C1AFAB_enUS627US627&ion=1&espv=2&ie=UTF-8#safe=off&q=crockpot salsa

I'm not looking to become a Michelin rated chef, user. I'm just trying to feed my kids a hot meal after my 12 hour shift.

If you want to do the "come home to a slow cooked meal" thing you want to get a better model than what you can get for 20$
I do recommend it though. It's really good for some things like pasta sauce, certain meat, some soups, and "I mixed everything in the fridge and put it on rice".

>Steel cut oats

Mind telling me how? I've been using one for years but I avoid anything like that since the time I tried to make rice in it was inedible.

I'm not complaining about the cooking time itself being too long.

I'm complaining about the prep because the vessel and its contents take so long to reach a SAFE cooking temp.

They will all get that hot eventually, the problem is it takes a good 15 min for the pot itself to get that hot. And if you fill it up with cold or room temp veggies, broth, and meat? Forget about it. This is why I don't like slow cookers.

see

I love rice cookers, so I understand why someone would want a dedicated appliance.

The problem is that slow cookers haven't really changed in 50 years. Compare that to rice cookers which have induction heating systems, and (for better or worse) smartphone apps. Unlike my rice cooker which has a latched lid and rubber seal, slow cookers have heavy glass lids that let moisture escape and build around the rim. A modern rice cooker blows every other appliance out of the water. The innovation is inspiring.

Closest thing there is to an up-to-date slow cooker is the Ninja or Instant Pot, and they look like shit. The fact you can sear meat with the Ninja is a huge advantage over typical slow cookers. More companies should compete in this market. $200 for a Ninja? No thanks. I could put together a decent set of cookware for that price. Lodge dutch oven for $60, 12 inch cast iron skillet for $30, 1.5 qt. Cuisinart saucepan for $20, 6 qt. Cuisinart stock pot for $25, Tiger rice cooker for $70. That's only $5 over budget.

Sure. You mix 2 cups of steel cut oats and 2 cups of water with some salt and leave it to cook overnight.

Steel cut oats are just a different form of what you guys call oatmeal.

>not using crappy slow cookers as a way to commit insurance fraud

you solve the moisture escaping by putting a rag over the slow cooker

>slow cooking you the fuck alive
this is my favorite fucking copypasta

>"just cook it on the stove!"

t. $300 gas bills

get an energy-efficient cooker and it's a good investment