would you pay $400 for a slow cooker?
Don’t get me wrong, I love slow cooking — in theory. One thing I don’t love? That if you want to develop flavor in your slow-cooked vegetables and meats, you have to pre-brown in a separate pan. Seems to defeat the one-pot idea, to me. All-Clad and Williams-Sonoma came up with a solution to my particular dilemma: the The All-Clad Deluxe Slow Cooker. Instead of a ceramic (and oh-so chippable) insert, the Deluxe has a cast aluminum non-stick coated insert, designed to start on the stovetop and finish in the slow cooker. When I first heard whispers of this mythical, Pegasus-like slow cooker, I was so excited, as I though that the insert was cast iron , not aluminum coated with nonstick. Wrong. That’s about the only way I’d even consider putting up the $400 to own it. Do you have one? Or are you like me, who will stick to her $30 programmable Crock Pot Smart Pot, and brown in a skillet before hand? — Megan B.
An alternative to the All Clad is the Breville slow cooker. It also has an aluminum insert. Pricing from Breville is $129.
http://www.brevilleusa.com/cooking/7q-slow-cooker.html
A friend of mine has one and likes it, but when I had to replace my old Crock Pot I went with the cheapest low tech one I could find. No electronics, just a switch for temp and warm. I had problems with the electronics going out way before the useful life of the device. Like you I just brown in another pan.
A caveat on the newer crockpots, the manufacturers seem to have raised the actual temperature of the low setting. I get a more rapid boil than just a very slow simmer like I used too. May want to hit the yard sales for an older model.
No need to spend ridiculous amounts of money. We have this $50 West Bend Versatility slow cooker, and it does all the same things, without the price tag: http://www.amazon.com/West-Bend-84716-Versatility-Slo-Cooker/dp/B000065UF2
No need to dirty a second pan. The only thing I wish it had is a timer.
Gracious me, no, no, no. My current super-cheap, non-programmable slow cooker works just fine.
@ Ron & Stefanie: thanks for the great tips on those less expensive, similarly functioning slow cookers. Sadly, they all use a non-stick Teflon surface, so I’ll be waiting for someone to read this post and make one with a Scanpan style (ceramic titanium non-stick) surface or enameled cast iron like Le Creuset. Teflon is not something I’d like in anything I cook with.
Oh helllll no. My plain old crock pot with the warm/lo/high knob and 50lb ceramic insert is just fine, thanks.
If I had $400 to spend on a small appliance it would be a Naomoto Gravity Feed Iron, not a crock pot. I have a large one a ceramic insert (no teflon for me either) and it works just fine. I love slow cooking but love spending wisely more :)
PS saving up for the iron and almost there. I know you all will think that purchase is nuts but for an art quilter with arthritis… a godsend.
I’ll admit, I own this slow cooker. It was crazy expensive (although I got it on sale and paid about $250) but it is DREAMY. By far my most-used kitchen appliance. When my daughter was born I’m pretty sure we ate a meal cooked in it 3 times per week and there were no extra pans to clean afterward. I love it more than I probably should.
ohhh, i’ve been ogling this one in the williams-sonoma catalog, i have to admit. but like you, spending $400 for a slow cooker is just in the realm of the absurd. now, if i saw it for $250 as heidi did, well….then, i’d have to at least fantasize for a moment before passing it by. off to check out some of these other great reader ideas, though…as i admit, i do miss the lovely flavor of the fond left from browning meat when i use my slow cooker.
[...] The votes are in: You would not spend $400 on a slow cooker. DJ says: “Gracious me, no, no, no. My current super-cheap, non-programmable slow cooker works [...]