I'm using my Mother's older Corningware brand crockpot and it's really not bad at all, it doesn't cook as hot as the Rival that I had and somehow "misplaced". That darned thing scorched the edges of everything I cooked and boiled the dickens out of anything left more than a couple of hours, I hated it.

So, don't buy a Rival, at least not based on my experience.

I think I'm going to get a 6 quart Nesco roaster instead, the heat is more "adjustable" and I could let things cook in it as easily as I could a crockpot.

I use the crockpot often for beans, I put them in and let them cook all day, they're done when I get home from work. Split pea soup works well that way too.

Annie

Recently I decided to buy a slow cooker. Looked all over trying to find the six quart nesco roaster that had been recommended here on the CF. Apparently, not common in Canada. So I bought the slow cooker that was most highly recommended by users.

The Hamilton Beach #33966 Set and Forget model. Programmable. I've only used it once so far and that was to cook stewing beef. It also comes with a temperature probe which users apparently like, but I don't ever see actually using.

It sells for $79.95 but the Canadian Tire store had one of their weekly sales and I bought for half price.

I would still love to find the 6 quart Nesco. I like the idea of being able to set the cooking temperature.

Ann

I have a 6 qt slow cooker and an 18 qt roaster. I'm NOT happy with the slow cooker because it cooks way to hot. The roaster is too big for just the two of us, so I've been thinking about a 6 qt roaster. I borrowed my friend's Nesco 6 qt just to try it out and LOVE it. I've found the 6 qt Nesco at walmart.com for $34 and they will ship to your nearest store. No more slow cookers for me.

I have an All Clad crock pot that I really like. Mine has a ceramic insert - not the one that you can use to brown things on the stove. My crock pot cooks very well, and as an added bonus it doesn't smell at all while it is cooking. With previous crock pots I spent the entire day being hungry because I could smell food cooking:)

"..............as an added bonus it doesn't smell at all while it is cooking........"

stbonner, for me that would be a negative. I've only used mine once,but I would have been disappointed if I'd walked thru the door after work and couldn't smell dinner cooking.

Ann

My son recently replaced my crock pot after he dropped my original one and broke it. He was working at Penney's at the time so bought a COOKs brand (using his discount). I hate it. It cooks much to hot. I can't put something in before I leave to go to work without coming home to a pot of burnt dinner.

dhquilter, that's how my Rival is too, I hate it!

Annie

I keep hearing about the Nesco any time someone asks about slow cookers...because the temperature is very adjustable. I don't think I've heard of anyone that didn't like theirs.

Blueiris, I have the Hamilton Beach "Stay or Go" crockpot...DS gave it to me for Christmas last year and I love it. It has high, low and warm settings, the lid clips shut for travel and the spoon fits into the handle. The crock part is removable for cleaning. It really does seal nice for sloshy things like soup or beans. I also have a roaster and use that just about as much but it's nice to have the different options.
Mindy

I just ordered today a 6qt Nesco cannot wait for it toa rrive...My crock pot was a newer one and I did not like it.

june

Ann--Try this place...

Here is a link that might be useful: Abe's of Maine 6 Qt. Nesco

Cilantro, I know I can get it in the US. But most places charge almost as much to ship to Canada as what the roaster costs.

Ann

Does Walmart do site to store in Canada? Do they even have stores there? I'm assuming they do? But in the US, Walmart does free shipping to the store on most things. You just go to the store and pick it up.

Yes, we have Walmarts in Canada. But apparently they don't carry the Nesco roaster. I checked.

Ann

Ann they don't carry the Nesco roasters in the US stores either, you have to order them online.

Walmart has WAY MORE online than in the store! With free shipping to your nearest store...it's pretty convenient.

Ann-Here's another place, this one in Canada. No clue as to shipping fees. Nor do I know anything about Tech Depot.

The Abe's of Maine link stated $10 shipping & $5 import fees in the listing. So, that is Bad Information? I didn't investigate any farther than to find & link.

Here is a link that might be useful: Tech Depot Canada 6 Qt Nesco

Thanks Cilantro. I called Tech Depot a few weeks ago when I was doing my homework. Their shipping costs were not bad, but they only carry the small roaster with the non stick finish. That isn't the one that I want. I want the Nesco 6 quart with the porcelain finish.

Abe's of Maine will ship to Canada for $29.90.

I even called Nesco. They gave me the names of a few places that have carried their products in the past. Apparently none of them are still carrying the roasters.

Walmart Canada does not carry the Nesco on their website. Unfortunately.

Truth be told, I'm not sure a slow cooker is ever going to be something that I use much. It just isn't the way that I normally cook. So I'll give the Hamilton Beach a fair try and if it surprises me and I actually like crock pot cooking, I will consider "importing" the Nesco.

Arkansas girl, Bryansda, Cilantro, I appreciate your help.

Ann

You can get a Nesco on overstock.com shipping is very inexpensive.

Thanks brightonborn. You are right. They have very good shipping to Canada.

Ann

It took a while but FINALLY someone figured out a good place that ships to Canada! I never thought about overstock. DUH!

I recently bought 2 slow cookers and they both are just fine. I have a large 7 qt Rival I got for a steal at Kohls for less than $20 and a small 4 qt Hamilton Beach I got at Sears for a steal also for $10! I just kept waiting for a good sale. My cousin has a 4 qt Rival that she just loves! She uses it all the time but she usually cooks while she's at home on high. Both of mine have been used on low for over night cooking with no burning...but like I said(below), they need to have quite a bit in them. I think it says they are supposed to be about 2/3 full. Someone correct me if I'm wrong. That could be a cause of too fast cooking that some have complained about.

One thing to keep in mind when choosing a size is they are supposed to be quite full when you cook in them so if you don't want to fix a whole lot of food at one time, buy a 4 or 5 qt. I only use my big one if I'm cooking a couple roasts at a time. It's huge!

I have an All-Clad slow cooker which works very well. I just used it recently for about 8 hours and no burning or boiling and there was a nice smell, though maybe not as pronounced as some cookers might yield.

I don't use it too often these days because I lost my job and hate to wait around. I use my two pressure cookers much more often (a few times a week!).

When I replaced my old crock pot several years ago I was not happy with the results. I tried 2 or 3 different ones and could not replicate the results with my old one. So I did some research and found out that a number of years ago (Don't remember when exactly) the government decided crock pots did not get hot enough to satisfy them for food safety reasons and required manufacturer's to increase the minimum cooking temperature of crock pots. Since the tenderest results for tough cuts of meat are obtained with long long temp cooking, the increase changed the results you get with newer ones. Since I am a big girl and can decide myself if I want to risk cooking at the old temperature that worked fine for 20 years, I wish I knew what the temps were and how I could duplicate it in my oven with my Le Crueset dutch oven. If anyone knows, please post. I am picking up a large rolled chuck roast tonight for pot roast!

check out this forum thread:

Here is a link that might be useful: some interesting info on temps etc slow cookers

I really do think that a big issue with the slow cookers burning stuff is they are too large for the recipe used. This is addressed in that forum thread. Old slow cooker recipes were for a lot smaller slow cooker but some new ones are very large.

The low temp is also higher but I cannot seem to find what the temps were and what they are now but I know I've seen that somewhere before.

I am amazed..I placed my Nesco 6qt order on wed. at overstock.com and got home from work today at 5;30 and it was here...Amazing...really..they are fast becoming my new favorite website to shop at...

June

Like Annie, all I have is an old Corning Crockpot. It gets too hot also. I very rarely want to use a slow cooker so I've not replaced it and probably never will.

Costco has the original "Crock-pot" brand slow cooker for sale this week for $39. It seems fairly large and has a removable crock. A friend bought one and it has a timer you can program and I don't know what else. She has not used it yet.

Ann, did you ask Nesco about shipping to Canada? Never checked but would think they have a distribution center there. Otherwise, does anyone have an idea what it'd cost to actually mail one?

I used my Nesco earlier to cook some chicken legs. Seemed silly to fire up the big oven for six drumsticks. Was going to toss some potatoes in there too but didn't bother.

I have the non-stick and porcelain cookwells. I do like the non-stick. I'm very careful with it though and just having the extra cookwell is well worth it. I also like having the Roast-Air "adapter". It was spendy as I recall but it gives you more functionality than having just a Roast-Air unit by itself. Not sure if they sell the units anymore, it'd be a shame if they didn't. It was a high domed lid, probably about 3" high and a fan unit fits on it to make it a convection oven. Powerful fan! Also comes with "2 way" rack so it could be used like the one that comes with it or turn it upside down and it lifts the item up a couple inches. I've put things in there on two levels before using both racks. Works great. I've been sold on the Nesco for decades now. Have the 4 qt also. As I've said, I threw out 2 crockpots and will never bother with another.

My problem with the newer crock pots was not food burning, I don't think I have ever had food burn in a crock pot. The problem was the pot roasts would not come out as tender. I remember my mother telling me years ago for the tenderest meat with a tough cut not let it come to a boil, it made it more tender to cook it longer and keep the heat below a boil. Anyway, this time I bought a larger roast and maybe since a larger piece of meat will come to temp slower it will work out better. I always fill the crock pot because I like lots of carrots and potatoes cooked in the meat juices, and I would always take up any extra room with more of them. There never seemed to be enough. I did see that Ina Garten in her pot roast recipe says to turn the oven down to 250 after 1 hr, but even that seems like it would be hotter than a good crock pot, don't you think? I don't think my over goes below 200 or 250 degrees except for the warmer drawer, and I am sure that would be too low to cook meat in, even slow cooking.

Even though I don't post often, please let me chime in here. I purchased a 6 qt "bella" brand crock pot/slow cooker the day after Thanksgiving at Kohls. With the sale, 30% off coupon, and a mail in rebate, I got the thing for about $7.00. I figured what the heck! Well, they recalled the thing and I had to send in the cord to get my refund. I read all the posts on this forum and decided to get a 6 qt Nesco roaster because of your discussions, it had temp control instead of just hi low and warm, and I own the 16 qt roaster and really like it. Anyway, ordered from Amazon and it should arrive between Monday and Weds of this week. $39.95, free shipping and no tax!!. Will post on how it works out for me. NOW for the real reason for my post.....what do I do with the old one without a cord? Just hate to have it end up in the dump never to decompose. Filling up the landfill. Any ideas for recycling? other uses? It has the removable insert but I am not too sure about using it in the oven. I have a vision of the thing exploding in there full of whatever. Maybe use the insert for serving??
Also, thank all of you for such entertaining and informative posts. You are an amazing group in possession of so much information.
Your lurking friend,
Murphy

I've used the new slow cooker three times now. The pot was never more than half full. And there was no problem with it cooking too "hot". It never came to a boil.

The first time was stewing beef. I wanted stew but not mushy vegetables so when the meat was cooked I added it to another pot along with the vegetables.

Second time I put pork chili verdi on to cook before leaving for work.

And yesterday I put oxtails on to simmer.

In each case I browned the meat well on top of the stove before adding it to the crock pot. I also sauted onions and celery in the pan the meat was browned in and heated the broth as well before adding to the crock.

I programmed low for 8 hours and at the end of 8 hours the pot went into warm mode.

I came home to find very tender meat. So far I would say that the Hamilton Beach does a good job.

Cynic, Nesco gave me the names of three different companies that apparently carry their brand in Canada. But I called all three without any luck.

I'll watch for one of the stores to start carrying it over the holiday season.

Ann

Well, I ordered the Hamilton Beech 33967- I think that's the newest model to the one Ann T has. $40 or so on Amazon with free shipping.
And to think I didn't need/want another crock pot till I read this thread!

I used to have a problem with things burning in my slow cooker too, until I started doing 1 simple thing. before I put anything else in the pot I always put in a little water. just enough to cover the bottom of the pot. that keeps things from burning before it gets cooked enough to make it's own juices. I've done this for years, & it works great. no more burned food in there. I do the same thing when frying meat on the stove. I always fry with a little water in the pan. my friends say it's not frying it's boiling, but, I don't use that much water, only enough to keep things from sticking to the pan. so, if all fails try a little water, it helps.

Bumblebeez, I think the only difference in the two models is that yours has the rubber seal and handles that lock the lid into place so you can take the crock pot with you to a potluck or something. I've read reviews and apparently the seal works well.

Enjoy.

Ann

Murphy, when my old GE stopped working, Amanda took the removable stoneware insert and used it for a water dish for the dog. She has a BIG dog and needed a large water dish!

Annie

I too have Hamilton Beach Stay & go - it is fabulous. I use it at least twice a week. I make homemade chicken or beef broth in it, "faux" barbecue, pot roast, all kinds of great stuff. It works beautifully, never "boils", just cooks everything down tender. A real bang for the buck. I like it far better than those "roasters" - for me that was a total waste of money.

Thanks Annie. Doggie water dish....great idea. Don't think it would work for my little maltese but I have friends with big dogs... :)
Murphy

Ann, I realize now the model I ordered is the older model not the newer. It was a little cheaper than the newer one but I think I will like having the seal.

Bumblebeez, the seal is probably a nice option. The reason I bought the one I did was because it was on sale for $39.95 instead of $79.95. I figured if I didn't like it, I didn't have much to lose.

Ann

I'm not sure whether you're looking for a big one or a small one, but I have a small, cheap one that I think is the predecessor to one linked below. I haven't had trouble with it getting too hot. I always use it on low, and meat does get falling-apart tender. I don't think mine has a warm option, but that would be a nice feature. I've had it for several years, and the only thing I've had to do was replace the handle. The handle was just attached to a hole in the top, so I didn't have to order one from the company or anything-- just used an extra IKEA knob I found in my toolbox.

Here is a link that might be useful: link

Well I finally did it, ordered my own 6 qt roaster. I'd seen the 5 qt on walmart.com on clearance ($28) and fooled around and let it get away (kick myself). I borrowed my friend's 6 qt to check size and see if I'd really use it. After the answer was yes on the using part and letting everyone here know about the $34 price on walmart's site, I got myself an early Christmas present....yeah. Now why will it take till Nov 11th to the 17th to get here? Maybe I'll luck out and it will get here sooner.

I was given a Rival Smart CrockPot for Christmas 2 years ago.
I cooked a couple roasts in it and it burned them! Far too hot.
Did some noodling online and everyone complains about them cooking too hot.

Immediately sold it and bought a Hamilton Beach 3-in-One with 3 different sized bowls. Love, Love it!

So it looks like most people are happy with their Hamilton Beach models or Nesco roasters. Has anyone else stopped using a crock pot and used the roaster instead? Were you happy with it? The roaster just seems so large for the type of cooking I normally do, so I'm not sure what direction to go at this point.

My Hamilton Beach crockpot cooks too hot on low. I end up with dried out chicken. So, based on Cook's Illustrated's recommendation I went out and spent nearly $100 on a touch screen Crockpot brand crockpot and I have the same issue. It cooks too hot on low. I didn't return it right away so I guess I'm stuck with it. It must be due to what sue_ct talks about, gov. regulations regarding the low temp. I wish I'd invested in a Nesco roaster. My mom had one for decades and loved it.

blueiris I have an 18 qt roaster and it's to big for just the 2 of us, that's why I'm buying the 6 qt. I borrowed the 6 qt from a friend to try out the size and see if I'd really use a roaster since I have only used my slow cooker a few times. The slow cooker is going out the door as soon as the roaster gets here. Besides the slow cooker cooking to hot, I just don't see using several pots just to get things ready for a slow cooker. Why dirty a pot to brown ground beef for chili, then put it in a slow cooker when I can just do it all in the same pot. The roaster let me brown the beef, add the ingredients then slow cook the chili, plus I didn't have to watch the stove top all day. I'm excited, but now Walmart is saying it won't be here till the 17th. :(

ok, the Nesco roaster wasn't even on my radar when I started this.... I just looked at some sites for reviews - I'm trying to get away from teflon-coated cooking equipment, so I would be interested in the porcelain -- however, the reviews say the porcelain is too thin and chips/rusts easily and is very difficult to clean. I also read Nesco has a better porcelain liner that you can buy separately that is better quality. Does anyone know anything about these issues?

I was concerned about the "too hot on Low" that many mentioned. But the Hamilton Beach model that I bought doesn't seem to have that problem. I've now cooked pork chili verde, oxtails, stewing beef and a pot roast. I was looking for no difference in the finished product cooked in a crock pot as compared to the way I would normally prepare the same dish and I was pleased with the results.

Maybe it's me, rather than the crockpots. I may be doing something wrong to end up with dried out chicken and rubbery roasts. I'll have to follow one of the recipes in the cookbook that came with the Crockpot and see if I have a problem still. Yesterday after reading this thread, I tested my Crockpot brand crockpot on low with 4 qts. of water for 6 hours and the water was 199/200 degrees, with an instant read thermometer, just like Cook's Illustrated said it was with their testing. I think I'm just crockpot impaired-which is a good thing because I can change that. I can't change an overly hot crockpot!