The Slow Cooker Debate

I love my slow cookers.  Crockpots are a brand of slow cooker, so don't be thrown off by the difference in names, they are one in the same.  I will be posting a few recipes for them, but before I do, we need to go over some important information first.


Size matters.  Slow cookers work the best when they are at least 2/3 full, so I tend to have 2 sizes.  A "normal" one (5 qt) and then a mega-one ( 8 qt) incase I need to feed a family of 12 for some reason.


The other difference comes from the year they were manufactured.  After doing some homework (and ruining a few meals) I found out that newer slow cookers cook at higher temperatures due to different regulations.  While this sounds like a good thing, it means that some recipes are meant for lower temperature cookers.  


My rule of thumb- if it involves meat, I use my old CrockPot that looks like it's from the 70's that I purchased at a garage sale for $1 (the smaller one).  Any vegetarian meal, or any meal that involved already cooked meat, can go in the new slow cooker.  I've tried cooking meat in the new cooker on low, and it is still too high of a temperature and the meat ends up being tough.  Some other meals end up burning a little on the sides as well.  I don't worry if I leave something in my old cooker past the "end" time, but the new one will burn it, sometimes before time is up!


If you ever come across an old slow cooker at a thrift store or yard sale, buy it!  The difference it makes when cooking meat is well worth it.