How did I get along without one for so long?!?!?!I recently purchased this very same crock pot at a local retail store. I have to admit, at first I was very nervous about how my meals would turn out, much less leaving it on all day while at work. ( I am gone 10+ hours a day) From some of the reviews I read about Rival crock pots you'd think they were fires just waiting to happen and they were only good at making charcoal for dinner. So I decided before I risk burning down my apartment I would test it to see if it was safe and if it gave me the desired results. Delicious meals. So I decided to try a fairly simple recipe that comes with the owners guide. It was Chicken in a pot. When ever I try to make roast chicken in the oven the dark meat comes out slightly raw and the white me dry and tasteless. So what the hey, here we go. Popped that chicken in the crock pot with some chopped veggies of choice and after approximately eight hours it was ready. I carefully pulled the chicken out of the crock pot and before it was all the way...
consider carefullyThis crock pot looks great. The lid is subpar however. It is lightweight and thin and seems cheap.
The outer surface of the crock pot and the crockery insert get very very hot even on low. The good thing is that the little side handles do not get hot at all.
This pot cooked my whole chicken well on low, but the first meal I tried burned. Crock Pot Pizza cooked fine in my old (about 5 years old) rival crock pot on low for 4 or 5 hours or longer. I just couldn't cook it on high or it would burn. In this new crock pot it burned at 2 1/2 hours. So beware. It looks good, but you have to adjust your cooking times and you certainly couldn't actually leave the house for a work day and cook anything for that length of time without it burning.
I Don't Know What Everyone Is Complaining AboutI use this crock pot all the time. I use it for stews, curries, pot roasts...especially during the summer when I don't want to heat up the house by using the oven...and everything cooks perfectly.
My trick is to make a sofrito to flavor the meat during most of the cooking. Don't add too much liquid, you don't need it. The natural juices from the meat and sofrito are sufficient.
In the last hour I cut some fresh vegetables, throw them in, and turn the cooker to high. The meat is perfect and the vegetables are tender but not overcooked.
The clay insert fits in the fridge for leftover storage, it's microwave safe for reheating, and cleans easily.
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