What's the benefit of using a slow cooker vs cooking over the stove? (frozen, loin)

[silibran]

You’ve gotten some good responses. I do want to say whether you use stovetop or slow cooker, you still have to learn how to do stuff. I learned to cook by doing it. I messed up many times. Even after years of cooking meals, I was still sometimes messing up. You just have to follow the recipe, whether with slow cooker or not, and do it. If you want to master Chicken Marsala, just keep following whatever recipe you are using, until you figure it out.

Do not forget there are all sorts of YouTube videos to help you master technique.

Slow Cookers are great for slow cooking of thick cuts of meat, stews, chilis, soups, stocks. Using them is easy, and it is largely hands off. I am not sure that a slow cooker is the best way to make a chicken dish, unless it is a chili. But, check other recipes online for insight.

[DawnMTL]

Originally Posted by silibran

You’ve gotten some good responses. I do want to say whether you use stovetop or slow cooker, you still have to learn how to do stuff. I learned to cook by doing it. I messed up many times. Even after years of cooking meals, I was still sometimes messing up. You just have to follow the recipe, whether with slow cooker or not, and do it. If you want to master Chicken Marsala, just keep following whatever recipe you are using, until you figure it out.

Do not forget there are all sorts of YouTube videos to help you master technique.

Slow Cookers are great for slow cooking of thick cuts of meat, stews, chilis, soups, stocks. Using them is easy, and it is largely hands off. I am not sure that a slow cooker is the best way to make a chicken dish, unless it is a chili. But, check other recipes online for insight.

Great advice to the OP.

As to the part in bold, I'd say that's especially true of chicken marsala, which hugely benefits to the dredging in flour and sauté/browning in a pan as the first step.

[eureka1]

Harder to burn things.

[Cdarocks]

I generally don't like meals done in the slow cooker. They just taste kinda boiled to me. However, there are some things I use it for that I think are a home run. I work from home, so I can make food early afternoon that doesn't need 8 hours, but could cook slow until dinner time just fine. This is so convenient because I can be done and cleaned before everyone gets home. I use a large Fagor multicooker, so I can brown and saute in it which eliminates using another pan. If something is very saucy, like butter chicken for example, I will build the recipe in the Fagor the same way I would in my Dutch oven. I will bring it to a bubbly simmer and then let it slow cook on low for a couple of hours. Once finished, the multicooker will keep it hot until we are ready to eat it. I like to use my cooker for chili, soup, barbecue baked beans and shredded meat sandwich filling. I have bacon potato chowder in it right now, but in this case I prepared the bacon, potatoes and all the veggies in my huge cast iron skillet (larger surface area to work with) before putting in the slow cooker for all the flavors to get happy together without me needing to babysit and make sure it's not scorching on the bottom.

Tomorrow I am making bolognese, but I will do this in a Le Creuset Dutch oven. I like it so much better for the slight bit of caramelization that may happen around the edges.

[brownbagg]

i like those instant pots, I bought two for xmas, one for meat and taters and the other for veggies,

[mary_228]

Crock pot cooking is typically less messy. A downside is that you cannot cut the recipe size as you can when stovetop cooking. The surface ratio is important when crockpot cooking.

[silibran]

I’ve never used the slow cook function of my Instant Pot. In fact, I haven’t done any slow cooking at all, since buying my IP about a year ago.

[blisterpeanuts]

Slow cooker crock pots are great for making lentil soup. Lentils take hours to cook; I set it up at 8am, come home at 6pm and it's ready for supper.

Take a bag of dry lentils, a can of stewed tomatoes, sliced fresh celery including the stalks, carrots, some soy sauce, chunks of ham if desired, balsamic vinegar, basil, bay leaf, pepper, salt, onions, oregano and about a quart of clean filtered water. Run on low for 8 hours. You'll have a delish soup ready for you at supper time. And the next day, it will be even tastier. Send some of it in a thermos with the kid for school lunch. A pot of soup costing maybe $3 total, that will feed your family for 2-3 days! Don't forget to make corn bread to go along with it.

Recently I made a pot roast in the Crock Pot and it came out very tender and delicious. Next, want to try chicken, going for a jerk chicken or pulled chicken that falls off the bones.

I've heard great things about Instant Pot, supposedly does everything a Crock Pot can do plus a few more such as making yogurt and some pressure cooker type of stuff like fast rice and beans. It's just another $129+tax in order to do incrementally better than what we already have with our rice cooker & Crock Pot. Maybe next year when the prices have come down a bit. Liking the idea of a smarter, programmable pressure-like cooker, but waiting until it's no longer just a novelty.

[Cdarocks]

Originally Posted by silibran

I’ve never used the slow cook function of my Instant Pot. In fact, I haven’t done any slow cooking at all, since buying my IP about a year ago.

I am the exact opposite. I have hardly used the pressure cooker function of my multi-cooker. I really need to play around with some more. What are your favorite things to use it for?

[NewbieHere]

Also possible to eliminate fire hazard. My husband and I sometime forgot to turn the stove off because we turned it to very low. So I make a habit of check for stove before I leave my house. No worry with crockpot.