What size of slow cooker will I need?

Question

I fancy treating myself to a slow cooker. I have a family of 5, what size do you reckon I should be looking at. Can I cook a whole chicken or a roast in one?

Answer 1

Oh yes, I use a slow cooker all the time. I would recommend getting the largest one. If you are in the UK I think there is a Russell Hobbs one which is stainless steel with a crock-pot which goes inside. Its kind of oval shaped and about £30 in Argos. This is the one I used to have - it is perfect for large numbers and for cooking a whole chicken. I would always recommend getting one that the crock pot cam be removed from - otherwise its a pain to wash up.

I found it was too big for me (just the 2 of us) and I couldnt get things to cook right. I now have a different shaped one (its deeper but still quite large) It still fits a small chicken and is great for soups, casseroles and stew. It easily cooked a beef casserole for 5 of us last month. The one I have is by Versaware and is sort of odd looking, It came from argos and in the picture looks a bit like a cauldron. I chose it because you can take out the dish and use it on the stove, so you can brown meat before it starts cooking and that gives more flavour (of course you can do this in a pan and then add it but its just more mess and washing up!) Be careful though because many brands have removable pots but you cant use them all on the stove (they crack in the heat)

To cook a whole chicken, you just pop a saucer in the bottom of the bowl, upside down so that the chicken is slightly raised above the base. I usually add a few bits of veg - just whole carrots, onions, celery (I don't worry about chopping or peeling) and about 1/4 pint of water, maybe sprinkle a stock cube on top, salt pepper and a bay leaf. Pop on low and cook all day.

Alternatively you can put some large potatoes in the bowl instead of the veggies. They then cook all day in the chicken stock and taste wonderful!

When you come back to it, you will have a perfectly tender and beautiful chicken! Be careful when you take it out - it is so tender that when you try to take it out the meat will just fall off the bone and you will just have the carcass in your hand!!!

The liquid that comes out makes a fab soup.

The nice thing about these cookers is that you can buy the cheapest cuts of meat - which strangely are often the tastiest, especially beef, and they cook all day to become tasty, tender and melt in the mouth!

Answer 2

Good decision. Try and buy one of the largest ones and make sure that it has an "auto" setting whereby, once you know that the food has been cooked you can turn it to auto if you are not all ready to eat. It keeps the food warm, but halts the cooking process.

You could possibly put a whole chicken in there, but it would not roast it. For that you would need to remove the chicken onto a roasting tray and brown it in the oven. Try also to brown the whole thing or all the pieces before you start the proper cooking process.

You have made a wise decision. I bought my mother one and even she at the age of 69 and a technophobe is convinced and is trying to evangelise her elderly friends! Enjoy!!!

Answer 3

5 quarts or larger.. If you want to do side items, a small one is fairly inexpensive... The best kind to get are the ones that are "smart pots" where you can set the temp on high, etc for so many hours then it resets to warm after that... I do nothing but crockpot cooking... you may want to brown the meat first... that's what I do.. Also, you can purchase either brown gravy mix or Tony Chachere's Roux Mix (I am from Louisiana) to sprinkle on the meat to cook it with... Careful with the liquids!! I love smoking a pork roast then putting it in the pot with some grape jelly, brown sugar, ketchup and cinnamon... Makes the best roast in the world!! Good luck!!

Answer 4

Don't know about the size but yes you can cook chicken and roast, i tend to stick to using mine for stews and Curry's things like, as I'm a bit fussy about cooking mean, love it when i put a stew on go work and when i get home and dinner is done, well worth £20 it makes my life easier some days

Answer 5

I use a 6 quart, just bought a new one, West Bend Crockery for $20, awesome price! You can cook a whole chicken, roast, or a good sized ham.

Answer 6

I just read an article on this yesterday. You should buy the biggest one you can find no matter what size family you have. Mine is programmable and has a removable insert. That insert is the best thing for cleanup. And yes you can cook whole birds and roasts in them, as long as the lid fits snugly on top!

Oh, and they've come out with one now that looks really sweet, it has a resting place on a handle for the lid.

Answer 7

A 5 quart or larger. Yes, you can cook a whole chicken or roast in one.

Answer 8

Everybody has a great answer but they forgot one thing, Wattage, look for the Cooker with the highest wattage rating, it'll be on the box somewhere, you'll understand when you get your new cooker and can't figure out why it doesn't cook like your friends cooks. (Like asking how long it'll take to get somewhere, depends on how fast you drive.)

Answer 9

Buy a 6 quart!! I have both a 6 and 4 quart.I use the 6 quart the most.I have a small family,but i have guest often.I cook everything in mine.

Answer 10

I would suggest a 6 qt.

My favorite has a timer on it so I can set the temp on high or low and set the timer for 4,6,8 of 10 hours.

I found removable crocks make cleaning easier.

Also, Glad make crock-pot liners so clean up is pull liner & throw away when done!

I use my smallest crockpot (3 qt) for baking potatoes. Wrap in tin foil and put in crockpot for 6-8 hours on low.