Slow cooker vs instant pots

[Kevin86]

Have slow cookers taken a back seat to the pressure cookers lately? I see a bunch of talk and recipes for 30 minute roasts etc. I’ve never had a pressure cooker, never had the want for one I guess.

With everyone off now and home with time have the slow cookers got pulled back out and dusted off?

[msmofet]

I would never use a slow cooker for anything but keeping something warm for a short time (2 hours or less).

I LOVE my Instant Pot. Corned beef, pot roast and stew in 2 hours or less!

[Andy M.]

I have neither a fast nor a slow cooker. As you said, with everyone off now and home with time...

You can use the stovetop and/or oven and produce meals better than a slow cooker and as good as a pressure cooker only slower.

[Kevin86]

I’m very much an oven cooker lately even more than stove top

[Just Cooking]

I use both..

I like the house smell and ease of use with the slow cooker.. My IP is great when I, too frequently, am late in deciding what we would like to eat..

I have slowed down and long bouts of cooking no longer works for me..

I do enjoy the picture, recipe and discussion contributions of DC members..

Ross

[Whiskadoodle]

I have an old fashioned Crock pot. High and Low settings. Don't use real often, so it may may out live me.

I find a slow cooker is useful for keeping things warm for a short time frame plus I like the color black food insert.

We don't have an instapot. The Jr's use theirs often, and the meals we've had there were quite good.

I mostly use cast iron cookware, various sizes. Good on the stove top or oven. Or heavy duty soup pot for soups and spaghetti type sauces.

[cookieee]

We use our slow cooker quite often. We have the kind that you can take the inside and brown your food first on the stove. DH especially likes the idea, so he can start dinner early and get it going and then go about and do what ever (sometimes he gets in a nap and doesn't have to worry abut starting dinner) Keep that in mind guys. lol

Of course, I have a binder full of slow cooker recipes if anyone needs some ideas. lol

[4food]

Pressure cooker will do the same over all job as a slow cooker with 2 major advantages and one disadvantage.

The first advantage is time. The pressure cooker will do the same job in 1/5th of the time.
The second advantage is that the high pressure in the pressure cooker will push moisture and flavors inside the meat.
The disadvantage is the possible danger associated with high pressure. It requires some more attention, as the slow cooker can be somewhat left alone.

[skilletlicker]

I haven't used my crockpot in at least a year. The InstantPot probably gets used at least once a week for yogurt or beans mostly.

Most of the stuff one might use either one for, I usually cook in a dutch oven on a single burner stovetop. Reason is mostly habit and partly better temperature control.

[GotGarlic]

Originally Posted by Andy M.

I have neither a fast nor a slow cooker. As you said, with everyone off now and home with time...

You can use the stovetop and/or oven and produce meals better than a slow cooker and as good as a pressure cooker only slower.

I usually do long-cooking foods in my Dutch oven, because I like to taste and adjust while it's cooking. But I have tried some recipes in the Instant Pot that come out tasting better. The pressure seems to really infuse seasonings into a big cut of meat and chicken thighs - chicken thighs with lentils and bacon from Serious Eats is one example. And nothing can beat hard-boiled eggs steamed in the IP - the shells practically fall off.

I have also found it useful for finishing smoked meat that just isn't cooking fast enough. Ten or 15 minutes in the IP is like an hour or more on the smoker.

[GotGarlic]

Originally Posted by 4food

The disadvantage is the possible danger associated with high pressure. It requires some more attention, as the slow cooker can be somewhat left alone.

Modern electronic multi-cookers like the Instant Pot have built-in safety features that prevent too much pressure build-up - they can automatically release excess pressure. So they can do their thing unattended, too.

[GotGarlic]

And I also only use my slow cooker to keep food warm. For some reason, food cooked in the slow cooker tastes muddled and overcooked to me.

[msmofet]

Originally Posted by gotgarlic

modern electronic multi-cookers like the instant pot have built-in safety features that prevent too much pressure build-up - they can automatically release excess pressure. So they can do their thing unattended, too.

+1

Originally Posted by gotgarlic

and i also only use my slow cooker to keep food warm. For some reason, food cooked in the slow cooker tastes muddled and overcooked to me.

+1

[pepperhead212]

I got rid of my slow cooker when I got my Instantpot. I really never used it much, anyway, and I only use the slow cook mode occasionally on the IP, usually for cooking legumes slowly, so that I can stop the cooking before they become mushy. I have always used pressure cookers for beans, to save time, but it's not easy to stop the cooking before they become slightly mushy. This doesn't really matter with soups, and such dishes, since some call for mashing some anyway, to thicken them. But when I am making salads with them, which I do a lot in the summer, I don't want mushy beans!

When serious eats did that test years ago, making some broth using a pressure cooker, a slow cooker, and regular simmering, and the slow cooker came out last, while the pressure cooker was best of the bunch, they figured that it was probably because of the higher temp extracting the extra flavor. I figured that this is probably why things just didn't seem to taste as good in general, when made in a SC. The reason mine was rarely in the kitchen, when I still had it.

[GimmeAnother1]

have an old crock pot but barely use it as i just stove/oven dutch oven. i did get an instanpot and have tried a few dishes with it. it does cut the time down and retains moisture but texture not quite the same as slow cook imo. that being said if i don't have many hours to slow cook it works great in a pinch and doubles as a rice cooker for me.

[pepperhead212]

GA1, The rice cooker is another appliance that I got rid of, and the IP took its place on the counter. I never used the SC enough to keepit on the counter.

[skilletlicker]

Originally Posted by pepperhead212

GA1, The rice cooker is another appliance that I got rid of, and the IP took its place on the counter. I never used the SC enough to keepit on the counter.

I still use my little rice cooker for small quantities, specifically 0.83 cups or 197 ml dry brown rice. Do you think I can cook such a small amount in my 6 quart Instant Pot?

[pepperhead212]

I cooked just 1 c of rice in it once, just to see if it would work, and it was OK, but not as good as the rice cooker, because the bottom is much broader. I really never cook such a small amount, however, as I like having the leftover rice, to put in the fridge, to make various things with.

[skilletlicker]

Originally Posted by pepperhead212

I cooked just 1 c of rice in it once, just to see if it would work, and it was OK, but not as good as the rice cooker, because the bottom is much broader. I really never cook such a small amount, however, as I like having the leftover rice, to put in the fridge, to make various things with.

Thanks, Dave.
That's kinda what I thought. Cooking for one, a scant cup gives me a couple of helpings for dinner and a generous portion for fried rice the next day. With my little apartment-sized icebox, refrigerator real estate is more valuable to me than the convenience of more leftovers.

[GimmeAnother1]

Originally Posted by skilletlicker

I still use my little rice cooker for small quantities, specifically 0.83 cups or 197 ml dry brown rice. Do you think I can cook such a small amount in my 6 quart Instant Pot?

Personally I cook 1 cup frequently and comes out just fine. I use 1:1 ratio rice to water and good to go. Coconut sticky rice is good sometimes to make too. I admit I’ve only done white rice though. I haven’t tried like a paella or Spanish rice in it yet. Total set and forget. Oh and mine is 8qt.