Slow Cookers vs. Nesco Roasters

Hamilton Beach Slow Cooker

Some time ago I wanted to make a corned beef and cabbage dinner and saw a method of preparation that used a slow cooker to do the trick. I got out my 300 year-old Crock-Pot that gets used once or twice a year, followed the recipe and discovered that my Crock-Pot was now a Crock-o-Sh*t. What was to take 6-8 hours to cook took almost 18! I decided that I now need to replace my slow cooker. 

Of course I went to my current favorite food site AmericasTestKitchen.com to read any equipment reviews they had on the topic and discovered the best one was an All-Clad for $200 bucks. As I use this thing rarely I thought that I would go for their next best... The Cuisinart, but again it was at $149 a little pricey for something I hardly use. I discovered that they had a "best buy" slow cooker, the Hamilton Beach 6qt Slow Cooker (pictured above) that was only $50, plus I had a coupon from Bed, Bath and Beyond for 20% off. I went right down there and got one. It has worked marvelously for all sorts of things. The last thing I used it on was spicy tomato jam that requires a lot of simmering and stirring. I figured that a slow cooker would be perfect for that and it is!  

Meanwhile while I was trying to decide what slow cooker to buy, My dear husband, Mr. B. said that his Mom swears by something called a Nesco Roaster. I will admit that when he told me about it all I heard was "roaster" and since ATK had not even reviewed it in its slow cooker tests I filed that suggestion under "Review in 50 Years". 

Nesco Roaster

Recently a co-worker heard me talking about Craigslist and the bargains to be had there when he told me about a Yahoo Group called "FreeCycle" wherein people who have stuff to give away or want something for free, post messages on this board and try to put people together with their stuff. I went to take a look and what did I see? A woman in Hyannis was giving away a 6qt Nesco Roaster, in good condition and FREE! I went right over and picked it up. After a little cleaning it was as good as new. 

What I discovered about these roasters is that rather than having settings like Off, Low (typically 250-275F) and High (275-300F), on a slow cooker, the Nesco has a dial that lets you select a temperature from 200-425F. Also, rather than having a ceramic insert like the slow cooker, the Nesco has a porcelain clad steel insert.

Ready for the roaster

After going to the Ham Toss this past weekend I went to Stop & Shop and got a nice chicken, a couple of new potatoes and some carrots to roast in that thing for Mr. B and me. I turned the thing on and set it according to the booklet that I got and left it to cook. I found out that you cannot have anything touching the walls of that thing as the walls of the roaster get quite hot and the potatoes started to brown. I took the potatoes out and continued to roast the chicken for the allotted time. When it was done the chicken was nicely cooked... not dry at all but the skin of the chicken did not get brown or crispy at all. It also cooks hotter that the temperature gauge says I think. I suspect that this device will be great for something you have already browned before you put it in the roaster but forget about crispy skin. It'll probably be great for pork roast or pot roast or something like that. 

So the outcome is that I am glad I bought the HB slow cooker rather than the Nesco roaster but since I got this one for free I will keep it in the basement and haul it out for Thanksgiving when oven space is at a premium. 

Tune in next time for another episode of "What the Hell is she talking about now?"