Hamilton Beach Temp Tracker 6 Quart Slow Cooker vs KitchenAid 6-Quart

I just can’t fathom a Hamilton Beach slow cooker for $70-80. I believe this was in the $45-50 range when I purchased four years ago and I thought that was steep, looks like all slow cookers have increased tremendously in price. At that rate I’d rather pay a little more and get kitchen aid, or maybe even bump up to a higher end brand from there. Slow cookers used to last 20 plus years- 4 years is ridiculous

This is a pretty good cooker, but it should be for the price. Controls are convenient and easy to use. I love the cord keeper on the bottom side and love the 6 qt size. This is definitely a "slow" cooker - the low setting seems to hover around 145 degrees

So after about 5 hours, I took the lid off and let it cook on high. This did the trick. The watery sauce began to change into the thicker sauce I wanted. After this, I returned the lid and put the pork on low for another 1 hour and again removed the lid for the final hour

I am not sure why the 'Cook's Illustrated' people would think potatoes would go from raw to cooked in 8 hours at 204˚ ? In my experience red potatoes need a higher temp than 204˚. Although maybe 12 hours of cooking at 204˚ would do the trick?

The silicone ring on the lid starts off pretty tacky and can be tricky to seat. After the first couple times using it though, that wears off and works great, creating a nice seal. The biggest annoyance for me is the beeps when turning it on or adjusting settings is a bit obnoxious and can't be disabled. Overall though, it cooks like a crock pot should (low and slow) and has held up so I recommend this one!

Crock pots should last longer than 4 years. I have a different brand that I have had for 25 years and it still heats and works properly. Honestly, I would not go with this brand again.

I feel using the cooking bags help with my peace of mind, as well as with cleanup. The wire clamps to secure the crock for travel seem like they would work fine, but I don't travel with food, so I have only found them a bit annoying because they don't fold completely away from the side of the crock and you cannot use them while cooking. Another model is probably the same, but without the clamps. I was just overwhelmed with all the reading I did and picked this one without considering that I might not want the clamps

I "assumed" this would NOT be made in China, but alas; it is. :( One of the greatest things the fire service has done in the USA since 1947 has been to create a fire prevention system, complete with laws, rules and regulations for the prevention of fires. This extends into every appliance that has electrical wiring. Well, at least those made in and under the fire prevention codes of the USA

The face of it is already starting to come off. The crock insert is much harder to clean than the original so they definitely changed the finish on that as well.

It will be your hip's fault. Now, it is it easy to clean? Yes, yes it is. Super easy. As easy as lifting the ceramic portion by it's nice big handles and putting it into the sink to wipe it out with some hot water and some dish soap, and wham bam it's in the dish rank to drip dry

The ceramic crock: nice and heavy. So many slow cookers seem to be scrimping on the crocks these days. This one is heavy duty and exceedingly easy to clean (and I highly recommend using slow cooker bags to eas on the cleanup)

I love it! The only negative comment I have is that the insert is quite heavy. I use a bag/liner to keep washing at a minimum for easier handling.

To confirm temperature, time setting. & turn off power, you must PUSH IN the same knob you use for control settings. Made a roast on low & it turned out very moist and delicious. There was no boiling like my old crockpot and the roast was fully cooked to my liking in 7 hrs

Chicken cacciatore was way overdone on low for six hours, next time I'll do four. I'm looking forward to pork mojo this week (butt or shoulder) and will do medium for six hours. So, this gets hot enough on low to cook anything safely but your food won't come out tough and dry unless you leave it too long.