The $59.99 Hamilton Beach Set ‘n Forget 6-Quart Programmable Slow Cooker is a very straightforward slow cooker. It isn’t full of innovative tech, and it doesn’t appeal to modern design sensibilities, but this is one of those rare times when I don’t think that’s a terribly bad thing. It offers the basics and a handful of special features, like a thermometer probe for cooking to temperature and lid clips for safe and easy transport. I strongly recommend this slow cooker to anyone looking for a uncomplicated, traditional approach to cooking slowly. These small slow cookers will slowly tenderize meat and blend complex layers of flavor.
On High, every model except the Frigidaire reached boiling, with the Ninja in the lead. The Frigidaire slow cooker never exceeded 191 degrees. This is where we began to notice a pattern that would remain consistent throughout testing.
One feature common to both the Hamilton Beach and Crock-Pot units is that they come with clips that you can use to secure the lid for safe transport. That means that you can stick this slow cooker in your car and take it to a get-together without worrying about chili spilling all over your seats. But Hamilton Beach also added a thermometer probe to its list of features. Select probe mode, plug the probe into the provided jack and stick it through the lid vent, and the unit will automatically switch to warm mode when your food reaches the desired temperature. Host the best event ever by letting a roaster, slow cooker or crock pot do the heavy lifting. Toss in your ingredients & spend the next few hours enjoying your guests.
Later on, you’ll come home to a perfectly cooked meal that’s ready to serve. Hamilton Beach® 7 & 8 Quart Slow Cookers are sized just right for feeding a crowd, satisfying the appetite of a large family, and saving leftovers for lunch. Each one is outfitted with oval-shaped stoneware that’s ideal for cooking a whole chicken or roast to tender perfection. The handles stick out fairly far from the sides of the Hamilton Beach unit, making it a full two inches wider than the competing $59 Crock-Pot Cook & Carry Digital Slow Cooker. The Crock-Pot model also has posts to wrap the power cord around, which the Hamilton Beach lacks. Those Crock-Pot design notes make it a bit easier to transport and to store at home, but the Hamilton Beach makes up the difference with some useful features I’ll get to shortly.
You might get better results if you’re willing to experiment, but prepare to burn through a lot of chicken to find the appropriate setting. Water boil We used this test to set a performance baseline — which slow cooker would reach the highest temperature the fastest, etc., and how (if at all) would that correlate to the food tests? We tested the slow cookers for eight hours on Low and then for four hours on High. On Low, the Breville slow cooker began to boil the fastest and maintained that temperature for the remainder of the test. The Frigidaire followed, then the Crock-Pot, and then the Hamilton Beach.
But, some of them did hover pretty close to the line. So, if you have the option, I would suggest switching on the Warm mode, or at least monitoring the temp with a thermometer. Hamilton Beach® 6 Quart Slow Cookers work well for family dinners, parties or other large gatherings. The portable design includes easy-grip handles and some models have a Lid Latch™ strap for meals on the go.
Did you know that some rice cookers can make more than just rice? Yep, you can make plenty of easy one-pot meals in them. Next we tried adjusting the cooking time down to three hours on High. The Breville and Ninja chickens hamilton beach mixer were still dry, the Hamilton Beach and Crock-Pot less so, while the Frigidaire chicken was just barely cooked to the safety standard of 160 degrees Fahrenheit. None of them really nailed this admittedly challenging test.
Also, the removable stoneware is dishwasher safe for easy cleanup. Macaroni and cheese We also tested how well the slow cookers would handle more delicate ingredients, so we found a slow-cooker macaroni and cheese recipe and set it on Low for six hours. Now, macaroni and cheese is delicious and not particularly hamilton beach mixer hard to make, but this recipe did not turn out well with any of the five slow cookers. In all fairness, that was the fault of the recipe rather than the slow cookers in this case. The recipe required eggs and it really turned out more like an eggy noodle casserole than it did melty macaroni and cheese.