Crockpot® Manual 8-Quart Slow Cooker, Red Polished

Received boxed well with no dents, cracks or otherwise observable defects. Strengths are the size and simplicity of design with a lack of the digital fluff that drives up costs with its added fragility and high failure rates. The previous crock pot in my possession had a digital module that "bubbled out" across the face of the read-out. Yes, it doesn't have a light. Clue: look to see where the knob is turned if you forgot what you were doing after that 4th glass of wine or Jack without the ice. But whether you have a light or not, assuming it hasn't failed, you were going to put your hands on the product anyway, right, without at least a very light touch to test on either the glass or a side for heat? I don't pick up my toaster, toaster oven or egg steamer with bare hands after I finished using it without at least a light touch. There is a simple, ancient and well-tested device, known by many names and cultures throughout the ages, we now call a potholder, which might be indicated for such situations if such handling is necessary. Yes, the cords are short as a safety feature that tries to force you use the crock pot on a counter next to an outlet as far away as possible from small hands and from interference with the cord. Yes, the handles, such as they are, get hot and they are somewhat small (it's not exactly a "portable" device after all and doesn't advertise itself as such), but what I see is without the extra coatings, plastics, bells and whistles, there is very little on this unit to break (or break off) unless you want to perform a drop test or throw it against a wall. For those that complain the crock pot gets hot, I suppose you must have a floor stove that doesn't. Use a timer to shut it off if you are not at home at the end of cook time if that's your major complaint (it's actually safer as it's not subject to heat failures) as suggested by others for those that would have wanted to have the crock pot set the table for them also. All you have to look at is the KitchenAid Crock Pot that was highly rated by America's Test Kitchen as an example of a nightmare waiting to happen for those that like the fancy electronics despite their high failure rates. Here, there may be some things that are inconvenient, but really they're pretty minor when you're looking for something relatively bulletproof with good performance and longevity. I just look at this as a dutch oven that doesn't heat up the kitchen during the summer and saves money if you have an electric stove. I've had both electric and gas and feel a hell of a lot safer walking away from the crock pot for any length of time than either of the stoves with the dutch oven. I understand that a dutch oven may be in theory more precise in terms of even heating over it's entire surface when it's placed inside a stove, but the most I can say IMO is that the differences are minor based on my experience with both. I'll leave that to the Le Creuset upper crust types to argue that out with their 300+ dollar tastes. Here: Marinated 5 pound sirloin tip roast placed at room temperature on low at 5 am...roast 3/4 immersed...broth surrounding roast at 10 am read approx. 140 degrees F. There was good low temperature stability throughout process. At 1:30 pm cooked completely through on the edge of fall apart but could be cut with a fork after slicing. Broth in a meat stew with veggies (one inch cuts) ran at about 150 degrees measured at 4 hours low heat. Not to cause a fight here, but just because there may be some "bubbling" on the surface doesn't in my experience mean "boiling." Heavier liquids seem to do this more and many times I'm not reading anywhere near 212 degrees when I test. Edit: 3/28/22 ...Sometimes I make bad judgments, sometime good and sometimes as in this case a very good judgment. Still working well using it a couple of times each month. Longevity, durability & consistency in operation.

The media could not be loaded. UPDATE: fits a whole Boston butt easily. Only issue I have is that the labels for the temp above the dial are very faint. If I go to my old one automatically it’s on the wrong heat. I just have to learn the new layout. But I wish they made this print to stand out better. See my last photo.Great price for a real Crock Pot brand slow cooker. This replaced an off brand that cracked after 30 years of use. I was heartbroken, as we raised our family, brought meals to neighbors, and church potlucks for years and years in that thing- heck it even predated the internet!This red color was much less $$ than the black. Red is always a go to for me, it means look out! And for this, it means it’s HOT and it’s ON.Oval shape is good.Four feet vs three makes it steadier.Lid is depressed more than my last one, which makes any overheating and spitting not an issue.Crock comes out for easy cleaning.Heats up quickly and so far so good- I’ll let you know after this big ol’ pot of chili is done.

I'll say that this is a very large crock pot! Which is exactly what we were looking for because we were planning to host family holidays and needed something larger than our medium sized one. Functions as any Crock-Pot should with easy and intuitive settings. Capacity is enormous!The only downside I can see is that we now have to have two crock pots because this one is so large that it's not very conducive to making weekly meals for two adults. Sure it can do it, but you have all this extra space in the crock pot.Definitely I must have for those who like to host family or friends events

This slow cooker is like the MVP of meal prep. With 8 quarts of capacity, it’s ready to tackle everything from hearty stews to party-sized chili. You could probably fit a small village’s dinner in here—and still have room for dessert.The manual controls are refreshingly simple. No confusing buttons or settings—just turn the dial and let the magic happen. It’s like the slow cooker is saying, “I’ve got this, you go relax.”The removable stoneware insert is a dream for cleanup. It’s dishwasher-safe, so you can spend less time scrubbing and more time enjoying your culinary masterpiece. And the glass lid? Perfect for peeking at your food without letting the heat escape.Bonus: It’s so reliable, you might start slow-cooking everything—soups, roasts, casseroles, maybe even breakfast. Who needs a stove when you’ve got this beauty?In short, the Crockpot® Manual 8-Quart Slow Cooker is the ultimate kitchen companion. If it could talk, it would probably say, “Let’s get cooking!”

Best size for full meals and easy to operate. Cooks perfectly and easy to clean. Great value for busy families.

Works great