Why cook these in a crock pot when you have a stove?

Everything seems to burn on my (electric) stove. Plus, I can plug the crock pot in the dining room if I need the kitchen counter space. Convenient and hands off.

@Cupcake great idea ! Take it and put it in another room! I like that.

Some people like the idea of being able to throw ingredients into a crockpot in the morning and have dinner ready when they get home from work. Less work, plus you don’t have to stand there hovering over the pot.

For me, it’s generally easier to cook in a crock pot because I don’t have to check, stir or do any other maintenance during cooking. My crock pot is electronic, so once I’ve set it, I can forget it. And with a crock pot liner, it’s easier to clean up than a pot off the stove. I’ve never trusted simmering, which often either undercooks or burns my recipe.

I like herbs and spices in my chili. The longer simmer time while I am at work for example does more to pull out the flavors and allow them to meld.

I have even cooked it the night ahead and put in the fridge in the morning. I like second day tomato bases.

@Kardamom can’t you put things in a dutch oven in the morning just as easily?

I can also prep food the night before and put it in the crock in the fridge… take it out the next morning and cook on low all day while I’m at work.

But I suppose I could put the whole pot in the fridge the night before too.

@Aster, I guess you could, but I would not recommend leaving a Dutch oven on the stove, turned on, and then leaving the house. Crockpots are meant to be left un-attended. I would never leave a stove un-attended.

I’ve had a lifetime of stirring something on the stove every half hour and now I’m reading that isn’t necessary with a crock pot ? Stirring distributes the spices evenly.

@Aster Apparently cooking for 4–8 hours also distributes spices. :)

@Aster Yes, that is correct. The temperature on a crockpot is lower and distributes the temperature evenly, not just on the bottom. The longer time cooking, with even heat gets all those spices soaked in where they need to be. Sometimes a recipe will call for layering the ingredients in a particular order, just for that reason. Some of the juices will trickle down, while others will release more slowly (like the difference between a piece of meat and an onion) so layering according to the recipe’s instructions is sometimes important. The amounts of liquid in a crockpot recipe might be different from a regular stove top recipe, simply because of how the machine works and how the evaporation process differs.

You can read all about how Crockpots Work

@Kardamom Thanks for the layering tip. I was heretofore unaware. Do you have any proven recipes that demonstrate this technique or do you not recommend them?

Here is some of the Explanation for why some (but not all) recipes call for layering specific ingredients.

Here is a recipe for Split Pea Soup that calls for layering.

This recipe for Beef Stew calls for layering of the ingredients, veggies on the bottom, meat on the top.

Here are a bunch of nifty Helpful Hints for cooking in crockpots.

Here’s a few more tips regarding Layering in crockpots.

Crock Pot Liners are proof that God loves us and wants us to be happy, rather than having to scrub out a crock pot.

I’ve never had a crock pot but they seem convenient. I do love my dutch oven, which I just recently discovered how to use. I made a roast and almost cried it was so good.

Thank you Kardamom my crock pot enthusiasm has been stoked.

There is another primary difference between using a crackpot vs a Dutch oven placed in an oven rather than stovetop (if you want heat all around rather than just on the bottom) and that is cost effectiveness

Using a crackpot requires less energy to achieve surround heat all around since you don’t have to heat up an entire oven space to achieve the same result.

And especially in summertime, it’s nice to not have your entire kitchen heated up by the oven. A cockpother comes in handy then