Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:They all taste exactly the same. Gross. No matter what I try - it has that "slow cooker" taste. UGH

Are you doing "dump" meals? The kind where you pack a bunch of raw ingredients into the slow cooker? If this is what you do, then yeah, you will end up with that weird metallic boiled onion taste to everything. You need to first brown/saute your ingredients before putting them in. You also need to cook for the correct amount of time. Very few types of foods need more than 4-6 hours on low. Crock pots are marketed as dump it in and forget it devices, but they really aren't. They are a great device when you want to take advantage of a moist, low-temperature environment to cook tough cuts of meat or dried beans.

This. If you're using recipes from a cookbook like The Fix It and Forget It Cookbook that involve dumping a bunch of ingredients (such as canned cream soups and such) into the slow cooker and then leaving it to cook all day long, then you will not get a good result. Soups, stews, tough cuts of meat, chili, beans, and such are slow-cooker friendly to begin with, but it really helps to take the extra time to prep your ingredients properly, brown your meats, and mind your cooking times. I understand that this defeats the purpose of the slow cooker in a way, but it really does make a difference. Dump and go is definitely more convenient, but the tradeoff is that you may end up with a sludgy flavorless mess, which is what puts people off the slow cooker.

Not Your Mother's Slow Cooker is a really good resource, as is The Complete Slow Cooker by America's Test Kitchen. Here are a couple of go-to slow cooker recipes that turn out great for me every time.

https://www.tasteofhome.com/recipes/corsican-chicken/

https://damndelicious.net/2014/10/10/slow-cooker-pork-carnitas/

US Senate navy bean and ham soup from America's Test Kitchen

The NY Times cooking section has a lot of great slow cooker recipes too. https://cooking.nytimes.com/68861692-nyt-cooking/950138-34-amazing-slow-cooker-recipes?ds_c=71700000052595478&gclid=CjwKCAiA8ov_BRAoEiwAOZogwSGu2mOYVWjTZdyUvKPiAnGI2Z4th0D7hprkD85fkLPTClNvK9f5nRoCpOkQAvD_BwE&gclsrc=aw.ds

Anonymous wrote:Everything I ever cooked in my slow cooker tasted like bad hospital food. I got rid of it in the end.

Me too. My dh hates slow cooker meals. I eventually just gave it away.

Anonymous wrote:They all taste exactly the same. Gross. No matter what I try - it has that "slow cooker" taste. UGH

Are you doing "dump" meals? The kind where you pack a bunch of raw ingredients into the slow cooker? If this is what you do, then yeah, you will end up with that weird metallic boiled onion taste to everything. You need to first brown/saute your ingredients before putting them in. You also need to cook for the correct amount of time. Very few types of foods need more than 4-6 hours on low. Crock pots are marketed as dump it in and forget it devices, but they really aren't. They are a great device when you want to take advantage of a moist, low-temperature environment to cook tough cuts of meat or dried beans.

They all taste exactly the same. Gross. No matter what I try - it has that "slow cooker" taste. UGH

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:This is one of the reasons I use a pressure cooker instead of a slow cooker. I think the huge amount of time food cooks in a slow cooker makes it taste off.

+1. A pressure cooker is basically the reverse of a slow cooker -- it cooks everything really fast instead of really slow. And if you use an instant pot, it will finish everything and then keep it warm for you for 8 hours or whatever time you need.

I think they both can have the same issue though. The instant pot is nice because it has the saute setting but for the most part I only use it for lentils/beans/rice. I think you need the evaporation that comes with cooking on a stovetop to really develop flavors. Most things in crockpots or pressure cooker suffer textural issues because they leave things watery.

I don't use slow cookers, but I've never had this problem with pressure cookers. Are you adding too much water when you cook? You're right that pressure cookers let out less water -- the instant pot doesn't let out any at all if you natural release. All that means is that you add a lot less water at the start. And of course, saute at the beginning to develop browning.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:This is one of the reasons I use a pressure cooker instead of a slow cooker. I think the huge amount of time food cooks in a slow cooker makes it taste off.

+1. A pressure cooker is basically the reverse of a slow cooker -- it cooks everything really fast instead of really slow. And if you use an instant pot, it will finish everything and then keep it warm for you for 8 hours or whatever time you need.

I think they both can have the same issue though. The instant pot is nice because it has the saute setting but for the most part I only use it for lentils/beans/rice. I think you need the evaporation that comes with cooking on a stovetop to really develop flavors. Most things in crockpots or pressure cooker suffer textural issues because they leave things watery.

ETA: The pressure cooker is wonderful for making stock for my homemade soups

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:This is one of the reasons I use a pressure cooker instead of a slow cooker. I think the huge amount of time food cooks in a slow cooker makes it taste off.

+1. A pressure cooker is basically the reverse of a slow cooker -- it cooks everything really fast instead of really slow. And if you use an instant pot, it will finish everything and then keep it warm for you for 8 hours or whatever time you need.

I think they both can have the same issue though. The instant pot is nice because it has the saute setting but for the most part I only use it for lentils/beans/rice. I think you need the evaporation that comes with cooking on a stovetop to really develop flavors. Most things in crockpots or pressure cooker suffer textural issues because they leave things watery.

This is baffling to me. I make some stews and/or meatballs and have always had a good result. Does your crockpot have a weird lining?

I only use the crockpot for certain recipes though.