Summary Review: A fantastic basic slow cooker. Simple to use with high, low, and warm settings, this cooker is larege enough to handle everything I’ve tried to cook in it. Standard recipes I’ve used have all listed the necessary cooking time perfectly. Pros: • Large capacity • Simple to use; basic controls • Even heating; recipe times always work perfectly • Easy cleanup in the dishwasher • Great value for the price Cons: • A bit unwieldy in storage due to lid clips I bought the Hamilton Beach Stay or Go 6-Quart Slow Cooker (33262) five years ago and must say it has performed beautifully, especially considering the price. It gets heavy use from me, once or twice a week EVERY week. It’s big enough for me to cook just about everything in it, from 6 quarts of chili to a good-sized roast. The clips on the side are used to secure the lid when you transport the slow cooker (not used when cooking), and have worked well the time or two that I’ve used them. For standard sloshing around in the car it has been fine with no leaks at all. I’ve found that following many recipes I find on the Internet, the suggested cook time works fine, with everything cooked through but not over-cooked. I’ve cooked all your standard slow cooker recipes in this, from beef stew to chili to cheese dip, and everything’s come out perfectly. As an added bonus, Hamilton Beach’s website has great recipes, especially their Slow Cooker Gridiron Chili, with which I won the annual chili cook-off at work. I routinely store leftovers in the fridge still in the crock with the included lid on top; the rubber gasket seals it just fine. Cleanup is super simple, too. Just rinse out the crock and the lid and stick them in the dishwasher. The only drawbacks I’ve seen over the years are it takes up a good bit of storage in my medium-sized apartment kitchen cabinet, mostly caused by the clips for the lid, which stick up and out to the sides. Overall I’m very pleased with this slow cooker, and if I was in the market for another one I’d buy the Hamilton Beach Stay or Go 6-Quart Slow Cooker again without hesitation. Highly recommended! Read more
I've owned - and used - this slow cooker for a little more than two years now and, as a result, I think I'm now qualified to say that it is a great buy. Since purchasing it I have made half a dozen different kinds of chili, more varieties of soup than I can count, and cooked both chickens and roasts in it. It has never failed me, which is pretty remarkable given the amount of times I've used it. It has enough capacity for me to make dishes that I can then freeze to enjoy over time and to create meals for small dinner parties at which I'm entertaining up to six people. I'm a retired single guy and do a lot of my own cooking (eating out is expensive and I am on a pension, after all.) Because I also enjoy puttering around in the kitchen, mixing and matching recipes, I've found that this slow cooker is a perfect complement to my pots and pans. On that subject, I'd also like to note that it's not only easy to use but easy to clean: As a single man of a certain age without anyone around to help with the dishes, I find that's also a major plus. The verdict: This is an excellent appliance, and not just for old guys like me. Read more
I've really enjoyed this slow cooker; it's very basic with just three heat settings, but works well. I initially bought it because I read (and confirmed with the company) that my Rival slow cooker contained lead. Yikes! This was the cheapest alternative and I've been pleased. I've actually really enjoyed the lock-down feature so I could take it in my car without spilling. I've also noticed that if you cook with the lid locked down, it cooks really fast, almost like a pressure cooker. So I guess it can be a slow and a fast cooker :) Read more
Purchased this nearly 2 years ago and use it about 2-3 times a month. The first thing I noticed was the horrible smell of the rubber seal on the lid as the unit was cooking. Smells similar to pet urine that has seeped into the rug and can't get the odor out. Each time I cooked with it, I thought "I'm going to return this." It cooked fine and traveled well with the lid clamps. Be sure not to cook with the lid clamps on, not enough steam escapes and may cause the glass to break (as I've read in other reviews). The strange rubber smell did not transfer to the food at all. I'm happy to report that the smell eventually WENT AWAY. It no longer has a strange odor while cooking. I would say it took roughly 20 times of use before the smell disappeared. So there is hope. I'm glad I didn't return it. As for the handles, they seem to be holding up fine. It seems to cook evenly. I can leave it cooking a dish all night and the next day on low and the food will not burn. I have done the exact same food dish with a different crock pot, and it burned the food and gave the entire dish an odd flavor. One of the most popular party uses for this is a very large can of nacho cheese, takes a couple hours to heat up but is great for nachos. One more crowd pleaser are meatballs. I use the big bag of frozen Costco cooked meatballs (it fills the unit full) then pour on one bottle of BBQ sauce mixed with half cup of apricot preserves. Takes several hours to heat up. If you are short on time, microwave meatballs first. Recipe is so simple but tastes amazing. They disappear at every potluck. Read more
