This reviewer received promo considerations or sweepstakes entry for writing a review.
The Crock-Pot 10-quart Multi-Cooker is their newest and largest offering in their multi-cooker line, combining more than a dozen functions into a single cooker, making this a 1-pot device that can bring your meal from prep to cook to serve. This is not your grandmother’s Crock-Pot. And I will say that the 10-quart size is a monster. More on that shortly.
The Multi-Cooker offers the usual slow cooking capability that Crock-Pot invented with standard “low” and “high” settings, but can now take your entire meal thru its entire cooking cycle. Start with the ability to brown/sear a cut of meat to seal in the juices during cooking, move on to sautéing the vegetables and aromatics to cook with the meal, then reduce to slow cooking and leave while you’re at work, coming home to a fully-prepared meal. For meals not looking to slow cook, for example a pot of chili, use the Multi-Cooker to brown the beef and onions in the pot, then switch to “Simmer” mode.
All modes come with an ability to set a timer for cooking, with the device automatically changing to “Keep Warm” mode at the end of the cycle.
If you don’t have the 5-6 hours to simmer or slow cook a meal to completion, the Multi-Cooker includes several pressure cooking modes that accelerate cooking times exponentially. For example, a 5-6 hour meal can be reduced to as low as 1 hour without sacrificing meal quality. If anything, I found that it enhanced the meal, pushing flavors from the sauce or aromatics into the food under pressure that accelerates cooking time and keeps meats juicy.
As an example of pressure cooking, I was able to cook a full meal of Honey Soy Chicken in less than 15 minutes. Three-to-four minutes browning the chicken and onions, then less than 5 minutes cooked under pressure, followed by about 5 minutes simmering. The chicken came out tender and juicy, and my picky son even said it was good. It actually took me more time to prep the meal (cutting the chicken, dicing onions and garlic, measuring out the ingredients, etc.) than it did to cook the meal.
The Multi-Cooker will also work as a rice cooker, quickly your rice then switching to a “Keep Warm” mode for use all day. Item of note: Make sure you follow the instructions for rinsing the rice. The starch will come out of the pressure valve and bobber valves with the potential of causing them to stick over time.
The Multi-Cooker also comes with a steaming rack, allowing you to steam vegetables while also cooking your main course, or just steaming them by themselves.
Other options on the device, which I have not or may not ever use, include the ability to make yogurt, boil water, and sterilize baby bottle parts.
Cleaning is easy using the removable cook bowl, which is non-stick coated and dishwasher safe. I found, however, the size of the bowl took up almost 50% of the bottom rack of my dishwasher, so I just ended up hand-washing the bowl.
It’s a Monster:
The one down side to this size Multi-Cooker is that it is a monster. As mentioned, this is their largest Multi-Cooker (10-quart) and is more than a foot wide across the top. I’m usually only cooking for 2-3 people, so cutting recipes to reduce portions ended up not leaving enough juice or product in the bowl to cook properly. Up side is that I now end up with a lot of leftovers. But I usually cook large batches of chili when it gets cold, so this will be excellent for containing my full pot of chili without worrying about it boiling over.
For comparison of how large this is, since just saying “10 quarts” is hard to quantify, I included photos of the Multi-Cooker with this review. One shows a 6-pound boneless pork shoulder in the cooking bowl, with a regular-sized fork standing up in the bowl for size comparison. There is also a photo comparing the overall size of the device with a standard 12-ounce beverage can.
Bottom Line:
I love this device, despite the monstrous size. I’ve been able to reduce the number of pots and pans I would usually use, thanks to its 1-pot cooking design. It has also given my cooking a lot more flexibility, whether it’s the ability to put a pork shoulder in when I leave the house & have pork carnitas ready when I get home, or to reduce meal cooking time by bringing a meal that would take over an hour to cook down to a matter of minutes. All of which done with a single pot that is self-contained and amazingly easy to clean up. I highly recommend this device with the one caveat of make sure you’re picking the right size for your family needs. If it’s just you & your partner, then you may want to look at a smaller size (this is offered in 4, 6, and 8-quart sizes). But if you’re cooking for a family, or cooking for Sunday sports get-togethers, this is the perfect device for you.
