Crock-Pot Duo Buffet Server Review

Slow Cooker or Crock-pot

Brand, Model, Capacity: 

Date of purchase: 

My Review 

Crock Pot Duo 2.5 qt.

Pros

I loved the idea of having two smaller crock's for creating multiple dishes for dinner as a big positive for me and couldn't wait to give my new fellas a try.

I loved the "Stuffed Baby Bell Pepper" Recipe.

If you are looking for a warming dish during a dinner party, then this is your piece. It includes a great slotted spoon holder on the crock.

Cons

My biggest disappointment about this piece is the need for spoon slots....which I don't see the reviewer mentioning as a drawback. There is a big difference between a "slow cooker" and a slotted heating dish.

The entire nature of slow cooking is so there is no need for stirring during the process of cooking your dish, relying only on the slow and low heating to give us a wonderful, tender and tasty meal. Taking the lid off during the cooking process will cause it to lose a significant amount of this desired heat (Slow Cooker 101 from my large Crock Pot book) and effect the entire process.

Having a large hole for a spoon handle, or for any purpose, between the lid and the crock can prevent the heat from building up to a safe and healthy cooking level.

Quote from my large slow cooker book "...bacteria in food is killed at a temp of 165 degrees and it's important for beef to reach an internal temp of 170 degrees and poultry as high as 209 degrees so it's important to keep the cover on your slow cooker during the cooking process". Sorry but I just don't see the heat build up happening when there large is hole between the lid and the crock, nor do I want to take that chance. I use aluminum foil to close the gap and keep the heat in.

Next con, I don't like winging my cooking based on "Low" and "High", or cooking it on High for an hour then down to Low. I prefer knowing exactly how much slow cooking time (hour wise) and heat that I'm dealing with for a healthy dish. Even the little instruction book is to generalized about temps for my preference...they say follow the recipe, but when you're adjusting a larger recipe to a smaller 2.5qt crock, this info is important.

Bottom line, I'm not sure where the designers heads were creating a hole for heat to escape on a crock pot. But if they were trying to create a party warming dish - then they did good.

I give it two thumbs down as a crock pot cooking piece.

Overall Performance 

Best Feature 

It's a space saving DUO Warming Dish for a dinner party.

Best Meals Cooked in it: 

Stuffed Baby Bell Peppers (meatless and safe).

Could it be Improved? 

Get rid of the spoon slot!!! Clearer heating info is a must for slow cookers

Would you recommend this to a friend? 

Mariette Mifflin, Housewares / Appliances Guide, says: