Do I HAVE to have a crockpot or slowcooker???

[saylaveev]

I really enjoy having something I can start in the morning before I head out for errands etc on my days off that I come home to later on and not have to worry about.

The big thing is that I don't have a slow cooker and I just can't afford one right now. I have a large soup pot that I could use.

Would this work as well?

[kaslerma]

There isn't anything that can be done in a crockpot that can't be done on top of the stove in a Dutch oven or soup kettle. I don't think you can get a stove burner low enough, however, to use the same cooking times or that it would be very wise to walk away and leave the pot unattended. For me, that's the most important crockpot feature. As for recipes ---- because crockpot temps are so low, the amount of liquid called for in cp recipes is quite a lot less ---- you'll have to increase the liquid when converting to stove top.

I know there are a lot of people here who are far knowledgeable than I ---- let's hope they chime in.

[saylaveev]

Thanks,

I am intending for it to be started in early afternoon while I go grocery shopping and then return an hour or so later.

By just leaving it on low I was hoping this could work out.

I do tend to adjust recipes as I go I just like not having to do a lot of cooking on my days off all the time.

Hopefully if anyone can help out with more details it might give me a better idea about using a soup pot.

[kaslerma]

You know, saylaveev, I never COULD figure out how my mother could brown a pot roast on Sunday morning, add vegetables, cover it and put it in the oven so that, when we returned from church at least 2 hours later to a house that smelled WONDERFUL, dinner was ready. Quite a trick ---- and, although I grew up watching her do this, I can't imagine me leaving the house with the stove turned on.

By the way ---- the pot my mother used was cast iron ---- think that might have had something to do with her success.

[rickscott]

kaslerma wrote:
You know, saylaveev, I never COULD figure out how my mother could brown a pot roast on Sunday morning, add vegetables, cover it and put it in the oven so that, when we returned from church at least 2 hours later to a house that smelled WONDERFUL, dinner was ready. Quite a trick ---- and, although I grew up watching her do this, I can't imagine me leaving the house with the stove turned on.

By the way ---- the pot my mother used was cast iron ---- think that might have had something to do with her success.

I can feel comfortable with a "pyrex", or metal "dutch Oven" in an oven that can keep a consistant low temperature, but not a pot on a stove. I won't allow my children to leave something cooking on the stovetop without someone to attend it.

The best way to know something is safe is to have done it enough times to know it's safe left alone. Even the crockpot could be trust in the unknown if your first try is while you are away.

[saylaveev]

I always stay around the first few times when trying a recipe, I want to be sure I feel safe.. infact I feel better about leaving a oven on than a crockpot because I've never used one before.

Could I stovetop start something and move it into a coringware dish for over finishing?