what makes the ninja better than crock pot cooking

Hello homedecor1 ~ I have The Ninja, and I like it much better than a traditional crock pot. For instance, if I am making a pot roast, the Ninja can brown it before putting it on the slow cook mode. Also it has precise temperatures, not just the low, medium, and high modes that a crock pot has. You know exactly what temp. you have. The rack makes for easy removal of whole chickens. Clean up is super simple as the interior is non stick. It is also much lighter than a traditional crock pot as the insert is not heavy ceramic..........I think you would enjoy having one. HTH

As the previous reply said, you can brown before cooking. My electric pressure cooker does that too and it's very convenient to be able to brown or sear before slow cooking. You don't need to get out an extra pot, do it on the stove first, and then have to wash that pot.

I have a friend who has an older version of one of these roaster-slow cookers and she does EVERYTHING in it, even though she has a nice oven. She does a lot of turkey and always cooks it in the cooker,as well as corned beef and cabbage and you name it.

This one steams, too, right?

I'm tempted to get it but I don't need one this big. However, it's really a nice model and if I had a family to cook for, I'd get it in a heartbeat. And all those colors, too. Really a nice TSV.

Question: Could you or would you use this as a crock pot and set it and forget it while you go to work for 8 hours? I had the old version and returned it because the hole in the lid let the steam out and burned my meal.

I was interested in this version until I saw the hole in the lid.

How do you all solve this problem?

On 10/1/2014 Scamper said:

Question: Could you or would you use this as a crock pot and set it and forget it while you go to work for 8 hours? I had the old version and returned it because the hole in the lid let the steam out and burned my meal.

I was interested in this version until I saw the hole in the lid.

How do you all solve this problem?

You can buy a glass lid.

I take a folded strip of foil, bend it in a U-shape and cover the hole inside and out. I made corned beef, cabbage, potatoes & carrots on Sunday. It was excellent!

On 10/1/2014 Mary Bailey said:

On 10/1/2014 Scamper said:

Question: Could you or would you use this as a crock pot and set it and forget it while you go to work for 8 hours? I had the old version and returned it because the hole in the lid let the steam out and burned my meal.

I was interested in this version until I saw the hole in the lid.

How do you all solve this problem?

You can buy a glass lid.

I take a folded strip of foil, bend it in a U-shape and cover the hole inside and out. I made corned beef, cabbage, potatoes & carrots on Sunday. It was excellent!

Thank you Mary. I still don't understand why the hole in the lid once again. With this 'new' unit, it seems like the only update was a knob that says steam (the old version did steam), and a glass lid with a vent. The watts are the same so you get no more power. Oh and this time you get a carry pouch instead of all the utensils. Why the hole vent for slow cooking? Those who have the older version seem to have what this newer one offers. Like you indicated...you can buy a glass lid if you want to.

Corned beef & cabbage equals YUM!!! I use my induction burner with timer and my staub pot. The infused taste is amazing.

On 10/1/2014 Campion said:

As the previous reply said, you can brown before cooking. My electric pressure cooker does that too and it's very convenient to be able to brown or sear before slow cooking. You don't need to get out an extra pot, do it on the stove first, and then have to wash that pot.

I have a friend who has an older version of one of these roaster-slow cookers and she does EVERYTHING in it, even though she has a nice oven. She does a lot of turkey and always cooks it in the cooker,as well as corned beef and cabbage and you name it.

This one steams, too, right?

I'm tempted to get it but I don't need one this big. However, it's really a nice model and if I had a family to cook for, I'd get it in a heartbeat. And all those colors, too. Really a nice TSV.

I'm on fence about this too. I wish it was a 4 qt. Of course if I buy it, they will come out with a 4 qt. next time. I cook for myself and sometime cook for two. Not sure if this is too large. I also have a small kitchen. Anyone cook for 1 or 2 and have this Ninja or buyng one?

I personally would not mess around with that steam vent. It allows excess steam to escape and prevent boil-overs; plus, the machine's wattage is undoubtedly calibrated with this vent in mind.

IMO, the only difference is that it is what they are trying to convince people that they absolutely MUST have - today.

BTW, I have a pretty basic Crock Pot and you can brown the meat first with it. You just put it on 'high' for the searing and then turn it down. I would never do something like that without browning it first. Steaming is just a matter of a rack or insert that probably everybody already has.

I don't use my Crock Pot (it's bagged up and stored out in the garage) but if I were into using it I would not be convinced that I need this in addition to it. JMNSHO, FWIW. YMMV

On 10/1/2014 Campion said:

As the previous reply said, you can brown before cooking. My electric pressure cooker does that too and it's very convenient to be able to brown or sear before slow cooking. You don't need to get out an extra pot, do it on the stove first, and then have to wash that pot.

I have a friend who has an older version of one of these roaster-slow cookers and she does EVERYTHING in it, even though she has a nice oven. She does a lot of turkey and always cooks it in the cooker,as well as corned beef and cabbage and you name it.

This one steams, too, right?

I'm tempted to get it but I don't need one this big. However, it's really a nice model and if I had a family to cook for, I'd get it in a heartbeat. And all those colors, too. Really a nice TSV.