Cuisinart Slow Cooker

We tested eight 6- to 7-quart models, priced from about $39 to $150. Some of the foods we prepared: boneless, skinless chicken breasts; whole bone-in turkey breast; and pot roast. We gave the highest marks to cookers that produced evenly cooked, juicy, and tender foods every time. To map the heating patterns, we used temperature probes to track the temperature of each cooker’s contents as it heated 4 quarts of room-temperature water over a period of 6 hours on high and 12 hours on low. We also evaluated how easy the cookers were to fill, set, and maneuver, including the intuitiveness of controls, displays to monitor cooking, the weight of the crock, the size and shape of the handles, and whether the handles became hot. We washed each model six times by hand and 10 times in the dishwasher (unless the manual instructed us not to do so). We preferred the models that were easy to clean, with few nooks and crannies to trap food or water.

We tested eight 4-quart models, priced from about $20 to about $130. Some of the foods we prepared: chicken thighs in tomato sauce, smothered steaks for two, and sweet-and sticky ribs for two. We assessed how quickly the models could heat up and cook the meat to a safe internal temperature, the texture of meat produced, and how the foods cooked with little moisture for an extended period of time. To understand our results, we recorded the temperature of each cooker while heating 2½ quarts of water for 6 hours on high, then on low. Our favorite models reached 140 degrees quickly and slowly climbed over a few hours. We also evaluated the models’ control settings, handles, and insert shapes, and we found that we preferred the models with digital programmable controls and easy-to-grip handles but that the shape of the insert didn’t have a huge impact on the finished dish. No surprise: When cleaning the cookers, we favored the models with dishwasher-safe inserts.

* OBJECTIVITY FIRST, LAST, AND ALWAYS.

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