Brief affair with a younger model is a raw deal - West Bend 6-Quart SlowCooker

I bought my West Bend Versatility Slow Cooker to replace an old West Bend model that I gave away. It was a big mistake to give the old one away, but I could not be happier with the new one and highly recommend it. It's awesome and even better than the old model so I guess it was meant to be!

When I got married 12 years ago my brother bought me a hideous little slow cooker from West Bend. It was brown and orange with silly litle brown geese on the front. It totally didn't match anything in my kitchen and why I didn't return it for a design that matched better I do not know. But it truly was the little slow cooker that could. It was basically a 4-quart, non-stick, square-shaped pot with a separate heating base and it cooked its little, ugly heart out for nearly 12 years. You may think that it died. Oh no, it didn't. I performed a traitorous act upon the little slow cooker that could when I saw what I thought was a newer and better CorningWare crock pot on QVC. It was white and pretty and programmable. It matched my kitchen and would look good right on the dining table. I had to have it. I donated the old West Bend to the Salvation Army and waited for the new one to arrive. A week and three horrible, undercooked, tough dinners later I was missing my old West Bend desperately. I went down to the thrift store to get my old baby back and found it already snapped up by some other lucky cook.

I checked on westbend.com to see if I could find my old slow cooker but they don't make it anymore. I even checked on eBay but my husband was too skeeved out by the idea of buying a used slow cooker so I called West Bend customer service and they suggested I try the 84716 Versatility model and notified me of the stores in my area that carry that model. I got in my car and went to the nearest store they recommended and had a fresh roast cooking away within an hour. I could not be happier with my West West Bend Versatility Slow Cooker.


Product Details
The West Bend Versatility Slow Cooker lives up to its name; it's very versatile. The cooking pot's exterior is black enamel with stainless steel handles that are riveted to the sides of the pot. The interior of the pot has a non-stick surface. The pot can go from the fridge or freezer directly to the stovetop, oven and cooking base and then right into the dishwasher for cleaning. The pot has a 6-quart capacity and is oval in shape so it's the perfect shape for holding a large roast, a whole chicken or ham, or a good amount of stew, soup, chili or other side dish. The lid is made of clear glass so it's easy to look down inside to check the progress of the pot contents without lifting the lid. There is a black knob on top of the lid for easy lid removal.

The cooking base is also black in color. There is a knob on the front which controls the heating element. There are low, medium and high settings for roasting or slow cooking. The cord is completely removable from the cooking base.

WestBend.com's FAQ page includes the following, very helpful information about slow cooker temperatures:
Slow cookers are designed to cook foods in the "simmer" range, between 190 to 212 degrees fahrenheit. The higher the heat setting used, the faster these temperatures will be reached.

A general guideline follows:

7 to 10 hours of cooking at Low setting
4 to 6 hours of cooking at Medium setting
2 to 3 hours of cooking at High setting

Below is a general guideline as to the temperature at each setting. Temperatures are measured with cooking pot being filled with liquid.

Low Setting - 180 degrees fahrenheit
Medium Setting - 200 degrees fahrenheit
High Setting - 212 degrees fahrenheit



My experience
I love the way this slow cooker cooks! I mostly make roast beef with veggies or slow cooked spaghetti sauce with pork steak in my slow cooker and little else. Once in a while my husband makes some country ribs or beef barley soup in it, but roasts and sauce are the norm around here. The Versatility has done a terrific job with all of the tasks I've assigned to it.

The first thing I love about the Versatility is that you can cook directly on the stove. I love being able to sear and brown a roast or pork steak right in the cooking pot on the stove and then move it to the cooking base to cook slowly and not have to dirty and wash another pan.

I also love that I can put it directly into the oven if I want. Once I made some potatoes in the slow cooker and when they were finished I sprinkled some cheese on top, then popped it into the oven to brown the top and it worked great. The pot stood up to the oven's heat just fine.

The heat selections couldn't be easier. Low is great for keeping food warm for a family member that won't make it home in time for dinner but will want hot food the second they walk in the door. It's also good for keeping food warm for a party. My cousin borrowed my slow cooker for a party where he needed to keep lots of marsala meatballs warm for the duration and it worked perfectly. I rarely use the low setting though.

I mostly use the medium and high settings for cooking my roasts and sauces. The pot heats up very quickly using these settings. I usually set the temp to high until I can smell the food throughout the house which takes a few hours. Usually by this time it is boiling and juicy and well on its way to being cooked or is actually fully cooked. After that I bump it down to a level between low and medium for the rest of the day to allow the meat to become tender. Using this method I can put a roast and veggies in the slow cooker on high at noon and it will be fully cooked, tender, and falling apart by three or four in the afternoon. Sometimes I'll start the cooker up before work in the morning at medium and when I get home around 4pm it's finished so I bump it down between medium and low until my husband gets home and we're ready to eat.

Another nice thing is that you can set the temperature between low and medium and medium and high so you're not just stuck with the three settings. This is nice because depending on what you've got cooking in the pot, you can play with the temperature like you can with a gas stove until you find the perfect setting.

This slow cooker also comes with a small roasting rack which is good for lifting meat off of the bottom of the pot and out of the cooking juices. Juices run out of cooking meat and condensation from the pot does not escape during cooking so it tends to build up at the bottom. The rack is good for keeping things out of those juices. I never use the rack though as I like everything to remain juicy and flavorful.

Now something that I never realized about my old slow cooker is that the cooking base doubles as an electric griddle. You can cook pancakes, grilled cheese, and any number of things right on the cooking base. I would never have a need to do this, though it is good to know if I'm ever in a pinch and my stovetop is not working. The cooking base is not very large though so I can't imagine that you could fit very much on there.

The Versatility slow cooker is really easy to clean. I have left it out overnight and gone back in the morning to clean it thinking it will be a mucky mess however it washed clean with warm soapy water and a kitchen sponge. I haven't had a need to put it in the dishwasher as it's so easy and quick to clean in the sink.


Price
I'm usually pretty frugal and like to shop around for the best price on everything so at first glance at the $51 price tag on the West Bend Versatility Slow Cooker I gulped and took a deep breath. I have seen many other slow cookers and crock pots for between $25 and $40 but I was so desperate to have what I had before and felt so bad for cheating on and adopting out my old slow cooker that I just grabbed it off the shelf and paid the price.

www.westbend.com
West Bend Housewares LLC
PO Box 2780
2845 Wingate St.
West Bend, WI. 53095-2780
(262)334-6949
Customer Service Email: housewares@westbend.com