slow cooker v’s the oven

I recently ran an experiment on Stonesoup where I cooked coq au vin side by side in the slow cooker and the oven.

While I preferred the texture of the slow cooked chook, the oven won on flavour.

The post generated a lot of debate from both fans and detractors of the slow cooker. So to help you make your mind up, here’s a compaison of their comparative strengths.

slow cooker – pros
§ able to set and forget –
great for people working outside the home

§ very low temperature cooking
results in very tender meat

§ will keep food warm for long periods without the risk of drying out.

§ uses less energy than an oven.

§ doesn’t heat up the whole kitchen like the oven does
can be useful in Summer (but could be a negative in Winter!).

oven – pros
§ not another appliance –
doesn’t take up extra kitchen space

§ multifunctional –
useful for high temperature cooking as well – such as baking and roasting

§ great at promoting browning
giving better flavour and appearance than the slow cooker

§ reduces sauces down to give better flavour than the slow cooker

§ variable capacity
able to adjust to cooking for large numbers of people or small. More flexible in this regard than the slow cooker.

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back to: Simple Slow Cooking Overview