Some brands are insulated on the outside, so are cooler. I have four and only one is cooler to touch the rest are HOT.

I’ve never owned a croc pot so take this with a grain of salt… but

My understanding of the concept is that it lowers the pressure inside the croc pot, so that everything inside is cooked by lower boiling points and such. As such I wouldn’t expect the outside to get very hot, since the inside doesn’t get that hot either (compared to say, a stove).

@Tropical_Willie Insulated. Ok, I might look for another one that says it is insulated.

Does anyone have any favorite crock pot recipes?

It depends on the insulation around the heating elements. Mine always gets too hot to handle without protection, but not so hot that I’m ever worried about leaving a folded towel on top of the cover (all day during cooking) to help keep more heat inside.

@WasCy You hit on why I ask. I have a fear of anything that can catch on fire. Everyone has been trying to convince I can leave the crockpot cooking, even if I am out of the house. I have always resisted slow cooking, because I could not imagine leaving something cooking while away. It surprises me people leave a hot pot like this on while they are at work? I would never do it.

I know what you mean. I had a hard time doing it too, until I had used it a few times while I was at home at it and checking it every half-hour or so. After I did that for enough times I had confidence that I could do it always, as long as the recipe had enough liquid to not boil out, so the heat can be contained in the vessel and food, and dissipated slowly enough through the coils, the walls of the pot and the cover (even with my folded towel on top).

@Tropical_Willie Do you know what brand your insulated one is?

Both of mine get hot. The older one gets hotter than the newer one, but that might be a size thing.

I like to make a lot of chili in mine, and have no recipe besides throwing in lots of tasty ingredients. I also make Filipino Adobo fairly often. It’s meat simmered in a sauce of water/broth, vinegar, lots of garlic, and black pepper, usually with a bay leaf. I’ll often add thick coconut milk and hot peppers. It’s best when the broth is boiled down halfway. Serve over rice.

@JLeslie No I don’t, and the wife has it at her “Work” apartment. It has a separate insert made of ceramic.