Safety is something we all value in our lives. Protection for our friends, loved ones, family, pets, and children. To keep anyone who is dear to us safe and sound against anything and everything.
And while your home might be safe, full of rubber bands around every corner and a sharp piece of furniture. You are watching over everything in your household as a proud hawk, there still might be some danger lurking around.
Especially the kitchen is full of dangers. Pots, pans, stoves, knives, forks, matches (at least in my case – as I still prefer them instead of a sparker), oils, spices, hot water. Dangers left and right.
Now you might be thinking, ‘I am fine. I am cooking only in my slow cookers, so no worries there.’
Well, you might want to take a step back and have a second glance at your slow cooker.
You most likely see its sexy lines and decorative edges, every nook, and cranny, you immediately remember the first dish that you cooked in it. You also see it’s a heavy-duty firm body, a timer that never gets you down, and you even notice a small crack on a lid from that first time that you lift it up too early. It was so hot that you have almost burnt your hand.
You see all these things, and you think to yourself I have a great slow cooker. It might be a bit older, but it still has everything You need, does things as You like them, and is for all intents and purposes safe. And then it hits you because you realize that it is not as secure as you wanted to be.
It doesn’t have a locking lid.
And that’s the thing that this is all about we will be taking a closer look at the best slow cookers with locking lids.
So how do I measure if the slow cooker with a locking lid is safe?
Well, in this game you have two most important things.
The first one is how easy and secure locks are on lids. How easy it is to lock them, to handle them, to open them, to use them in general. Is it messy or fiddly to do? Are there any issues while using them?
The second most important thing is if the usage is somehow diminished by the fact that a slow cooker has locking clips and is it still a great product.
So these are my two main categories, and I will be judging each so cooker based upon those.
Hamilton Beach Extra-Large Stay or Go Portable 10-Quart Slow Cooker With Lid Lock
The common denominator with most of the slow cookers that have locking lids is the fact that the locking mechanism on them is tight.
As with the biggest (and I mean literally biggest) participant on our list. The 10-quart extra-large slow cooker that earned his own review here, is not different.
You can get your own Hamilton Beach slow cooker here on Amazon.
Not only that, it can fit a massive chunk of meat in itself, but it also has robust locks. They are great at keeping everything inside, but you need your strong average man or good old grandma to lock them.
With a bit of practice, it is possible to learn how to lock the lid smoothly on the first try. As lock both sides of a slow cooker at the same time.
Most of the safety measures in life come with a bit of a downside. And I guess that having a bit of a hard time learning how to lock your slow cooker comes with the territory.
Overall. Great for broths. Excellent at holding everything inside and preventing spillage.
Is there anything else you would wish for?
Magic Mill 8.5 Quart Slow Cooker Crock Pot
I have taken a closer look at this one in its own review, which you can find here. To sum it up in terms of locking lid, it is a bit fiddly.
If you choose this one, you will, in the end, get used to it, and in general, it is a reliable slow cooker. The locking mechanism is intriguing but frustrating at first, as you need some practice in locking it.
On the other hand, if a grown-up has a problem with locking something up, there is a high possibility that a child won’t be able to open it. Even if he or she does its best.
In terms of locking lid, I would have to say that its sturdiness makes up for its first glance inconvenience.
Crock-Pot SCCPVL610-S-A 6-Quart Cook and Carry Slow Cooker
Simple but convenient. That’s the name of the game here.
Not big and not small, may this slow cooker have it all? (Wow! What a poet I am.)
Well, it is not a one-pot wonder, but an excellent choice for traveling. Great gift for a friend who doesn’t cook that much, but still enjoys a healthy meal.
With its 6-quart size, it is a good fit for a smaller family or a single man who cannot be bothered with cooking.
The general feeling from it is heavy and sturdy, like a solid piece of metal in your hands.
From my own experience, this slow cooker easily accommodates small friends gathering and, through its simplicity, is capable of moving your friends towards healthier cooking.
Everything sounds great, but what about the locking lid?
As I had a chance not only to feel it and test it, I think it is somewhat missing a realm of persuading you that it is locking the lid in place.
The locking mechanism feels a bit cheap. This feeling comes most likely from the fact that it is not as hard as most others to lock it in place. The half-metal half-plastics locks are not helping in this regard.
After locking the pot, it looks seal tight but doesn’t feel like it. So if you decide to get this one and will be carrying it with you in a car, I would still recommend putting it into a separate bag, at least. To be on the safe side.
What is a great plus is the fact that it comes with massive side handles, so it is easy to pick it up and carry it anywhere you need. Even if you are a bigger guy like myself.
I see it as the right starter choice, that can provide with basically everything you might need occasionally, but not something that I can swear on.
Chefman Natural Casserole Slow Cooker with Locking Lid
Whenever I see this beauty, my mind ventures to my mother’s lasagna.
Cold Saturday evening at the beginning of winter. Wind howling behind the windows. Leafs dancing in small tornadoes in front of a house. My older brother, coming late again, as is usual with him. And the smell of perfectly cooked lasagna filling the house in anticipation of the family dinner.
It usually ended with a heated exchange of ideas of arrival and an excellent meal in our bellies, but that’s a different story.
This slow cooker might not be the biggest in class only 3.5 quarts (about 3.3 liters), but what it lacks in size it replaces with its flat design.
Please don’t dismiss it as boring. The fact that it has a broader base brings a shear field of possibilities to the table. The biggest one of them is that it is easier to cook anything that has layers, like lasagna in it.
My favorite recipe is this one from AllRecipes. It might seem simple but fulfills the wish of great lasagna entirely. If you are not interested in it, I give you a quick tip: layer your lasagna in the slow cooker put on the lid, and cook on LOW for 4 to 6 hours.
But back to our primary goal. The locking lid.
The lid itself fits in nicely. It is not super tight, but at the same time, it stays at its place as expected.
The side locking clams have two phases. The first is pulling down two metal ellipses and pressing them on the side of a slow cooker below the two knobs. The second one is securing those metal pieces with plastic clamps on the top of the lid.
You are basically using the pulling power of top clamps to secure and hold the lid in place.
Even though it is safe, it somehow doesn’t fill me up with confidence. I a most likely too used to struggling and fighting the clamps to feel safe otherwise.
At the same time, I am thinking of my kids, as this looks like fun to play with. It is not that hard for a child to open the locking clamps. In the end, it might be not as dangerous as most other slow cookers, since when you unlock one side, you will get a slow release of hot steam, but still.
In terms of spilling, it secures the liquid perfectly tilting-wise. Don’t go nuts and spin it like a board spinner. But if you locked it and put it in a car, you will be just fine.
In my view, it is a great slow cooker made out of stoneware that is great for a lot of layered or flat recipes.
As for the locking lid, it is up there in the middle. It is not dangerous per se, but at the same time, I would not leave it out of sight for an extended period.
Final thoughts
I have to conclude this article with a few things. I have to skip quite a few slow cookers here. Not that I didn’t have time, but they didn’t make a cut mostly due to the variety of problems. They were ranging from lid glass breaking, through the melting of handles to its sides being extremely hot.
I had to skip them. I know that we are talking about locking lids. Still, they count as a safety measure, and I cannot recommend something that has a suitable locking mechanism but is unsafe in general.
I do not want to put you or your loved ones in harm’s way.
All and all, I think that any slow cooker mentioned here is a good pick. The usage varies, of course, in dependency on the cook and situation. Still, I do think that you cannot make a massive mistake with any of them.
I think that you have found the information here helpful and I am looking forward to talking to you some other time.
Until next time I wish you smooth and happy cooking.
Crock-Pot 20-Ounce Electric Lunch Box, Portable Food Warmer, Faded Blue, Perfect for Travel, Car, On-the-Go, Keeps Food Warm, Spill-Free, Dishwasher-Safe, Ideal Gift for Men and Women
THERMOS Stainless King Vacuum-Insulated Food Jar with Spoon, 16 Ounce, Midnight Blue
3 responses to “Slow Cookers with Locking Lids”
I need mine for traveling in our motor home will the locking lid safe ?
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