Hamilton Beach Crock Watcher Auto Shift

[human]

So I walked through Goodwill yesterday and found a vintage appliance I simply couldn't pass up—a Hamilton Beach Crock Watcher six-quart slow cooker with 'Auto Shift' technology. Made in about 1976, the thing looks like it's hardly been used. It has the usual two power settings—high and low—plus a third setting called Auto Shift, which automatically switches the setting from high to low after a couple of hours. Pretty nifty, especially for that period.

What initially attracted me to this appliance were the graphics, which are just so period cool, but then the $5.00 price tag sealed the deal, especially when I got ten percent off with my school ID. I have no idea why it was priced so cheap. Slow cookers at Goodwill usually start at about twice that.

I'm giving it a test run right now with a batch of chili. It's definitely got the house smelling good. The proof will be when I serve some up in a little while. It's been cooking for almost three hours and I usually let it go for four, so I may go ahead and eat some because I'm getting hungry but let it cook a little longer before I put the rest in containers.

The link below is a period TV spot for this model.

 

[luxflairguy]

If you want to know more about these go over to AW. There are several threads about this! Greg

 

[human]

So I had some of the chili a little while ago and it was good but it needed to cook a bit longer. I've turned the pot from Auto Shift to High and will let it roll for a couple more hours before I put it into containers. That said, I was able to verify that the Auto Shift function works as it should because it was very warm standing next to the pot an hour after I first turned it on to the Auto Shift setting but it was less warm when I dished up my bowl of chili. When I went back to the kitchen to put my dish in the sink, it was noticeably warmer as I walked past the crock pot.

Since it's not possible to let you sample the chili I made, I'll do the next best thing and give you the recipe and let you make some yourself and try it:

Ingredients:
1 pound lean ground beef
2 15-ounce cans of diced tomatoes
2 15-ounce cans of chili flavored beans
2 15-ounce cans of black beans
1 medium sized onion (finely chopped)
1 green bell pepper (finely chopped)
1 tbsp minced garlic (aka 'jarlic')
2 tbsp chili powder (I prefer Badia)
2 tsp ground cumin

-Empty the cans into the slow cooker, juice and all and turn it on high.
-Chop the pepper and onion in the food processor and saute with jarlic and olive oil in a skillet until the onions are translucent, then add to the slow cooker.
-Brown the ground beef and add to the slow cooker.
-Add the chili powder and cumin, if you haven't done so aready.

Cook on high for 3-4 hours or until the chili has been bubbling for at least an hour. Set slow cooker to low for at least another hour or until you just can't stand it any longer. Honestly, the longer it cooks, the better it gets. I've let it cook overnight and eaten it for breakfast.

This is a fairly mild but flavorful chili. If you like it a little more 'el scorcho', feel free to chop a fresh jalapeño pepper and add to the bell pepper, onion and jarlic mixture and/or add cayenne pepper to taste.

 

[luxflairguy]

WELL EXCUSE ME!

 

[human]

Greg,
Sorry if my chili recipe was somehow offensive. I did check AW, as you suggested, but I didn't see any posts relating to Hamilton Beach slow cookers. Maybe I wasn't looking in the right place.

Cooking the chili a couple of extra hours on high did indeed help last night's batch immensely. Obviously, I'm going to need to learn the intricacies of this particular device (should be a fairly gentle learning curve) but all in all, I think the Crock Watcher was a good buy for what I paid and it has thus earned a permanent place in my kitchen.

 

[suckolux]

I remember those on the shelves when it was new

 

[human]

Odd name...

I would have been about 13 when they came out but the funny thing is I don't remember these slow cookers when they were new and I certainly don't remember the name. While the TV spot I found had a very familiar feel as an artifact of its era, I can't say that I actually remember seeing it. What I do vaguely remember is the alternate exterior graphics that looked like red bricks. Somebody I knew must have had one of those.

When I first saw this one at Goodwill, I actually had to look twice at the label on the front to recognize that it was a Hamilton Beach product and not a genuine Rival Crock Pot. I'm sure the lawyers helped come up with the 'Crock Watcher' name to make customers think 'crock pot' without actually saying it on the label. With that in mind, I probably saw them on store shelves and the 'Watcher' part of the name just didn't register. It just makes me wonder how many people got them home without realizing it was a knock-off--a good knock-off, but a knock-off nonetheless.

 

[fan-of-fans]

I've seen a Dominion by Hamilton Beach version that had a gingham pattern, as well as that brick version, as Hamilton Beach-Scovill had bought out the Dominion Electric Company in the early 1970s.

Some of these also, had a crock that was sealed to the unit and couldn't be removed. Not sure what that was about, as it is a lot less convenient for cleanup. I guess those might be older, as I seem to recall the earliest Rival Crock Pots are the same. I see those pretty often in avocado or red-orange in thrift stores.

 

[suckolux]

Our orange one did not lift out and that would be circa 1974

 

[human]

I had one of those early Rival Crock Pots in avocado with the non-removable crock. It was the base model. My mom got it new when I was in elementary school but she seldom used it and passed it on to me when I was in college. It worked really great but it was a pain to clean since it couldn't be immersed in water. I had that thing for some 20 years until about 2005 or 2006 and used it regularly until I donated it to a family my church was helping out who had come to town from New Orleans with nothing after Hurricane Katrina.

 

[suckolux]

Hours was still working until about 8 years ago when mother broke the lid. I suggested possibly a lid from some of her stainless cookware would fit it did but it also motivated me to get her a new one that would be easier to clean probably still working somewhere

 

[human]

After I got rid of the avocado Crock Pot, I found one slightly newer, maybe late '70s or early '80s vintage, with a removable crock but a cheap plastic lid that was clouded from repeated runs through the dishwasher. As luck would have it, my neighbor across the street had a yard sale one Saturday, mainly to get rid of her dead husband's massive collection of golf clubs. On one table, I found the crock and lid to the same Crock Pot, which she had saved after it "just quit working one day". The lid was perfectly clear, unlike mine, so I bought it for the princely sum of a dollar. As far as I'm concerned, the other great bonus of the one I just got is it has a nice, heavy glass lid.

 

[kirbyklekter]

That's a crock

I always thought that would be a great name for a slow cooker. I always remove the ceramic crock from a dead cooker, when possible. Some are really nice and can still be used for oven cooking. You can always drill a couple drainage holes in the bottom and use as a sturdy, heavy flower pot.

 

[fan-of-fans]

Yeah the crock pot reminds me of some of that pottery that was popular in the 60s or 70s. In fact, I think those crock inserts were made by some such company, if I remember right.

I've seen some of those Crock Pots with the clear plastic lids and never got why they did that instead of the glass. They just don't hold up. I don't believe any of them on the market now are like that, but I could be wrong.

 

[kirbyklekter]

your chili recipe

I've put all the ingredients in the pot of my slow cooker. I'm going to set the timer for 5 hours, the first 3 hours on high, then I'll check it and probably lower it to low for 2 more hours. I may just let it cook on low until morning!

I can tell you that it tasted good even before I turned on the heat. I wanted to use up some left over chicken and a piece of steak I couldn't finish earlier and I could only get the hamburger in a two-lb. package so I added two more cans of beans and away we go. Film at eleven Billy

 

[human]

Billy,
Glad you tried the recipe. I've cooked it on Low overnight before and then awoken to that aroma in the morning. I've even been known to eat a little of it for breakfast. It's actually quite good in an omelette. Enjoy!

Fanoffans,
I agree. Today's slow cookers lack character. They're usually either black or silver with a black or white crock. The lids seem to all be made with thinner (tempered?) glass, rimmed with metal and with a small vent hole, again rimmed with a metal grommet.

I'm not sure when the brown crocks disappeared. Maybe the 1990s? I know Rival continued to make the original Crock Pot with the non-removable crock well into the 2000s and maybe still makes it today. The newer ones had white crocks and less dated graphics but were otherwise the same exact design.

There was a Hamilton Beach outlet somewhere in eastern N.C., where my dad traveled for work. One time, he came home with several crocks that my mom used as planters. I don't remember whether we drilled holes in them or not.

 

[kirbyklekter]

Come and get it!

Gave the chili 7 hours in the slow cooker. Wow, I'm sure this is the best chili I've ever had! You're right about the aroma. I had everything in the pot and realized that I was out of cumin. With 11 minutes left before Safeway closed (2am) I got there just as they were making the announcement for closing.

When I returned you could smell the chili even though I hadn't turned the cooker on yet. I followed your instructions to the tee,(tea?) just added about a tbsp of red pepper flakes for a little extra heat. Thank you for sharing this recipe, it's going to be my go to recipe from now on. Also I topped a bowl of chili with shredded chedder cheese for breakfast! Hearty. Billy

 

[human]

A time honored recipe...

Hey, I'm glad you liked it. This recipe's got some history to it. I found it in an old cookbook my mother had called 'Secrets of Southern Cooking' when I was probably in my early teens. The book was seriously old, outlining traditional hearth cooking and wood stove methods. Mom helped me adapt it for the Crock Pot (and canned beans as the original called for using dry beans, soaked overnight before cooking). I've been experimenting with it and tweaking it ever since.

 

[fan-of-fans]

Never knew the non-removable ones were made that long!

I visited my grandmother over the weekend and noticed she had gotten a new small Rival crock pot. It was black with a black crock and that rimmed glass lid. She had made some beans in it.

She's also got a larger white GE (Walmart) branded Crock Pot that she's had for a while.

At one time she had one of those Presto type that's an actual metal pot that sits on a heated base, and you can also use it on the stove to get things cooking initially before simmering. I think she might still have it, not sure. She loved that one, but I seem to remember it might have burned out. Maybe not. The knob had long since broken off but it still worked. In fact, I don't remember it ever actually having the knob. lol