Design: Are you looking for a simple, budget-friendly option that just slow-cooks (but does it extremely well) or something more versatile that sous-vides, pressure cooks, bakes and roasts too? Do bear in mind that the more technological the slow cooker, the higher the price.

No liquid escapes from a slow cooker, so when adapting a recipe not specifically written for a slow cooker, reduce any added liquid by a third. Finished results: the tenderness of the meat and vegetables, the consistency of the cooked sauce and the heat of the food when servingWith so many different slow cookers out there, choosing the right one for you can be confusing. Here are a few questions you might want to consider. As an alternative, if you want to turn it into an American style feast then serve with slow cooker mac and cheese and chunky chips! Can I keep leftovers? More advanced slow cookers offer greater control over the temperature, but also, crucially, the time, meaning you can tell it when you want for your dinner and it will calculate cooking time accordingly. Heat retention: how the cooker holds heat for safety on the worktop and whether the food catches or burns

If you cook it on hot for the whole time, you're going to overcook the joint, and you won't enjoy it (and will need double-extra gravy!) The most basic slow cookers will have two or three temperature settings (low, warm and/or high), a large capacity ovenproof pot, a lid and a timer and that’s about it. Be sure to choose a model with a removable pot for easy cleaning and also to be able to use on the hob to brown off ingredients without using a separate pan. Cooking time. We have a number of different slow cookers and there are variances in how hot they cook. Take the listed cooking time as a guide and adjusting accordingly. Use a meat thermometer for the most accurate cooking. What's best is to start it off on hot for 20 minutes, then turn it to low for the rest of the cooking time. The latest breed of multi-cookers, particularly from Sage and Ninja, allows you to cook under pressure, as well as bake, fry, oven cook and even dehydrate and air fry. Pressure cooking allows you to cook dishes in a fraction of the time, handy if you’ve forgotten to turn the slow cooker on before work.For more interiors, fashion and technology releases delivered straight to your inbox, sign up for our GQ Recommends newsletter. Remember, no matter how tempting it is, keep the lid on. This will keep the temperature and humidity consistent. The leftovers can do sandwiches or rolls for lunch the next day, get added to a pizza, or why not stretch it and make a pork risotto or pasta bake.