Hamilton Beach 9-in-1 Searing Slow Cooker review

The Hamilton Beach 33604 is a six-quart digital slow cooker for cooks who want more than a timed Low/High cycle. Its removable rectangular vessel can sear or sauté in the powered base, then slow-cook or roast; a supplied rack also supports steaming. The central choice is whether those separate modes will earn their place on your counter. If all you want is a basic cooker, a simpler dial model avoids extra programs. If you would use browning, steaming or rice functions as well as slow cooking, the 33604 has a more specific case.

Searing happens in the powered cooker

The appliance is not a conventional crock with an independent stovetop pan. The manufacturer describes searing, browning and sautéing in the removable vessel while it sits in the electric base. The manual gives separate Sear/Brown and Sauté programs, each with its own timer and preheat instructions; for Sear/Brown, the countdown begins once the pot reaches 400°F, and for Sauté it begins at 338°F. The practical advantage is keeping an initial browning step in the same vessel before changing to a slow-cook cycle, rather than transferring food from a skillet. The tradeoff is that the base must be plugged in for that work.

Do not confuse this with the Hamilton Beach 33662MN. That sibling is a stove-to-base design: its maker documents the removable pan for gas, electric and ceramic cooktops, but it does not have the 33604’s in-base Roast and steam programs. The 33604’s page does not establish that its coated vessel can be used on a stovetop or in an oven. If direct cooktop searing is essential, an unlisted compatibility should not count as a match.

Nine modes are separate jobs, not one combined cycle

The 33604 has Slow Cook Low and High, White Rice, Whole Grain, Sear/Brown, Sauté, Roast, Steam and Warm. For slow cooking, the manual lists a selectable 1-to-14-hour period and an automatic change to Warm, with a maximum combined cook-and-warm run of 24 hours. That limit is an appliance cutoff, not a promise that food quality or holding time will suit every recipe. Warm is for already-cooked food; the instructions warn not to cook or reheat on Warm. Unlike a manual cooker, it can handle the end of a programmed slow-cook cycle without someone returning to turn a dial, but it does not choose the finish time for dinner.

Roast and Steam are also distinct programs. Roast runs for up to three hours after the cooker reaches its set temperature; the manual recommends browning meat or poultry first. Steam uses the rack and two cups of liquid in the vessel, with a timer up to 60 minutes. Its countdown starts when water boils. These functions add flexibility, but you cannot roast, steam and slow-cook at once; choose the mode that fits the meal.

Delay start has a narrow boundary

The manufacturer’s manual permits a 1-to-15-hour delay for White Rice, Whole Grain and Steam. It does not list Slow Cook among the delayed programs: a Low or High slow-cook timer starts immediately. So the 33604 may suit someone who wants to set up grains or steaming for a later start, but it is the wrong answer if the essential requirement is loading ingredients and delaying a slow-cook cycle. Delay start is also not a “ready at 6 p.m.” scheduler: you set a wait period, not a meal-completion time. Steam does not switch automatically to Warm at the end of its cycle, unlike the rice/grain programs.

Capacity and cleanup

Hamilton Beach lists a six-quart rectangular removable pot, measuring 17 inches wide by 9.8 high by 11 deep. The manufacturer says it can hold a six-pound chicken or a four-pound roast and gives a barbecue example of up to 25 sliders. Treat those as maker examples, not a guaranteed portion count. The published outside dimensions can help with a counter-space check, but no appliance weight or lid-open clearance is given. Measure the actual shelf opening if the lid must lift below a cabinet.

The page calls the pot ceramic nonstick and PFAS-free; that is the manufacturer’s material description, not a durability test. The pot, glass lid and roasting/steaming rack are listed as dishwasher-safe, while the manual says not to use the dishwasher’s Sani cycle. The base is wiped clean rather than immersed. The manual also says to cook only in the removable vessel, never directly in the base. The underlying pot material and permission for stovetop, microwave, oven or broiler use are not established by the checked sources.

Who should choose the 33604?

Choose it when a six-quart slow-cook cycle, in-base browning, digital timing and occasional roasting or steaming are all useful in one appliance. Its strongest difference from the four-quart Hamilton Beach 33443 is the added sear/roast/steam/grain toolkit, not a smaller or simpler weekday footprint. The 33443 is an easier fit when you mainly need timed Low/High cooking and automatic Warm. The 33662MN suits a different cook who wants its removable pot on a named stovetop type before a digital slow-cook cycle. For two separate dishes cooked simultaneously, the 33569 Double Dish is the more relevant design, but its manual dial requires the cook to manage the finish.

Before choosing, ask which of the 33604’s extra programs you would actually run and whether delayed slow-cook start is a deal-breaker. If you require direct stovetop or oven use of the removable pot, verify that separately rather than assuming that an in-appliance sear means the vessel is cookware. See the Hamilton Beach product details and the model-linked Use & Care guide for exact cycle and care instructions.