Stainless is a poor conductor of heat. That is why slow cooker inserts are made of crockery. They hold the heat well. I have never seen a stainless steel lined crockpot.

However West Bend makes a multi use cooker that they say can be used as a slow cooker. It is really a slow simmer cooker since the heat is only from the bottom instead of surrounding the whole pot. But it gets good reviews for the most part.

Here is a link that might be useful: West Bend Versatality Slow Cooker

Saw one on Rick Bayless' show on PBS that looked interesting. NOT stainless, but whatever insert was made of, he was able to BROWN meat on burner before putting in slow cookerand adding rest of ingredients.

I recently got a slow cooker by All Clad that I can brown in. It is new and I've used it only one time, so am not much help other than one pot of chili. I found I had to have the flame pretty high to brown. It is quite expensive, close to $300.

Breville makes a 7 qt slow cooker with an aluminum insert that is great. It is less than half the price of the All-Clad cooker from Williams Sonoma with the metal insert. This is an excellent slow cooker (as is everything Breville).

Hope it helps,

Brad

Here is a link that might be useful: Breville Slow Cooker

oddly we are birds of a feather- im also an anita looking for a stainess steel slow cooker insert-

I ordered an Instant Pot and it will be here next week. Any tips, or good websites for recipes? I have a parrot, can't use any non-stick cookware. Instant Pot was the only one I could found that had a stainless steel pot.