Those who enjoy the ease of preparing slow cooked meals will be delighted with my latest discovery: The Breville Fast Slow Pro. It is a pressure cooker like no other.
Some foods are tender with time, others are tastier under pressure, but how do you know the pressure, temperature and time different foods need ?
Its all possible with the ‘Fast Slow Pro’ a multicooker with pressure and slow cook menus that automatically adjust time, temperature and pressure between fast and slow cooking. Dual sensors at the top and bottom monitor ingredients for more accurate temperature and pressure control, while the hands free steam release automatically varies across foods to maximise flavour and texture.
So now you can pressure cook, slow cook, steam, reduce, saute and sear with the press of a button and you can rely on the fully interactive LCD to tell you when its building pressure, cooking and releasing steam.
Breville sent me the Fast Slow Pro to try. Since my experience with pressure cookers was nil, I had to read the manual closely before using it. I bought a roast and got it ready to prepare by sprinkling it with salt and pepper. I learned that I should only use defrosted meat (I often slow cook roasts from frozen), and the manual suggested searing the roast to lock in the juices and flavour. I knew this, but I didn’t realize I could do it all in the Fast Slow Pro. I simply set it to “Sear”, let it preheat and then seared each side of the roast. With preheating time, that took about 15 minutes. The actual searing only took about five minutes.
Once my meat was seared, I added a little beef broth to the pot, along with some carrots and potatoes. Then I set the Fast Slow Pro to Pressure Cook and chose “Meat” from the list of options. I went with the automatic setting of 40 minutes. The preheating took longer than I expected, about 15 minutes again, and then the pressure cooking began.
I quickly wished I had set the Fast Slow Pro on the stove top with the exhaust fan on, because the underside of my cupboards were covered with condensation. Lesson learned for next time! After 40 minutes the pressure cooker beeped to let me know it was done, and then began to depressurize. This took about 20 minutes, and then the pressure cooker beeped again to let me know it was safe to open.
With searing and preheating, etc… it took about two hours in total to have one of the most tender and flavourful roasts we have ever had. It was so good that we forgot to take pictures!
Since then I’ve become a bit of a pressure cooking fanatic. I also used the slow cooker setting for a pork roast that turned out lovely. Stews and soups are amazing, and I can’t wait to try cooking a dessert in it! I love how quickly and easily I can make a delicious home cooked meal and the pot is non-stick and dishwasher safe so it is easy it is to clean up afterwards.
One of my lucky readers will win The Fast Slow Pro, valued at $369.99.
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