I don’t know about your but the less time I spend in the kitchen the better. My husband would probably agree with this sentiment in more ways then one. I really am not a “bad” cook, I just prefer not to cook. Trying to figure out what would make something taste better or spending hours on a home made meal is not my thing. So when I was asked to review the new Wolfgang Puck Pressure Oven I jumped at the chance. After all,this little oven is said to save time cooking by cooking your food in 1/3 of the time, which goes back to my original thought, less time in the kitchen!
When my complimentary Wolfgang Puck pressure oven arrived I immediately swapped it out with the toaster oven I was currently using on occasion. The pressure oven is a little bigger then your average counter top oven but it still fit right into place, that was a good sign.
Wolfgang Puck Pressure Oven
I did what I usually do when a new product comes in and took to reading the manual. It was a good thing I did because before you use the pressure oven it is recommended that you run it through a few cycles. We cranked up the temperature to 450 (the highest level) and put it on bake for 30 minutes. The oven will smoke a little and smell like you are cooking, but this is normal. After a few more cycles, described in the manual, the pressure oven was ready to use.
You can use the Wolfgang Puck pressure oven for a variety of cooking options. There are three handles and a lever on the side. The lever moves from standard mode, which is what you will use for most of your baking and cooking, and sealed mode which is what you will use when using it as a pressure oven. The top knob is your temperature, the middle is your settings, and the bottom knob is your timer (or you can switch it to “stay on”).
Pressure Oven Functions
- Bake
- Toast
- Roast
- Broil
- Rotisserie
- Warm
The oven comes with several accessories to be able to perform all the functions listed above: drip/baking pan, roasting pan, rotisserie rod (and additional pieces), and rack removal tool. After our initial cycling and warming up Honey and I decided to bake some cookies in our new oven. There are times when you just want to bake a couple cookies instead of a whole batch and it is a pain to warm up the large oven for a couple cookies.
I warmed up the Wolfgang Puck oven like I would my normal oven and waited for the preheat light to let me know it was ready. We used prepackaged cookies and used the temperature that was required. The directions said to bake the cookies for 15-18 minutes. I decided to start with 10 minutes. On our trial run we found that they would have come out perfect if I had put them in for more like 8 minutes. They were just slightly over cooked at 10 minutes. This just shows you how much faster it cooks compared to the larger counter part.
How the Wolfgang Puck Pressure Oven Works
I haven’t tried the Rotisserie function yet, I’ve honestly never cooked a whole chicken but I love having the option to do so. One of the tools I thought was very useful was the rack removal tool. Even in a large oven you usually have to move the rack ahead of time (which I sometimes forget). With the rack removal tool you can move or remove the rack even if you forget and the oven begins to preheat and the rack gets hot.
Even though you are provided accessories with the Wolfgang Puck Oven you are not limited to only these accessories. Any pans or containers that are made for the oven can be used in the pressure oven. In fact, most standard baking pans and casserole dishes are suitable for the oven, just note the width should not exceed 14 inches and the depth 12 inches. Another important feature, and one that I’ve learned to look for over time and not take for granted, is that the accessories are dishwasher safe. Just be sure not to clean your oven with metal scouring pans, as this will scratch the finish.
To make sure your experience is nothing but pleasant when using your new pressure oven they have provided you with helpful tools and some great recipes to get you started. Since the oven cooks faster it is necessary to convert your time as to not over cook. You can download the below conversion chart at puckoven.com.
Also by visiting the site you can find some great recipes to prepare in your new oven!
This little but powerful oven would have come in handy back in the day when my husband and I moved into our first house, (out of our one bedroom apartment). Our new home did not come with a refrigerator or stove. We had just enough to pick up a used refrigerator but not a stove. For that year we used our microwave, indoor grill, and a skillet to cook all of our meals. The Wolfgang Puck oven would have been the perfect addition to our quint home. Now it is a perfect addition to our much larger and more accessorized home!
