Last month we received a Wolfgang Puck Pressure Oven to test out. The idea is that this table top oven works on the same concept as a pressure cooker- except in an oven form. When you close and lock the oven door, the pressure sealed compartment browns your foods perfectly while locking in juices and cooking much faster. It bakes, roasts and much more in less time.
The first thing we made was a rotisserie chicken, which turned out perfectly! It was so incredibly delicious- juicy and flavorful. Just like a chicken you’d pick up in the market’s take out section. This is a really great feature of the oven.
Pleased, we then made some cupcakes in it and those turned out really well too. They baked perfectly and around five minutes faster than my regular oven- which for something that only takes 20 minutes normally, that’s a striking 25% faster!
We pulled it out today when we realized that not everything was cooking that well in our regular oven. It’s been on the fritz for some time, it doesn’t always keep temperature and everything was taking much longer than expected. Especially the turkey! It was only supposed to take 5 hours to cook at the standard 20 minutes per pound method, but nearing 6 hours, it was still very undercooked.
So we cut the turkey apart and in shifts, we finished roasting it in the Wolfgang Puck Pressure Oven. It worked like a charm. Not only did the turkey have a turn in the oven, but so did all of the side dishes. We also used it for warming everything up right before we sat down to eat too.
Having this extra oven really saved the day! I am really glad we had it here.
There are some drawbacks to the oven though that might cause some raised eyebrows. For one, the steam valve on top is a bit quirky to use and you really have to wear an oven mitt when you turn it, or you could be seriously hurt by the steam it releases. It’s rather hot! Secondly, the oven itself gets very hot on the outside. It’s an all metal casing and that gets very heated when you are cooking, so be careful not to touch the outside of the oven.
Speaking of the casing, it’s very easily dented. The oven I received first had many dings and dents, and was replaced but even this one has a nice big dent in the side, but because it doesn’t affect the way it cooks, I kept it. It’s just an aesthetic kind of thing and I really wanted to test it out without waiting for a third one to arrive. I was told that the manufacturer has since changed the packaging to protect the ovens a bit more, so hopefully they won’t be dented anymore when they arrive to the consumers.
Lastly, the timer doesn’t work on the oven at all. I am sure it’s just on my model, but the knob doesn’t do anything. We have tried it on every cooking occasion, and no luck, so, we just kept an eye on things from the glass window and our estimates were correct with the timing of things being fully cooked.
Even with those few negative things, overall, the positive outweigh them. The oven cooks really well and in less time than my regular one. The rotisserie will be used often too. That’s my favorite feature. I’m glad we had the opportunity to test it out.
Having a second oven is a huge help- especially when your primary oven isn’t working well. It is most especially useful on a huge food holiday such as Thanksgiving! It really saved the day! The turkey made it to the table in good time and all the sides were hot!
And that’s one thing I am thankful for!
Disclosure: I received a Wolfgang Puck Pressure Oven to test and review. I was not compensated in any other way for this post. As always, the thoughts and opinions are my own!