Recommendations for a Pressure Cooker or Slow Cooker?

  • Hey folks!

    The Minister of War & Finance has requested a slow cooker / pressure cooker type thing for xmas. She likes doing curries, stews, etc in them and her old one broke (was a $20ish cheapie that we got a pretty good run out of).

    Feature-wise, she doesn't know what she needs/wants, and I don't know what to look for. All she knows is that she wants something with a timer and the ability to keep food warm once the timer has finished.

    Looking at a budget of up to about $150ish, but can extend that if required.

    Any recommendations? I did see a Russell Hobbs one at The Good Guys that also has a Sous Vide function, which certainly seems interesting...

    Cheers in advance!

  • Slow cooker wise I saw one that had a cast cooking bowl. It meant you could remove it, do your browning on the stove, then put it back in the slow cooker to slow cook. This way you didn't have to use a separate frying pan to do the browning in.

    I also remember seeing one that was both a slow cooker and a pressure cooker. Can't help any more than that I'm afraid. Both mine are years old.



    Traeger - Weber Family Q - Ziggy Twin Burner - Charcoal Grill - Akorn Kamado - Hark Tri Fire - Jumbuck Pizza Oven - Go Anywhere - Asmoke Pellet Grill - Hibachi Grill - Anova Sous Vide x 2

  • I’ve got a Breville slow/pressure cooker combo. Has a browning function, timer, and a keep warm function. Had it for about 8-10 years. I think I paid about $160 for it back then. Would much rather use the slow cooker function than the pressure function.

    Very effin UDS, GMG Daniel Boone Prime

  • We have one that does both, and has the means to brown first. Browning is great, but pressure cooker function was a waste of time for us. Slow cooking is so much easier and simply better, that we never use it. Ever. Slow cooking though, is great for just about anything from soups to casseroles to roasts and curries. Use it all the time.

    Pit Boss Navigator 850, Jackaroo Grange 4-burner gas :bbq:

  • Use mine all the time and always use it as a presure cooker. Chuck, Beef cheeks, Lamb, Pulled chicken. Can also do rice and some people I know pressure cook eggs. My SIL does great ribs in his before smoking them.

    This one goes to the top of the list IMO.

    Jumbuck 7 burner with hood. Baby Weber kettle. 52" Kettle. Weber Go Anywhere. 5' SS Spit rotisserie. Offset smoker. Akorn Kamado. :) ASMOKE AS500N. Hibachi.:bbq:

  • Instant pot beats the hell out of all of them. My cooktop hasn’t worked for 3 months after the wall switch decided to take up smoking.

    No longer use the rice cooker, pressure cooker or slow cooker. Clear stock by setting to pressure cooker at zero time (so heat up and cool down under pressure).

    Set to sauté then pressure cooker for casseroles.

    Honestly, this thing is simply the best. Apparently the Phillips version can cook a cake too

  • +1 on the Instant Pot. I got one in the hope of replacing our old slow/rice cooker combo and it has done more than that.

    Cooks great rice and it gets used most frequently for making stock, You can't beat a bone broth in 2-3 hours!

    I actually haven't even tried the slow cooker function yet as it's easy and so much quicker to pressure cook.

    It does great soft boiled eggs too. What else... oh it makes a great congee!

    I'd still like to get a few accessories so I can use it as a steamer. Apparently instant pot cheesecakes are a thing.

    I can't comment on how good other brands are but my main reason I went for the instant pot was that it had a stainless inner pot, most had non-stick inners at the time.

    Royal Kamado, Primo Oval XL, Akorn jr, GMG Daniel Boone and Pit Barrel Cooker

  • All this talk of the Instant Pot has cost me... I walked into Costco yesterday and they had stacks of them right near the entrance for $199. One is now sitting on my kitchen benchtop, but given the 40c degree temperatures this weekend it will stay in the box.

    Any suggestions for a first cook?

    Masterbuilt Gravity 800 | Maximus Pizza Oven | GMG - Daniel Boone | Cyprus Grill | Big Steel Keg | Blackstone Griddle | Fire Pit | Weber Genesis |

  • Circling back on the instantpot in case anyone else wants to buy one. I purchased it for $199 from Costco and they now have it on sale until the end of the year for $119.

    Fortunately they also have a price guarantee so I'll be getting the difference back when I visit tomorrow.

    https://www.costco.com.au/medias/sys_mas…47315810334.pdf

    Masterbuilt Gravity 800 | Maximus Pizza Oven | GMG - Daniel Boone | Cyprus Grill | Big Steel Keg | Blackstone Griddle | Fire Pit | Weber Genesis |

  • Holy thread revival Batman!

    Just wanted to check in to see how the Instant Pot owners were going with their purchases? They are on special in the Amazon half year sale and I'm considering picking one up. Now I'm no longer working from home I don't have time to let stuff bubble away on the stove or in the oven all day and the wife has taken on most of the cooking duties. Figured this would be good for her to bung all the ingredients in and walk away while she sorts the kids out but also still not take too long to get dinner on the table.

    I'd probably use it mostly for stocks. I know they have a slow cooker function, but I hear that's mostly useless and I'd probably stick to the Dutch Oven for low n slow braises so would mostly be used for pressure cooking.

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