I am not a cook, chef, or even a glorified food preparer. In fact, I view cooking as nothing more than a DIY project with heat and chemistry. I’d like to also point out that I failed chemistry numerous times in school. Along comes the Wolfgang Puck Pressure Oven. Pressure oven? OK, you have my attention.
Yes, pressure oven. The ONE thing I remember in chemistry is the Ideal Gas Law (PV = nRT) which in everyday terms, hints that there’s a relationship between pressure, temperature, and volume. Alter one of those, and it affects the others. I remember that traditional pressure cookers reduce cooking time with a fixed volume and increased pressure. The Wolfgang Puck Pressure Oven advertises reduced cooking times of “up to 70%” while “locking in heat and moisture”.
First, let’s see what’s in the box.
- Baking/broil rack
- Drip/baking pan
- Roasting pan
- Crumb tray
- Rotisserie kit – includes rod, tines and rotisserie-removal tool (available only in the Rotisserie Series model)
- Quick start guide
- Recipe booklet
- Use and care guide
- Manufacturer’s 1-year limited warranty
- 60 day money back guarantee
- Measurements Approx. 19-7/8″L x 15-7/8″W x 12-3/8″H
- Weight Approx. 26.7 lbs.
- Power Source Plugs into household wall outlet
- Wattage 1700 watts
The front of the oven is rather handsome, to me. Just brushed stainless and black knobs. I kind of like the big He-Man door handle. It looks like something “professional” but shrunken down for the home.
The rear is completely barren. Just the plug, a small vent, and two plastic bumpers.
The inside of the oven, empty. There is a light, but as you can see, the plug isn’t plugged in yet. We’ll get to that.
You get a wire rack (left), a smaller rack for the included tray (right) and a claw-shaped wire tool (upper right).
Also included are two pans and some reading material. Speaking of which…
This what I always look for first: The quick startup guide for impatient people like me. (Click to enlarge)
Remember the bit about “faster cooking times”? Take a look at this chart and see what you think for yourself.
Upon closer inspection, you’ll notice this is NOT some large toaster oven. This thing has a lever you push down to seal the door. The door then gets pulled and locked into place. I felt like I was sealing astronauts in a space capsule for a trip to the moon.
These hooks engage and lock the door in place.
This is the seal that goes around the inside of the door. If pressure is involved, a seal makes sense.
The door remains slightly ajar when closed before the lever is locked. This is the “normal” non-pressurized cooking mode.
Push the lever down and the door closes completely.
Inside the oven is a removable crumb tray. Note the lower heating element.
That’s the upper heating element.
Remember that wire claw tool? It’s to remove/insert the wire rack.
Wire rack in place, light on.
Door closed, light on.
So far, the oven LOOKS okay on the surface, until you get to the printed plastic knobs. Atrocious. The printing is slightly blurry and painted with a font that I’ve seen in nearly every half-baked instruction manual since the 1980’s.
Power light in red, ready light in green.
The timer knob has a “Stay On” mode if you don’t need the timer function. If you need the timer, however…
…Just rotate the knob and select your time, like an egg timer. The marks are in 20 min. increments with arbitrary dashed lines in between. How do you choose, say, 22 min?
On the top is the most perplexing bit. This is the vent. Makes sense to have one in a pressurized appliance. The instructions state to put this thing into the SEAL position… but which one is the seal position? I kept referring to the instructions, and at this moment I still don’t quite remember. If you don’t get it right, the oven won’t cook properly in the pressurized mode. It’s also very, very loose by design, which doesn’t inspire a lot of confidence.
Vegetarians and vegans, look away. I’m sorry, but I had to try a steak. It’s the only thing I can make in an oven with a 45% success rate. On the left is my control steak, which I’ll cook in my usual way in the oven with the broiler. On the right is a steak I’ll use in the Puck oven.
Here I am loading the breech. That’s a little salt I placed on the bottom of the pan to catch excess dripping, which I lined with foil for easier cleanup.
Thankfully, there’s a light inside. There’s no way to turn off the light while the oven is in operation.
I followed the directions on the quick start guide (10 minutes), and got a pretty rare piece. Back goes the rib eye.
A total of 12 minutes and I felt it was done to my satisfaction. Let’s compare to the control…
The control steak had a little more “cooked” edges to it, but I attribute that to the way I made it: In oven at 375F for 10 minutes, then at a broil (top rack) for about 8-10 minutes, flipping every 3-4 minutes. Much longer than the 10-12 minutes it took me in the Puck oven.
But how was the taste? Frankly, it was pretty darn close. The Puck Steak was perfectly edible, with only slight difference in the exterior “char” due to actual cooking method (bake vs. broil)
Cooking Poultry: Is the Bird the Word?
After I had given the Puck Oven a loving new home (I don’t have the counter space) I followed up on how it was doing. As it turns out, maybe my expectations were wrong.
Apparently, chicken cooks just fine, thank you very much. And quite a bit of it. I guess it never occurred to me you can shove an entire chicken (and then some) into the Puck Oven, despite the countertop design.
“Chicken turned out fine, juicy” I was told. “When it looked done, I took it out”. Apparently, stopwatch timing wasn’t a priority (how many minutes??) but it was “pretty fast”. I’ll take that!
Was it dried out? I had to know: Last year, my Thanksgiving bird was totally dried out. Maybe I shouldn’t have given the Puck Oven the heave-ho out of my kitchen? “Not dry at all,” she said. “I just followed the sample directions in the book”. I’m assuming this meant the included cookbook or cheat-sheet.
Well darn. And wouldn’t you know it? There’s a recipe for Speedy Roast Turkey on the website that claims to cook a turkey in about an hour. Last November it took me 3-4 hours and everyone went home disappointed.
Then it hit me: My oven at home (regular, big gas thing) leaks heat. The door doesn’t close all the way. In fact, all of the knobs are slightly warped due to the heat. The Puck Oven seals shut like a vault and has a smaller volume. Maybe there’s something to it!
Design notes:
I love the sealed door, I’ve got a real beef about the door design itself. To open the door, you have to unlock the lever from pressure to regular mode. That’s not a problem (and perhaps my favorite part of this appliance). But the push button release- similar to many microwave ovens- requires a lot of force to disengage the door. I found myself using the other hand to give counter-pressure by grabbing the He-Man handle. Otherwise, I’d end up pushing the entire oven back, sliding across the kitchen counter.
Closing the door had similar problems. If you push the door shut, it moves the whole oven back unless you position the oven against the wall, or if you grab the back of the oven with your hand. Do not do this. When I tried, the oven was still hot to the touch. Ouch.
One remedy for this is to simply place the oven against the back of your counter or a wall. However, since the oven was pretty darn warm to the touch after use, I wasn’t sure I’d want to do that. Why couldn’t they have just used a friendlier latch mechanism or lighter spring?
Finally, do you remember that wire claw tool to remove the wire rack? Well, once the oven and rack warm up, the metal expands and I was unable to get the rack to budge with the tool, let alone a gloved hand. Maybe it’s a safety feature! No, then how would you get food out when you’re done? Not easily.
Design oddities aside, I would consider the Wolfgang Puck Pressure Oven as a decent countertop oven, and that’s about it. I never saw the late-night infomercials and never got suckered into any hype, so I can easily state that if you don’t cook often or you have a shortage of space in your kitchen, don’t bother.
If you do a lot of cooking and find yourself playing oven roulette when preparing dishes, this may do the trick. Again only if you have the counter space. This beastie is about the same size as a large microwave and gets way hotter to the touch.
As for the pressure trick? Save time? The cons for me (space hog, odd design elements) outweigh the potential time savings. However, if your regular oven door doesn’t close all the way like mine is broken, and you’ve got the counter space…
Product Information
| Price: | $249 |
| Manufacturer: | Wolfgang Puck |
| Pros: |
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| Cons: |
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Two years ago I bought a Breville Countertop Toaster/Convection Oven for about this same price. From what I can read, I’ll put my Breville up against the Wolfgang Puck any day. I have roasted, baked, broiled and even made toast, all within the smaller size design with great results. I have yet to find any negatives about it. The reason I love the countertop oven is because I live in El Paso, Texas, a very hot place in the summertime, and heating up a smaller box is much more efficient for the A/C to cool than turning on the big gas oven and heating up the entire kitchen. Using a fan and an exhaust fan cools down the room quickly.
The pressure oven sounds like a good idea but the convection oven is also fast, plus I have the convenience of the toaster and broiler, too. But thanks for the review as I’m always interested in new products!
Merry: Yeah, the idea of a countertop oven isn’t bad especially after I realized how inefficient and leaky (!) my broken oven is. If I had the kitchen counter space, I would seriously consider something along the lines of the Puck or convection model.
I failed to see the need for one such oven. It takes up counter space and I haven’t what it can do that a normal oven or stove top pan/pot can’t.
I can cook the same steak in a cast iron pan in about 6 minutes, and I bet it would taste better. Here is how.
Dry the steak with a paper towel. Salt, pepper, and oil the it (enough to wet the surface). For better result, let it sit outside the fridge for about 30 minutes.
Heat up a cast iron pan, or a pan with good heat distribution. Add a good high temperature oil (veg oil, grape seeds, peanut, sun flower, etc.) close to smoking point. Add the steak. Cook for about 3 minutes on each side, more or less (30 seconds) depending on the thickness, or how well you want the steak.
Remove from the heat, cover and let it rest for about 2-4 minutes before cutting into it.
Sure, the 6 minutes doesn’t include the time it takes to warm up the steak outside the fridge, or to rest it after cooking, but that additional time is required for a good steak regardless if you use a pan or an oven.
I agree. In my case, I simply do not have the counter space. On the other hand, I do have a Lodge iron pan I’ve partway seasoned (haven’t finished; my oven door is broken/leaky and spews all sorts of awful stuff into the air) so I’ll have to get around to putting it to good use to get a good steak goin’. Thanks.
@MerryMarjie
I have the same Breville oven. It is fantastic. I use it a lot more than I do my large oven. I agree with the convection feature being wonderful. I fail to see what kind of an improvement a pressured oven can make.
The pressure oven is too hot and too large for my counter space, so I put it in my attached garage. I have used it only once to roast a chicken, and it was fine. I expected a very tender chicken, since I know “Kentucky Fried Chickens” are pressured. It didn’t really taste any different, but it was fast. I am going to try Julia Child’s “Beef Bourguinon” soon. How long to cook it? Jane from North Myrtle Beach, SC
I would have no idea how long to cook a beef bourguinon. And, I didn’t know KFC is cooked while pressurized. I guess I learned something new!
Dears meistervy & Jane
I’m a pro chef and for one thing you will never get a true convection cook from a counter top or top model built-in without some rotation ans heat loss upon opening the door.unless you spend a fortune La Cornue (approx $8k to start pluss shipping) for the fans are not strong enough, and pro kitchen models get to hot for a home kitchen. By the way the La Cornue cookers are sealed door types. And as far as KFC, the use Pressure “fryers” not ovens. Just a little info that I thought helpful
Can you cook red beef to well done and no red inside the piece?
I don’t see why not! In the end it’s just like any other oven. Just smaller.
I bought this oven last september but have been having trouble getting the pressure seal to work and the oven door to stay closed even when not in use , Contacted Wolfgang Pucks customer service department but found them unhelpful . Would love to be able to use this oven more because whe I can get it to work the food is beautifully cooked
Yeah so i have a wolfgang puck pressure oven that was given to me but it wont even turn on, it still looks very brand new and i dont want to throw it away if its a small fix, so i was wondering if you’d have any idea of what it could be?
I’m not sure. The first thing I would check is if the wall outlet is working. If the outlet is working, then it may be the oven itself.
Check the timer. Will it stay on…
You know it is on when timer ticks.
@Joana, If it is still under warranty and you have the receipt for it you are good to go with replacement parts. I’ve tried to get the top Valve for mine (I’ve lost it) and it is out of warranty and cannot get a new part. It was a given to me as a gift.
I complained every time I used the oven for two years about no light and come to find out it has a light; it just wasn’t working. Ha Now I just need to figure out how to change the bulb and hope that’s all that’s wrong.
MAJOR CONCERN WITH RETURN POLICY IN CASE OF MALFUNCTION
I purchased this oven direct from KitchenTek, and found that I had difficulties with the door latch and the steam button. The Customer service dept deemed this to be a malfunction and issued an RMA and a prepaid return Shipping label using USPS. The return label had no tracking Number and post office said one could not be issued with this kind of label. The return address label provided by Kitchentek was cryptic (addressed to ‘Postage Due Unit’). Fortunately I did purchase a certificate of mailing, but this has no tracking capability. One month later Kitchentek denies having received the item, and are asking me for a tracking number. It does seem that package is lost somewhere between the Post office and their warehouse, and I am concerned by the lack of responsibility by the vendor to handle its returns in a professional manner. It seems I am out of $290 but I would never deal with this company unless you are sure that will not need to return items to them
can you tell me where i can purchase to main hardback cook book,can’t find it anywhere .please e-mail some direction thanks
There was no hardback cookbook included with this item. Did you need recommendations for cookbooks? I personally like the America’s Test Kitchen series. There are many to choose from. Some in paperback, even.
The hardback cookbook they showed with the oven on HSN was for a pressure cooker but they said the recipes can be used for the pressure oven. I got mine on HSN. If you bring up the oven they will tell you that people who bought the oven also may have bought the book and give a link to the book. I also bought the pizza screens and they work really well for crispy crust.
I will say that I know nothing about this hardback cookbook. Sorry.
Wpcookware.com for cookbook
I found, like you, that if you push the door shut slowly it will tend to push the oven back on a slick countertop but if you do it quickly (“gently slamming”) it will latch easily every time without any movement of the whole oven and without having to find a cool exterior surface to apply counterpressure (actually the plastic feet work well but it’s not even necessary to hold on to anything else but the door handle if you close it quickly).
I’ve tried the holiday ham recipe and it was nowhere near cooked after the recommended time. I finished off by boiling it but joint was ruined. Also joint of pork loin was dry and tough. Think think I’ll be returning this oven.
Well we bought one of these as a gift for my mum.. we set it up and tested it with nothing in it (to burn off anything left behind during the manufacturing process).
everything was well so we left it to cool down, when returning back to it a few minutes later we found the glass in the door had shattered filling the inside of the oven with glass shards. Not happy. it has been out of the box for 10 minutes! now we have to go through all of the “send your old one back to us for an exchange” thing.
not happy!
I bought the WGPuck pressure oven… loved it at first… seems to cook quicker than my big oven… and does seal in juices if done right… bought it in OCT 2015 it is now Jan. 2017 but 3 of the functions stopped working before warranty was out … WARM/BROIL and Rotisserie but failed to contact company my mistake… now that I have they say once I get proof of purchase they would replace it… have to wait for the proof but will see if they keep their word…. and it will cost me $60 but would cost more to even get a different brand so Ill patiently wait…AWHILE!
Sounds like you got better response from the WP Industries Warranty Department than I did. My oven quit heating after 18 months and very little use and I was basically told “Sorry Charlie, warranty has expired, and we do not stand behind our product, it’s your loss”.
August 21, 2016 I purchased the WP 22L Stainless Steel Pressure Oven through the Home Shopping Network, March 2018, it quit heating. I contacted the WP Industries Warranty Department, explained to them that the oven had just stopped heating, although all other functions seemed to be working and wanted to know if there was a troubleshooting guide or a repair facility, I received the following response from Genevieve Williams, W.P. Productions Customer Relations Manager (Warranty Dept.) “Thank you for your inquiry and being a valued customer. Please note that we don’t fix or repair as there isn’t any trouble shooting to provide if your unit has no heat. The warranty we provide is one year from the date of purchase which all replacements is free of charge during the warranty coverage time frame. Unfortunately if there wasn’t extended warranty purchase this item is considered out of warranty.” I was basically told I purchased an unsupported piece of junk. If you read this, please take heed, the WP Industries will not and does not stand behind their poor products. Furthermore, I would not recommend any of the WP Industries products.
I have lost the weight on top. Pressure regulator. The vent. I have had the oven for many years and never used it. I really need the vent. Please help me
We don’t provide service or support. Sorry about that. If you have the manual, there might be a contact number in there for help.
bought this oven in 2018.after 2 uses (mediocre performance) the included loaf pan started seriously started shedding the non-stick coating. I contacted them and was told the oven was warranteed, not the pan but they would gladly SELL me another one. Two months later, the timer went bad. I bought the oven as a do-all for my boat, I woke up at 2 am because the boat was sweltering hot.The oven was on. When I turned it to the off position. Called them and got no satisfaction. I’m a busy man with no time to play with these people,so now when i rarely use this oven, I have to make sure I unplug it. In view of the way these people treated me, I will have nothing further to do with HSN, wolfgang puck or kitchentek. My boat could have caught fire (worst case scenario)and you could have included a recipe for husband and wife casserole in the puck coorbook.
I bought the oven from Sam’s club black Friday sale and didn’t use for maybe 6mo to 1 yr after purchase because I didn’t have the counter space. After remodeling my kitchen this is the only things I use often every week. I love it from the pressure cooking, baking and warming. I only use my stove for the cook top. The only problem I have is the dial too cancel the timer but I just take the knob off and use a butter knife to turn off. Again I love it, it keeps the heat down in my home.
Great investment!! I would buy another one!! Awesome cooking device!! Praise Jesus!!
Oh yea! One more thing. I’ve had my wolf gang for 10 yrs and still using it.