Pork Roast with Sweet Balsamic Sauce Done Two Ways

I’ve taken the plunge! After years of hearing everybody else talk about the joy of pressure cooking, I finally decided to try a pressure cooker for myself. Breville recently sent me their Fast Slow Pro multi-cooker to try. This neat little machine is a pressure cooker and a slow cooker, plus you can steam, sauté, sear, and reduce in it too!

For those wondering how a pressure cooker works, it’s basically a sealed vessel with a valve that controls the pressure inside. Boiling liquid inside the sealed pot creates steam which raises the internal pressure and allows the cooking temperature to rise higher than it can in a non-pressurized pot. The extra high heat cooks everything faster and simulates the effects of braising which helps tenderize tougher cuts of meat and deepen the flavours as well. There’s one more neat little perk: as food in a pressure cooker cooks faster, it also saves energy!

To be honest, I was initially a bit intimidated by the eight different pressure levels (1.5 psi to 12 psi) and steam release settings. Which combo should I use for which food? Fortunately for me, the Fast Slow Pro comes with 11 Pressure Cook presets for vegetables, rice, risotto, soup, stock, beans, poultry, meat, bone-in meat, chili & stew, and dessert which make it simple enough even for a complete novice like me to use. The LCD screen even changes colour to show you when the cooker is pressurizing, cooking, or releasing steam.

The Slow Cook setting also has 9 presets, but I’m familiar enough with slow cooking that I didn’t need the extra help. If you’re new though, those will help make things even easier, especially if you’re not using a recipe that already has the heat level and cooking time specified.

Unlike the super heavy and awkward ceramic bowl in my old slow cooker, the Fast Slow Pro’s six-quart cooking bowl is nice and light. The ceramic coating doesn’t contain PFOA or PTFE, so it’s safe (and environmentally-friendlier) for my family. Plus it’s dishwasher safe!

As I mentioned earlier, the Fast Slow Pro is a pressure cooker, slow cooker, steamer, frying pan, and sauce pan all in one. The cooker comes with a stainless steel rack and steamer basket so you can steam right out of the box. It’s a great, quick way to cook healthy steamed veggies. And if you love Chinese dim sum dumplings like I do, the steam setting works great for these as well.

I have to add that the Fast Slow Pro does a fantastic job at replacing my rice cooker too. Rice takes about 30 minutes in my rice cooker (not including rest time), but on the Fast Slow Pro’s rice setting, it only takes 5 minutes once the pot is pressurized. This Chinese mama loves this time saver!

Today I want to share with you a new family favourite recipe I’ve been making in our Fast Slow Pro. This pork roast with sweet balsamic sauce can be made on either the pressure cook or the slow cook setting, and I love that I can sear the roast, cook it, and make the sauce all in the same pot. You want to save me from doing more dishes? Yes, please!

A roast like this takes about 6 hours to cook on low on the Slow Cook setting. That’s all well and good when I plan ahead and get it in the pot early enough, but I’m famous for forgetting, and that’s where the Fast Slow Pro shines.

Using the Pressure Cook setting, this same roast cooks in half an hour! Even including the time to sear the meat beforehand, time to bring the pot to full pressure, and time to reduce the sauce afterward, the whole thing can be done in around an hour.

Everybody loves the sweet balsamic sauce drizzled over the roast. It’s a reduction of the liquid the roast cooked in, so it’s full of flavour from the rich meat juices, balsamic vinegar, and the caramel sweetness of dark maple syrup.

I love the versatility of my Fast Slow Pro! I’m sure I’ve only scratched the surface of what this little machine can do. Local sweet corn will be in season any day, and I’ve been told I can cook corn on the cob in about 4 minutes. You can bet I’ll be trying that out as soon as my local farm starts picking!

Win a Breville Fast Slow Pro

I’m really excited to be able to bring you the chance to win your own Breville Fast Slow Pro (regular retail value $369.99)! Enter in the giveaway widget below. This giveaway is open to residents of Canada only (excluding Quebec), 18+. All the winner’s entries will be verified.

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Disclosure: I received a sample item for review. All opinions expressed are completely honest and my own, based on my personal experience. Your experience may differ. This post contains affiliate links. This West Coast Mommy is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to Amazon.com. I will receive a small commission if you purchase through my link, at no additional cost to you. This income helps pay for the operating costs of my website – thank you for your support!