I needed a new slow cooker because the ceramic pot broke. I decided to try this unit because it uses a lightweight metal pot with a glass top and that has worked out well. Other pros: - I like that I can sear meat right in the pot before adding other ingredients and then switch to slow cooking. - Besides saving myself from having to wash another pan, the pot did heat up quickly and I got a decent sear on the meat. - I was able to sear 5 pounds of pork shoulder county ribs in two batches and because of the high sides of the pot, I didn’t have a greasy mess to clean up. The cons: - I would have liked more directions and times given for different ingredients - When I select slow cooking, the temperature is set automatically as is a 4-hour time period. I can adjust the time but not the temperature. I don’t know what the temperature is or if the setting is considered low or high. Because 4 hours is the default time, I’m thinking it’s high and it did seem to run hot. My ribs weren’t done after 4 hours, but when I checked after 3 more hours, they were a bit more overdone than I like, but still very good. I would have liked them to cook longer at a lower temperature, plus this precludes leaving a slow cooker on low for 10 or more hours while at work. The Air Fryer feature is easy to set up. You keep the big pot in the unit and add the fryer basket and substitute the big Air Fryer and Grill lid for the simple glass lid. I cooked frozen fast food style fries. The default setting for French fries is 20 min at 400 degrees. I thought that would be too long (it doesn’t specify if those are fresh or frozen fries) so I set the timer for 8 minutes. You’re supposed to put the fries in right away and a preheat setting comes on. I lost track of the preheat time, but it was over 5 minutes. The timing was about right (I was checking periodically anyway) but still longer than I would have expected, although the fries were very hot and crispy, making up for the wait. Just plan ahead with the preheat feature. I tried out the Grill Feature, which also uses the special lid, by cooking a ribeye steak. The difference when grilling is that you preheat with the grill pan in place before adding the food. It took exactly 8 minutes to preheat, so now I know to plan for that. The default setting for a 1-inch steak, which I had, is 400 degrees for 13-15 minutes. I wasn’t about to take a chance of ruining my steak, so I set the timer for 10 minutes and checked it at 6 and 8 minutes. The 10 minutes was perfect for me, and I noticed that the color of the meat was even throughout the inside. The steak was very good and retained its juices. I did miss the crispy crust I could get from cooking a steak in a screaming hot stainless-steel pan, but I didn’t miss cleaning up the grease that would scatter all over the stove and everything else nearby. Clean up of the GreenPan was simple, as both the grill and pot are nonstick. You’re not going to be able to grill for a crowd, but we are empty nesters, so it’s great for us. When we have guests, we’d use the outside grill anyway, but never want to bother with it when it’s just the two of us. While the base of this unit doesn’t take up any more space than a typical slow cooker, the special lid is a bit bulky, so you’ll want to consider your storage space. But, if you can accommodate it, this GreenPan provides many functions for something not much bigger than a slow cooker. Using the special lid, you can also broil, bake, roast and dehydrate. When using the lid, keep in mind when you take it off and set it on the special rack at the side of the base, together the two pieces will take up 24 inches of counter space. I would have been happier with more details about cooking times for different foods, maybe some recipes, etc. I looked for an online guide but didn’t find one. I guess it’s going to be a learning curve for me and keeping notes about what worked and what didn’t.
