I'm still trying to make up my mind whether I should keep the 8 qt. Duo or return it and get the 6 qt. Ultra. I like the idea of being able to dial up my own temperature on the Ultra. In all likelihood I won't use it for sous vide, though I would like to experiment with that, but I'm actually more concerned about get an actual "low" temperature for slow cooking. I read somewhere online that the low setting for IP slow cooking is actually 190-200F. That doesn't strike me as all that low, particularly since "high" is only 20F higher than "low".
So, on the plus side for the Duo is capacity. About 5-1/2 qt. for pressure cooking. The 6 qt. Ultra is limited to 4 qt. on pressure settings, and I think that might be an issue sometimes. On the minus side for the Duo is the rather high final temperature for slow cooking on "low".
On the plus side for the Ultra would be the custom temperature control. Smaller capacity on the minus side.
If I'm forced to ask an actual question here, I guess it would be this. Is the "low" setting on the IP slow cook mode more like medium-high like most other slow cookers these days or is it really going to work with slow cooker recipes that call for the low setting? Given the potential for temperature control on the IP I suppose they could crank the heat until the contents hit 140F, out of the "danger zone", and then back off on the heat to give a more gentle climb to a final ~195F , but I've found nothing that suggests they actually do this. If anybody can speak to the slow cooking capabilities of the IP I'd like to hear it.
So, on the plus side for the Duo is capacity. About 5-1/2 qt. for pressure cooking. The 6 qt. Ultra is limited to 4 qt. on pressure settings, and I think that might be an issue sometimes. On the minus side for the Duo is the rather high final temperature for slow cooking on "low".
On the plus side for the Ultra would be the custom temperature control. Smaller capacity on the minus side.
If I'm forced to ask an actual question here, I guess it would be this. Is the "low" setting on the IP slow cook mode more like medium-high like most other slow cookers these days or is it really going to work with slow cooker recipes that call for the low setting? Given the potential for temperature control on the IP I suppose they could crank the heat until the contents hit 140F, out of the "danger zone", and then back off on the heat to give a more gentle climb to a final ~195F , but I've found nothing that suggests they actually do this. If anybody can speak to the slow cooking capabilities of the IP I'd like to hear it.
): I did 4 lb of spares today. Did the "meat" setting at 20 minutes. Let it sit on the "warm" setting for 50 minutes (sides weren't ready and I wanted to make sure the ribs were done).
With just us 2 it's worth a try (one time anyways).
