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Black & Decker's Pressure Cooker cooks fast but lacks control

Black & Decker's 6 Quart Pressure Cooker cooks like an Instant Pot but without as much control.

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Brian Bennett
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1 of 11 Tyler Lizenby/CNET

Meet the Black & Decker 6 Quart Pressure Cooker. Just like an Instant Pot, it uses high pressure to cook items quickly plus has multiple programs for specific ingredients. 

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2 of 11 Tyler Lizenby/CNET

On the control panel are buttons to activate preset cooking modes. Among them are programs for beans, meat, rice, soups and stews. However, you can't adjust the pressure level as you can with other products. 

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3 of 11 Tyler Lizenby/CNET

On top of its lid is the steam release valve. You use it to seal pressure inside the appliance or set it to vent steam.

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4 of 11 Tyler Lizenby/CNET

St. Louis cut pork ribs can take up to 8 hours to cook in a conventional oven or smoker. In the Black & Decker pressure cooker, they were done in 3 hours or less.

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5 of 11 Tyler Lizenby/CNET

Pork ribs cooked under pressure may not have the smokey delicious taste created by a barbecue smoker, but they cook much faster.

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6 of 11 Brian Bennett/CNET

Pork shoulder came out tender too. It took 3 hours for a 4-pound cut to cook.

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7 of 11 Brian Bennett/CNET

To cook brisket I seared the outside of the meat first, then added water to steam it under pressure.

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8 of 11 Brian Bennett/CNET

Beef brisket took about two hours to come out nice and tender.

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9 of 11 Brian Bennett/CNET

This pressure cooker handled rice well thanks to help from the manual.

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10 of 11 Brian Bennett/CNET

I was able to use the Black & Decker pressure cooker's browning mode to saute ground beef and onions for chili.

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11 of 11 Brian Bennett/CNET

The chili I made came out well, but it didn't have the same intense flavors as when I cooked this dish in an Instant Pot.

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