Thoughts on Pressure Cooking

[The Knize]

I am really enjoying my new, cheap pressure cooker, but I had some thoughts and questions.

I really like the way this pressure cooker cuts the time for preparing dried beans--I am truly on a dried bean kick since getting this thing--and tripe, which would otherwise take literally hours on the stove top.

I do, however, find that an overnight soak is still a good thing for dried beans. The pressure cooker will do it for beans that have not been soaked overnight at room temperature, or that have been brought to a boil not under pressure and allowed to soak for an hour. But the texture of the beans is not as good when they have not gone overnight. Sort of broken up and "exploded" or something. Is that a typical experience?

Second, it seems to me so far, and I realize this could be a matter of getting the seasoning and, say, proportions of water, right, that things cooked under pressure taste different than things cooked in an open pot on the stove top. I'm not even saying at this point that I prefer one taste over the other, but my sense is I like the flavor of open container cooking better. Seems more complex. Perhaps more intense. Is that a typical experience? Any other thoughts on that? Maybe some flavors are good to keep contained and under pressure. Forced back into the food, so to speak. While there maybe other flavors are better to boil off into the air.

I have not yet gotten used to not being able to monitor things closely as they are cooking, either. In an open (or conventionally covered) pot one has the opportunity to constantly adjust various things, such as the amount of liquid and seasonings. Not so in a pressure cooker. I tend to taste a lot as I go along and adjust anyway.

Maybe one thing to do is to limit the use of pressure cooking to only parts of the cooking process. Beginning and end, for instance. The bottom of the pressure cooker is a nice heavy pot to use for any purpose.

No question that the speed and, say, lack of stirring, is advantageous and so far, fun. This could turn out to be a limited use appliance for me, though. Seems worth it for even limited uses though. I would get higher pressure and stainless steel if I had it to do over again, though, which would be more expensive, I am guessing.

Final question, I have considered getting a slow cooker, but they seem more utilitarian than fun. Am I wrong about that? Do folks find big flavor differences from dishes prepared more conventionally--whether good, bad, or indifferent? Are there parallels with pressure cooking?

I wonder if one can put oil in a conventional pressure cooker and get a "KFC" effect? <g> Seems dicey and I do not even like KFC!!! I imagine that a cooker designed to use oil under pressure is an expensive item though, and the safety features of any modern pressure cooker are impressive.

Thanks!

 

[Sergio Campos]

I am Brazilian, and around here beans are quite popular. I think it can be said that a Brazilian home without a pressure cooker is a place where nothing is cooked. So, I am experienced with pressure cookers, as far as someone that doesn't cook all that often can be.

I do, however, find that an overnight soak is still a good thing for dried beans. The pressure cooker will do it for beans that have not been soaked overnight at room temperature, or that have been brought to a boil not under pressure and allowed to soak for an hour. But the texture of the beans is not as good when they have not gone overnight. Sort of broken up and "exploded" or something. Is that a typical experience?

It is not our typical experience. Maybe you get beans that are not new ? Not really old and not good, just not the freshest ones ?

Second, it seems to me so far, and I realize this could be a matter of getting the seasoning and, say, proportions of water, right, that things cooked under pressure taste different than things cooked in an open pot on the stove top. I'm not even saying at this point that I prefer one taste over the other, but my sense is I like the flavor of open container cooking better. Seems more complex. Perhaps more intense. Is that a typical experience? Any other thoughts on that? Maybe some flavors are good to keep contained and under pressure. Forced back into the food, so to speak. While there maybe other flavors are better to boil off into the air.

I think you are right, pressure cooked can be "less complex". I think however, it is just time, not being open container that makes the difference. One thing to try is to use the pressure cooker, and afterwards, let it cook slowly on an open pot for a while.

No question that the speed and, say, lack of stirring, is advantageous and so far, fun. This could turn out to be a limited use appliance for me, though. Seems worth it for even limited uses though. I would get higher pressure and stainless steel if I had it to do over again, though, which would be more expensive, I am guessing.

Another tasty thing to cook in a pressure cooker is meat. Some cuts are harder and take way too long to cook, but in the pressure cooker it goes very fast. And if you add other things like vegetables in the pot the taste is even better.

 

[Shoe City Thinker]

Chicken stock made with a pressure cooker = meat Jello.

 

[Stevew443]

I like to get the cheapest piece of chuck roast that I can find at the store and cook it for about an hour in the pressure cooker. The inexpensive cuts of meat work well with the pressure and higher temps that the pressure cooker provides. After an hour in the cooker, the chuck roast comes out fork tender and quite tasty.

 

[Alacrity59]

My thoughts:

Beans. Yes the overnight soak is better. A bit of salt added to red beans and not a rapid cool down will help keep the skin on.

Seasoning. Stuff you want to break down like onion and garlic . . . at the beginning. Fresh spices at the end . . . and salt last when it is done.

What gets cooked under pressure. Some of the best stews I've made were with the meat, onions, garlic, and tomatoes done under pressure and the potatoes, turnips, carrots . . . etc . . . the veg . . . added after and cooked conventionally. This is actually something I'm working on . . . finding the right spot to add the veg and continue under pressure to have both the meat and veg done and not over done at the same time.

I had ordered a new pressure cooker just as you posted this thread. Kuhn Rikon Duromatic 6 qt stockpot. I've used it once and posted a couple of pics in the "What's cooking, 2013 thread". Cost about 5x what my first cost, stainless steel vs. aluminum, larger, somewhere around $220 CDN. It is on a whole different paradigm. My cheap Miro has a rocker top . . . there is a heck of a lot of loss of liquid via steam. It takes a hellishly long time to reach pressure and the thin bottom sometimes results in burning as with the loss of steam it takes a higher temp to keep the pressure up. The Duromatic looses almost no steam . . . get it going at pressure and very little heat is needed.

Yet I will keep the cheap one for a bit because I know how to use it. But yes . . . I will most likely buy the smaller 2.5 qt Duromatic frying pan as well. Pretty pricey but even my miro has lasted long and the Duromatic is warranted for 10 years. And yet I will use my inexpensive Chicago Metallic roasting pan for any turkeys I make (no Teflon) and love my Nordic Ware half sheet wonderfully thick half sheets for veg, buns, and cookies. (was Thanksgiving here last weekend . . . buns on . . . no not steel but on aluminum)

 

[The Knize]

Twice now I have written long posts in response to the responses in this thread and then lost them when I tried to post.

So maybe more later. In the meantime, thanks for the great responses. Some good things to try out.

 

[MPruett]

Chicken stock made with a pressure cooker = meat Jello.

I actually took two dinky little stewing hens I got from a local farmer and put them in the pressure cooker still frozen with about a half-gallon of water, one medium onion chopped coarsely, one large shallot chopped coarsely, about 15-16 baby carrots, and 3-4 ribs of celery, chopped coarsely, and roughly 1 tsp kosher salt.

Cook at 15 psi for 90 minutes- end result is falling off the bone chicken, 1/2 gallon or so of awesome stock, and some nasty spent vegetables and chicken bones.

I ended up making the most awesome tortilla soup later that evening (Rick Bayless' recipe, natch).

 

[Sergio Campos]

Hello again. My wife, who knows waaaaaay more than me about cooking in general and pressure cooking in particular, has made two suggestions. First, boil the water *before* putting in the beans. If you have the beans soaking somewhere else, throw that water out. Second, add a lot of water to the pan, there should be about two inches of water on top of the beans.

Hope that helps.

 

[Alacrity59]

Sergio I'd love to know more. I'm wondering what are common pressure cooker dishes in your area of the world.

 

[Alacrity59]

I started soaking some red beans this morning and had some leftover hamburg from making meat loaf. Once you have the beans soaking you have to use them before they start formenting . . .so yep chili . . . as I make it. It has beans and tomatoes so . . .if I ever visit Texas I have to change my name.

So . . . two cups of eight hour soaked kidney beans were cooked for 10 minutes in a pressure cooker. They were very done. I held them aside as I cooked a diced onion and a lb or 2 of ground hamburger and some green pepper I had.

A big dose . . . maybe 2 tbsp of oregano and maybe 2 tbsp of siracha sauce and five button mushrooms.

Ok . . . mostly when I make chili it gets what ever I have handy . . . mostly this is what I have on hand but if I have zuchini, garlic, eggplant, squash . . . that would fit too.

Ok picture, and I realize it will look like every time I make it ... sorry.

 

[BubblesTGB]

I have an electric pressure cooker that was foisted on my by my mother. Seems like a recurring theme here but all I use it for is to make beans. I'm not a fan of slow cookers or pressure cookers (to me all the food tastes the same) but I will say the pressure cooker is a fantastic way of avoiding sodium-laden canned beans.

 

[cxg231]

I wonder if one can put oil in a conventional pressure cooker and get a "KFC" effect? <g> Seems dicey and I do not even like KFC!!! I imagine that a cooker designed to use oil under pressure is an expensive item though, and the safety features of any modern pressure cooker are impressive.

Pressure frying is also known as "broasting" and was somewhat popular in the United States in the 1950's and 60's from what I understand.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Broasting

There is a popular broasted chicken restaurant in Collegeville PA that looks like it hasn't been remodeled since it opened in 1953. That's not a bad thing, it's a real "blast from the past". Good chicken too.

http://www.speckschicken.com/

 

[The Knize]

All of this is great. Thanks. I need as some more hands on time with this appliance and will then write more.

We seem to have lost the last broastingicken place in the DC area. KFC started out as a pressure frying process. I assume that is still part of its process. Probably my least favorite chicken, KFC.

 

[Sergio Campos]

Ok, with some help from my wife:

- One that is popular around here, kinda, is turkey neck. Season it the day before, boil some water on another pan, golden the turkey neck on the pressure cooker by frying it for a while with the open cooker, add the boiling water, close it and cook it.

- Cassava or manioc with ribs. Peel and cut the manioc in small chunks. Fry the ribs as told before, add manioc, cover with water, cook it. Takes a while, the manioc has to almost dissolve.

- Beans can be cooked with some bacon, adds flavor. Or if you have kids that don't eat right, add vegetables such as beetroot to the beans, they dissolve and kids eat it better. If the kids like beans, which almost all Brazilian kids do.

- And here is an interesting one, milk candy, or dulce de leche in spanish. Get a can of condensed milk, do *not* open it, put it in the pressure cooker with *lots* of water, and leave it on for about an hour or two. Let it cool down and open the can. The condensed milk will have turned into dulce de leche (doce de leite in Portuguese), thicker if you cooked it longer, and perfect to eat with a spoon, or as we like it around here, with cheese. Beware that if the water level gets too low, you have to add more. Cook it for about 40 minutes or so, cool it down, open the cooker, add more water, repeat.

Sergio I'd love to know more. I'm wondering what are common pressure cooker dishes in your area of the world.

 

[Alacrity59]

Ok, with some help from my wife:

- One that is popular around here, kinda, is turkey neck. Season it the day before, boil some water on another pan, golden the turkey neck on the pressure cooker by frying it for a while with the open cooker, add the boiling water, close it and cook it.

- Cassava or manioc with ribs. Peel and cut the manioc in small chunks. Fry the ribs as told before, add manioc, cover with water, cook it. Takes a while, the manioc has to almost dissolve.

- Beans can be cooked with some bacon, adds flavor. Or if you have kids that don't eat right, add vegetables such as beetroot to the beans, they dissolve and kids eat it better. If the kids like beans, which almost all Brazilian kids do.

- And here is an interesting one, milk candy, or dulce de leche in spanish. Get a can of condensed milk, do *not* open it, put it in the pressure cooker with *lots* of water, and leave it on for about an hour or two. Let it cool down and open the can. The condensed milk will have turned into dulce de leche (doce de leite in Portuguese), thicker if you cooked it longer, and perfect to eat with a spoon, or as we like it around here, with cheese. Beware that if the water level gets too low, you have to add more. Cook it for about 40 minutes or so, cool it down, open the cooker, add more water, repeat.

Turkey neck is a treat my mother and father in law loved. Beans and bacon...yep we love this where I am. Or beans with ham hocks.
I've had Dulce de leche. . . it is wonderful. I am afraid to heat anything in a can. Mostly because I've never done this.


Thank you and your wife for sharing.

 

[Sergio Campos]

The first time I was afraid too, but a single can in the pressure cooker is harmless. Try it for half an hour, let it cool down, open it (the cooker, not the can). Check it and repeat. The first time open it (the can this time) with an hour and see if you like it. The second time you can leave it for longer.

Edited when my wife read it: The trick to make it harmless is not to let the water level drop. Ideally half the cooker should be filled with water at all times. She also pointed out that you must only open the can when it has cooled down completely.

I've had Dulce de leche. . . it is wonderful. I am afraid to heat anything in a can. Mostly because I've never done this.

 

[Sergio Campos]

Well, not all related to pressure cooking, in fact, most are not, but I can't help but posting the link below, where more Brazilian food is shown. Recipes are available, including feijoada's, which is really wonderful and pressure cooked.

http://www.buzzfeed.com/gabrielakruschewsky/traditional-brazilian-foods-you-need-to-eat-right-now

 

[The Knize]

The first time I was afraid too, but a single can in the pressure cooker is harmless. Try it for half an hour, let it cool down, open it (the cooker, not the can). Check it and repeat. The first time open it (the can this time) with an hour and see if you like it. The second time you can leave it for longer.

Edited when my wife read it: The trick to make it harmless is not to let the water level drop. Ideally half the cooker should be filled with water at all times. She also pointed out that you must only open the can when it has cooled down completely.

I did a couple of rounds of dulce de leche. Really fantastic stuff. I always knew you could make it by boiling a can of sweetened condensed milk, but I had never had the guts to try it. Nothing could be easier.

I really like Brazillian food. Especially feijoada. Nice to have lots of bean dishes. So satisfying and tasty.

 

[seanmccormick]

I received a Ninja Cooker for our wedding. It had a "steam" cooking feature. I use it often to cook juicy meats.

 

[cody6766]

We use ours for pot roast and for osso bucco. The time saved is definitely worth it and I am about 50/50 success/embarrassment when it comes to meat in a dutch oven. I haven't screwed up one in the pressure cooker yet. I also use the big 16qt pot for soups and chili, so its a multitasker.