Pressure cooker anyone?

[vash]

Ever since Peru; I’ve been wanting a pressure cooker. Peruvians live at high elevation, so they take advantage of the steam pressure.

( the porters hauling butt up Machu Picchu carry a full sized cooker up to 14000 feet!).

I’m kinda excited about the whole thing. I’ve never used one. I have a unit coming in the mail.

Fast beans and fast soups.. making a chicken noodle soup apparently takes 20 minutes according to ATK.

I ordered a cooktop version. That instantPot didn’t do it for me.

[biosurfer1]

We had the Instapot for a while, used it a couple times then it just sat in cabinet. Gave it away if I remember correctly. I like a crock pot better.

[masraum]

We had one for years when I was young. I only remember my mom using it a few times. I don't have one.

Based on my Internet searches for various Indian food recipes, it seems like Indians use them quite a bit.

[drkshdw]

Never used a pressure cooker but use a pressure canner all the time to can veggies, meats and soups. Unless I'm missing something, I'm not convinced that pressure cookers are really a time saver.

I mean, there are tons of recipes out there for '20 minute beans' but they don't take into account the 10 minutes to get the cooker up to pressure and the 20-30 minutes at the end to let the cooker release the pressure. Then take into account the constant whistle while cooking, personally I'd rather just have a regular pot of beans on the stove. Then again, I can beans using my pressure canner so all my recipes use already cooked beans for convenience.

[Arizona_928]

My sister still uses a stove top one, but she's feeding a family of 5.
I've been to a friend's that used the insta pot. A lot of features on those things

[Evans, Marv]

I've used one since the sixties. Came in handy when I worked in the mountains at 10K+ feet altitude. I used ours last Thursday to make Sinigang (Filipino soup). I threw pork ribs in it to cook them for making the soup. I use it as a regular cooking pot also. Don't expect it to finish everything in a fraction of the time required normally, but it's faster and best for some uses as you'll lean over time. When using one, only put the amount of water needed for the time you intend to cook something plus a bit more. Since it takes 100/cc calories to get water up to boiling (from 0C/32F if I remember correctly), It takes an additional 180 calories to turn a cc into steam (you're an engineer & probably remember these things better than I). So the steam with all that heat energy is what should do the cooking. Never fill it too close to the top, or it could spew stuff out of the cooker. I start mine at high heat & when it gets up to pressure & starts emitting a good amount of steam under the weight, I turn it down where it's just barely perking along since it's full of steam at that point. To cool it down, I put it under a faucet & run cold water over it until it depressurizes and then take the weight off. They're a fairly utilitarian utensil.

[fintstone]

We use one two or three times a week. Have a big one...and an even bigger one. Great tool. Tenderizes the toughest cuts of meat and cooks every bit off a bone. Great for string beans, cabbage, dried beans too. Also stew, ham, smoked ham hocks, beef and pork roasts, etc. We also use for chicken soup, chicken and dumplings, etc. Great for meatballs, refried beans and hummus.

[WPOZZZ]

I use my Crock Pot version of the Instapot a lot. Works well. Next up, Swiss steak. Not gonna tenderize the meat with a hammer or a needle thing. We'll see how it comes out.

[aigel]

I use a 60s version on stove top. Usually to break down a tough game animal. I don't use it for much else. Maybe I am imagining this, but something slow cooked vs. pressure cooked has more flavor. Rarely do I decide I need beans in 30 minutes. It has saved my butt before when having guests and that jackrabbit is just not getting soft in time.

G

[WPOZZZ]

I'm making some boiled peanuts right now.

[ZOO]

I use my Instant Pot all the time.

[LWJ]

Yep. Risotto is a favorite.

[red-beard]

Just used one last night. I made a version of beef stew. Using a crock pot, it takes 4-6 hours. The pressure cooking time was 20 minutes. Beef comes out very tender. Time to heat from boiling to pressure, maybe 5 minutes.

Start off with a smaller one, say 6 qt, made of stainless steel. If you really like it, get a larger one.

Once at pressure, reduce heat to minimum to keep a little steam escaping

You need to understand the different food and how the react. Potatoes do not need as much time as beef. Carrots and parsnip can stay together with the beef. Onions will turn to liquid.

Once the time is up, take the cooker and put it in the sink. Run cold water over the cooker until the pressure is gone. Then you can safely open the cooker.

[URY914]

As a kid my mother had a cast aluminum one. Had a weighted cap that sat on top for the pressure release valve. Sunday roast beef.

[berettafan]

we have an electric version. it's one of those kitchen gadgets that is actually worth owning. my favorite meals from it involve chicken and beans.

[javadog]

I have used one for years. I never use it to cook food faster; you can cook food better low and slow in a pot where you can see what you're doing. I mainly use it to cook chicken for my dogs; you can make a pretty good chicken stock with it, if you cook the chicken for hours and hours.

I have a pretty large one, you can dump the pressure from it really quickly, so there's no need to put it under water to cool it off.

[greglepore]

I love mine for stock and believe it or not, risotto. 6 minutes, no stirring, unbelievably good. Recipe is easy - Modern Cuisine- and is online.

[RKDinOKC]

Mom did lots of canning from our huge garden in an aluminum pressure cooker that sat on the stove. Bread and Butter pickles were the best.

Quit using it when moved from the house with the big garden. Think I inherited it and is in my garage or attic somewhere.

[vash]

I ordered a bigger one. I figured if it doesn’t fit a whole chicken, what’s the Point?

I can’t wait. First up? Chicken noodle soup.

[javadog]

A suggestion for the noodle soup...

Make a stock first. Cook a chicken (raw or roasted) for several hours. Nothing else but chicken and water.

Then, make the soup with the stock, in a normal pot on the stove, so you can properly cook the noodles and vegetables.

You'll end up with a soup that tastes like chicken. Do it all at once in the pressure cooker and it won't be as good. If you cook it long enough to flavor the stock, you'll kill everything else. Also, the broth will taste like chicken, plus everything else you threw in the pot. I like just a pure chicken flavor.

Have fun,
JR