my surprise kitchen favorite. my pressure cooker.

[vash]

I have a stove top version. I have visions of taking it to deer camp for high elevation stews.

it has been amazing learning how to use it all these years. my wife this morning, "hey cliff I have a few ladies coming over for a MahJong party - what should we have for lunch?"

no brainer.. quick mental refrigerator inventory, and I have arrived at Chicken noodle soup. the weather is wet and cold, and it will be perfect.

my wife asked, how long will it take. cook time? 20 minutes.. total prep time. maybe 40 minutes since I have to allow the bird to cool down so I can shred it.

I know the insta-pot is dominating the countertops, but dang it if my German Fissler isn't the MVP of my kitchen..(I think it is German)

[Shaun @ Tru6]

I'm glad it's your kitchen star. I got an Instant Pot Pro years ago thinking I would use it a lot. Sadly it sits, my crockpot being the star for anything that would save time with the Instant like carnitas. I live for overnight cooks. Probably 1-2 hours in a pressure cooker?

What I would love to do is side by side pots so see which was better.

[vash]

slow cooking is superior. in my opinion.

I dont do crock pots either. I use a dutch oven in my 305 deg oven and it is perfect. counter top cook things are my achilles. I dont have storage space to spare.

[Evans, Marv]

We use our instant pot and air fryer a lot. I really like the convenience. We have a large, cast iron pot we use for chili, carnitas, etc. I've always had a pressure cooker. It came in handy decades ago when I cooked things at high altitudes in the Sierras during summers - I'm talking 9 to 11 thousand feet where boiling temps were really low.

[vash]

I watch a crew carry a pressure cooker on their heads up into Machu Pichu. it was huge and ancient looking.

[fanaudical]

My mom blew up a couple of pressure cookers when I was a kid. I've never let one into my house because of that. I'm sure it was her error somehow, but I don't think I need one.

My dutch ovens and slow cooker are the stars of my kitchen. I prefer a dutch oven in the oven but use the counter-top slow cooker if nobody is going to be home most of the day. Leaving an oven on all day while at work seems like a bad idea. I don't know if an unattended slow cooker is better, but I've yet to burn down my house with one.

[greglepore]

Stovetop pressure cookers are the bomb for risotto. 10 min, mostly hands off....
I have an Instapot and only use it to make stock.

[jyl]

I use my pressure cookers a lot.

Think of them as time machines. 15 min at high pressure = 1 hour normal cooking.

Typical uses:

1. Stock. Bones, carcass, veg, water. I PC it for 2 hours (8 hours). Then release pressure, and cook uncovered a while to reduce a bit. Every last bit of flavor extracted.

2. Soup. Brown stuff in the cooker, then add stock and PC for 15 min.

3. Ribs. Stock and ribs, PC 1 hour. Save the now super-stock, chill ribs in fridge, then wok fry with sauce. For even better, insert a deep fry step before the wok fry.

I have three stovetop PCs and one electric PC.

[Evans, Marv]

My mother had a really large pressure cooker in the late 40s and on. She used it for canning. We were in an earthquake in June 1952, and she had all her canned goods (in Ball jars) in the high cabinets. They mostly fell to the floor in the kitchen, which was a big mess to clean up. She would also get a hog's head cut in half and cook it up in that pressure cooker. She'd. boil it up and puck the meat off of it and make mince meat from it. She'd take the brain out before cooking it and make scrambled eggs and brains. With the lips, snout, etc. she'd dice them up and put the meat in the head cheese and mush she'd make with the broth. I didn't like the scrambled eggs and brains, but my dad loved it. I've seen pressure cookers like that occasionally and wonder if people ever use them anymore.

[peppy]

My dad used ours to make a still.
I think there are 3 of them still around the house that mom would use for canning. I have never used one at home, but we use pressure fryers in the restaurant.

[Deschodt]

Same, 50% of what I cook is done in a pressure cooker in 15 min.. Stews, lamb, ratatouille, soups, potatoes for mashing...
25% is probably done in the pressure cooker vessel but without pressure (bolognese, chili), I like the size and nice lid !
The rest, ironically, I braise for 4-5 hours - pressure cooker for super fast, braising super slow, very little in the middle.

[stevej37]

I use a 6 quart Presto pressure cooker...the type that has the 'rocking' pressure/steam vent while cooking.
Perfect for days when I want bbq pork ribs in less than an hour. Just cook them for 15-20 minutes and finish them off on the grill or under the broiler for another 5 or so.
Fall off the bone tender.

[masraum]

I remember us having one of these in the 70s and 80s. I think I remember my mom using it <3 times.

We've never had one, but back in Nov the wife got a smaller Instapot so we've got a pressure cooker now. We've used it a couple of times. We haven't done any meat, stock/broth, etc... in it yet. It's supposed to be great for speeding up things like cooking dry beans, and meat and stock/broth.

I'd never heard of one blowing up (unless it was intentional) other than that one pic that has circulated the 'Net

[edgemar]

My Instant Pot has been sitting in my garage for a few years.... Is there a good site for recipes?

[masraum]

Originally Posted by fanaudical

My mom blew up a couple of pressure cookers when I was a kid. I've never let one into my house because of that. I'm sure it was her error somehow, but I don't think I need one.

I've gotta think that you are correct, must have been user error. Wow!

[stevej37]

The old, old, type that my G'ma used for canning were dangerous because they didn't yet have the pressure relief valves that they do today.

I remember her saying that those were dangerous if not watched closely.
She never used it for anything other than canning.

[masraum]

Originally Posted by stevej37

The old, old, type that my G'ma used for canning were dangerous because they didn't yet have the pressure relief valves that they do today.

I remember her saying that those were dangerous if not watched closely.
She never used it for anything other than canning.

No pressure relief valve? How did those work, heat them for a bit and then turn the heat off? Because I can't imagine manually relieving the pressure of a hot cooker.

[stevej37]

I remember a temp/pressure gauge that was built into the top center of the lid. I think it was up to the operator to open a knob to release the pressure when it got to a certain amount...and then close it again to raise it. (or raise or lower the heat to do the same)
I'm not sure...but I know the rocking ones are the next gen and they don't require any adjusting. Just let it do it's thing.

[masraum]

Originally Posted by stevej37

I remember a temp/pressure gauge that was built into the top center of the lid. I think it was up to the operator to open a knob to release the pressure when it got to a certain amount...and then close it again to raise it. (or raise or lower the heat to do the same)
I'm not sure...but I know the rocking ones are the next gen and they don't require any adjusting. Just let it do it's thing.

Ah, OK, so there was a mechanism in place to manage the pressure, but it was manual. That makes sense.

[stevej37]

Yes....the one I have, with the rocking valve, when it gets to pressure it rocks slowly. The more heat..the faster it rocks and spits out moisture.
I just turn the heat down a little and let it go for 15 minutes.

The older type required more observation to avoid a mess.

Doing ribs....there is barely any clean-up. Just water and a few spots where the meat sticks to the side.