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Do I want one??
DP and I work full time and I have a long commute too. We try to plan dinners ahead (cooking the night before, etc) but I am thinking maybe a pressure cooker might be a good investment. What do you think?
What brand do you have? Are you happy with it?
Do you use it often?
What are your favourite meals to make with it?
Looking forward to hearing from you all :)
Anyone????
I don't have a pressure cooker but do you have a slow cooker? They are awesome for throwing things in before you head to work and its all ready to eat when you come home :)
I've got a 5-in-1. I love it :) I have made risotto in 7 mins. And I am a risotto snob and it came out perfectly. I have also made curries and soups. LOVE LOVE LOVE it. I loved my slow cooker when my kids were young, but TBH now with time shortages I prefer the Pressure Cooker. It tastes like I just cooked it, rather than it's been stewing all day iykwim?
I have a Scanpan one. I love it and it cooks differently to a slow cooker (have one of those too but don't use nearly as much).
Favourite thing to cook - I have two.
1. Whole chicken in 2 litres of water. Makes poached chicken meat for other meals etc. or to put back in, and 1.5 litres of chicken stock to have as a soup or use as a stock for things like risottos ;). I normally cook the chicken, retain the water, pick off the meat and then place the carcass back in and top up with 500mls and put it back on again to make a stronger broth.
2. Corned beef and veg. What would normally take 1.5-2 hours of cooking on the stove top takes literally 30 minutes in the pressure cooker.
Ok now I want a pressure cooker too! I slow cook everything as I work lots and its easy to throw it all in and leave it - maybe I am just lazy! Hmmmm pressure cooker sounds even better!
The one I have is a slow cooker, soup cooker, pressure cooker, steamer and rice cooker and it browns too.
Now Rouge you are just showing off!:nahnah:
Heh ;) Well you can have it all in 1 is what I'm saying ;)
LOL my slow cooker is one of the old fashion ceramic crock pots that was my nans, so what you have sounds way more whizz bang that anything that has ever entered this kitchen! I have 5 in 1 envy ;)
I bought a pressure cooker a few weeks ago, am still learning how to use it, but am in love with it already.
Over-paid for it - a week later they had it half price damn! $160 down to $80.
We had home-made pies on friday night, just chucked in some cheap beef, chopped up some vegies with a little bit of stock and gravy. Re-heated in a frying pan at the end with some psyllium husk to thicken it up at the end then made into jaffle pies, yum!
MIL makes the best curries in hers too - the meat is soooo tender!
Only thing I have been warned about it to be very careful cooking lentils in there, the pressure can get too much apparently
We have a Scanpan one which was a gift from our close friends. They cook the most amazing meals in theirs but my attempts in ours have been ordinary so far. I'd much prefer my slow cooker at the moment but I am determined to get more use out of the pressure cooker.
I have a packet of or gourmet porcini mushroom risotto that I'm itching to taste, maybe I should try it tonight. Rouge, how do you do your risotto? How much stock do you use and how long do you cook it for?
I'm actually a bit scared of my pressure cooker :lol: Any tips to change my mind would be appreciated!
I have a Tefal pc that was a gift years ago that is still in it's box , I'm too domestically challenged and a bit scared to use it
I have one and I love it. It's one of the really old cast aluminium ones, and is about nine litres in size. I have been a bit slack in using it of late, but I use it for all sorts of things. Sorry, in a rush, but I highly recommend them.
Okay, DP bought us a pressure cooker yesterday :) Just in time for summer salads :p :lol:
Luckily, the weather in Melbourne this weekend is cooperating.
I was thinking of doing a corned beef (for hash), but I would love to hear everyone's very best PC recipes :)
Bring 'em on chickies!!!
I make our taco meat mix using a cheap cut of beef abd lots of vegies... I make bulk and freeze the rest for nachos, burritos, enchiladas etc... will post recipe when I find it if you'd like?
That would be great Harriet! Thanks!
Oooh. Now I want a pressure cooker. It sounds fab.
It aint gonna happen though. I dont think I'm allowed to buy another kitchen appliance for 10 years :). Let us know how it goes.
I have a 10L Tefal Pressure cooker (gas) & it's awesome a bit exxy but I was told that I needed a good stainless steel one. My mum always cooked with pc and it's taken me a while to use one but I can do all the veg for a meal in 6mins (potatoes, parsnip, carrots, cabbage, cauliflower etc) I do casseroles, soups, cuts of meat. I cook the meat on the bottom & then add the veg for the last 6 mins in the basket to steam. I do love my slow cooker but I can't get organized in the morning I am usually ready in the afternoon whilst DS2 is asleep. Also I usually forget to get the meat out of the freezer & for just a few minutes extra I can cook from frozen & have the same taste.
If you are converting a recipe to use in the PC remember to reduce the liq as it won't evaporate & reduce down as it would slow cooking this is depending on on what you are cooking ie something that absorbs liquid or releases liquid.
Have fun x
Oops. Forgot to come back in here and post some recipes! :redface:
I did say this in another PC thread:
The PC cookbook I was referring to is called "Everyday Pressure Cooker Recipes", Australian Edition, published by Hinkler Books. (Yes, I admit, I did end up getting one). It has a good Intro and information about PC's that is essential reading, especially to the PC novice, including some timing charts for "meat, poultry, game and egg". It has recipes for (and I'm just copying the list from the contents page); soups and stocks, sauces, beef and veal, pork, poultry, lamb, seafood, pasta and rice, vegetables, and desserts cakes and breads.:
I have one of the really 'old-school' cast aluminium ones that go on the stove (which I bought from a car boot sale). It has a gauge on the lid and two weights (though I only ever use the one), and is 9litres. I love it much more than my slow cooker (which I really think is defective), because 1) you don't need to cook things for 8 hours as has been said, 2) it doesn't require the fore-thought like a slow cooker, 3) its easy to use. I get home from doing all my running around for our business or being at the workshop, and have dinner (as well as probably eight more servings) cooked before I need to go to daycare to pick up the kids. I always let the pressure release slowly; I just turn the gas off, move the PC to the other back hob, and go to daycare.
They don't need a lot of liquid, though I haven't quite worked out how much (or rather how little), and you are not meant to fill them more than two thirds full. There is a great looking **Australian** PC cookbook at the post office for about $15 which looks quite good value (which I want to buy, as long as the Man doesn't notice.... lol). I will find the title if you just wanted to buy it online or something. The other tip, make sure the seal is kept clean and undamaged.
I use my PC probably twice a week, and cook a big lot of food. The last thing I cooked was curried chicken, with onion, garlic, apple, sultanas, coconut, chicken, and a bit of water. Looked kinda vomit like, but tasted great. If I could only keep a few things from my kitchen, my PC would be one of them.
Netix wuvs her PC....
Most of what I cook in mine is sans-recipe, just whatever I have at the time, or whatever flavour I'm looking for. A new favourite is actually based on one of Rouge's SC recipes (pork spare ribs with plum sauce, SC recipe thread #2), but I use chopped chicken thigh;
I use plum sauce (SPC brand have a plum sauce in a jar for "savoury" cooking, which is what I use, it's great) instead of plum jam.:
1/3 cup plum jam
2 chicken stock cubes
2 tsp Cornflour
1/4 cup water
3 tsp Soy Sauce
2 T Dry Sherry
1 clove, or 1 tsp minced garlic.
In addition to the above (which I use to marinade about six chopped skinless chicken thigh while prepping the veg), I add 8 baby potatoes (unpeeled, chopped into quarters), 1 large brown onion (peeled and sliced finely- cook first in the PC if you wish in a little oil), and 4 carrots (unpeeled, julienne). Combine altogether in the PC, over medium heat, covered (but not sealed). When starting to simmer, give one last good stir, seal the lid on, put on the weight, slowly bring pressure up to 15psi. Adjust cooking temp to keep at this point (or whatever point is recommended by YOUR PC manual), for about 10 minutes. Turn off heat, let to come to zero pressure on its own. Open lid, stir, serve with steamed or fried rice. Put excess in the fridge for tomorrow's lunch!
Pressure cookers need far less liquid in them to cook. And, in case some of you may wonder why I didn't reduce the amount of liquid for the above recipe, don't forget that I added a whole heap of vegetables.
Something else I make, doesn't really have a recipe, but brown some chopped brown onion and chopped skinless chicken thigh (yes, we do rather love our chooken thigh here!), and sliced mushrooms in the PC. Add a tin of mushroom condensed soup (rinse out the tin, but not with too much water- a better idea is to use a little white wine for added flavour), some chopped carrot (if you want), bring to the simmer, lid on, etc etc. Cook at pressure for about 10 mins.
Even the toughest cuts of beef don't need more than about 15mins once the PC has reached pressure. If you let the PC release its pressure on it's own, then everything will continue to cook during that time also. I ALWAYS let mine subside on its own, I turn the stove off and move the PC to a cold part of the stove. It only takes about 10-15 mins if that. The cooking time is so short that I never mind waiting a bit longer for it to come down, and it gives me time to make sure the table's ready, toys away, etc.
The only time when you will really need to add more liquid is when you have put something like barley or legumes in a casserole. These need water to absorb, and if you don't add enough, the casserole could burn dry. Don't want to see that happen. I don't use my PC for half as much as I could, but I do definitely, most highly recommend getting your hands on one. And a spare seal too if you can (and look after the seal! After all, that's the PC part, along with it's ventS)
Netix - I have the same book! MIL picked it up for $4 for us
Shredded Beef Taco/Burrito/Enchilada Meat
- 1kg boned beef chuck roast cut 5cm thick
- 40mL cooking oil
- 3/4 cup capsicum chopped
- 1/2 onion chopped
- 2 to 3 cloves of garlic, minced
- 2 chillis, chopped
- 1 tablespoon chilli powder
- 190mL beef stock
Trim any visible fat from meat.
In pressure cooker heat oil over medium heat. Cook meat until brown on all sides. Remove meat and set aside, drain off fat. Place rack in the pressure cooker. Return the meat to the cooker and add the capsicum, onion, garlic, chilli, chilli powder and beef stock.
Lock the lid in place. Over high heat bring to high pressure. Adjust the heat to maintain high pressure and cook for 35 minutes. Let the pressure drop naturally (turning off the heat and leaving to sit on the hotplate for around 15 mins). Remove the lid, tilting it away from you to allow any excess meat to escape.
Tranfer the meat to a chopping board and, using two forks, pull the meat across the grain to form shreds. With a slotted spoon remove the vegetables to a serving platter. Combine with the meat.
I tend to use any cut of meat I can get cheap and sometimes only use 500g - I bulk to up using extra vegetables such a grated carrot and zucchini. I don't have a rack for my pressure cooker and this still seems to come out pretty good! It is important to let it cool naturally as when using cheap cuts of meat you need to cook for longer. I also vary the amount of chilli used (BF atm so not too much :( ) but even as a non-chilli fan it seems to taste better with it. I have also mix some mashed up kidney beans through at the end for some extra flavour.
This freezes really well and is really handy to get out of the freezer for a junk food type fix
I got myself another PC today! Lol, it's exactly the same as the one I have at home already, including the same size! It just has a different weight with it. :dunno: And I think the seal is pretty shot (I say this a; because the whole thing is filthy and has been sitting for donkey's years in a shed, and b; because when I latch the lid closed, I can move the lid up and down :o.). At least I only have to get one size of seal for both PC's.
So tomorrow, start to clean it! Funnily enough, it's still got the black painted band around it, that's how little it's been used. It's just been sitting for so long.