Tell me about your Pressure Cooker...

[Hansie]

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

[Netix]

Oops. Forgot to come back in here and post some recipes!

I did say this in another PC thread:

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....

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.

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;

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.

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.
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)

[Harriet]

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

[Netix]

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. 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 .). 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.