Cookaholics Bulletin Board

Jean,

I LOVE my pressure cooker for stock! I've made beef stock (CI's recipe) in 2 hours, plus a second run that was almost equally good, and countless chicken stocks so far. So easy, plus even with no skimming, it ones out perfectly clear so long as you allow the pressure to release naturally. I've been loving being able to make quick soups from the freezer with the homemade stock (onion soup with home-made beef broth is soooooo good).

Where I haven't explored yet have been regular recipes, mainly because what I thought was a cold turned into the flu and I've been down for the count for a bit. I'm thinking pork chops and braised red cabbage would be good though one night this week.

Tonight was braised red cabbage done in the 4 qt cooker (meltingly tender in 14 minutes - it actually could have done with a bit less; the normal recipe takes 1 1/2 hours) and ATK's smothered pork chops done in the same pot after the cabbage. The pork chops weren't as good as they normally are, but I didn't reduce the sauce that much at the end because I was hungry, and I think I toughened them by doing a quick release. I rounded things off with spatzle (not home-made as there is a local company that sells it fresh). Not bad at all for a first meal made under pressure, especially since I was winging adaptations of non-pressure cooker recipes.

Ina Garten's company pot roast works quite well in the pressure cooker. I used a 4 lb chuck roast and cooked it at high pressure for 50 minutes (keeping the tomatoes unstirred in on top per Lorna Sass' recommendation in her recipes (as tomatoes apparently burn if they are on the bottom). The roast was super tender; the tomatoes needed to be blended in, but I like to purée the gravy anyway. The sauce just needed to be defatted and reduced at the end.

Thanks Carey for all the updates. I'm looking forward to doing more in the pressure cooker, I'm working from home 3 days a week and trying to plan things out, thinking I can do a lot of the starting dinner in the PC and let it do its thing.

I have to admit that for regular braised recipes I'm still finding myself reaching for my regular DO, but I think it's just a comfort issue and not an issue with the quality of the finished product. The braised cabbage was the best ever (we had it as a leftover tonight for dinner). I used the 2001 recipe from epicurious:

http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/Braised-Red-Cabbage-105920

exactly as written, except I omitted the bacon (mine had gone bad) and used a bit of extra butter instead. I used quite a bit less salt too (I think I used about 1/2 tbsp of kosher salt instead of the full tbsp of regular salt called for).

One day I'll have to try an actual recipe designed for the cooker! But the 4 lb roast was fork tender (almost too tender to slice) at 50 minutes with a natural release of pressure.

Jean, that would be great for days you are at home. When I work from home I love to pop in a roast, braise, or something in the slow cooker. I walk away from the pressure cooker too once I get it holding well at pressure. The induction burners on my stove are so consistent that once I get the temperature right I don't have to check back until the timer goes off. It's really convenient.

Carey,

You didn't notice the vinegar being too strong after pressure cooking the cabbage just 14 min? I'd be apprehensive about that, but I'll take your word for it!

I use my PC more for cooking beans than everything else combined. Way back this gave me an idea to speed up a traditional snack food from down south - boiled peanuts. Something my Grandmother used to make when we visited, since, back then, raw peanuts were only available down south. They take a LONG time to cook, even though they are not really dried hard, like other legumes. In a PC they take about 40 min, sometimes longer, to get to that soft, slimy texture it took all day to get just boiling.

Dave,

I actually started the recipe in my LC, braising pot, then realized how long it was going to take (I had forgotten, and it was late and we were starving). So after browning the onions and tossing the cabbage in the butter, I dumped the lot into the pressure cooker, added 1/2 cup water and the vinegar and sugar. It was quite liquidy when it was done, so I put it back in the original pot and simmered the water (and probably some of the vinegar) off while I used the rinsed out pressure cooker for the pork chops. I'd just do it all in the PC next time, and simmer it with the lid off at the end.

The recipe tastes quite pickled (almost like pickled beets only with cabbage), but not at all harsh. You definitely taste the butter and the caramelized onions too. It would great for cutting through pretty much any rich German main you can think of (bratwurst, pork of all kinds, anything gravied).

Grrrr....my pressure cooker (or more accurately, my inexperience with my pressure cooker) has ruined my turkey stew!!! I had lovingly put away turkey from Canadian Thanksgiving and the broth from the carcass into the freezer to hold for stew for a cold day. So today I consult all of the cookbooks I have for similar recipes, and decide that 10 minutes is probably the best amount of time to do up my stew (since only the potatoes, carrots, celery, onion, and parsnips needed to cook), with a natural release. Sadly, I have made turkey flavoured baby food. No texture left at all to the veggies. It's too bad too, because the broth was really tasty. Who knew that 10 minutes of cooking would 5 too many??? (I guess, me....now). *sigh* I think I need to start revising down any time recommendations in the cookbooks. Perhaps it's an issue with the induction stove, but I've been finding the times consistently too long regardless of the cookbook I have consulted.

Natural release adds quite a bit of cooking time; 10 min + natural release definitely sounds long. At least one chart I looked at put 1" cubes of potatoes at 5-7 min with quick release. Another cooked full potatoes @ 10 min with quick release.

Carey, throw that into a casserole, cover with puff pastty and call it turkey pot pie.