- - Pressure Cooker Tips & Basic Information

Transcription

1 Pressure Cooker Tips & Basic Information I know a lot of people who got some awesome Electric pressure cookers as gifts. So I wanted to take a little time to write a post on different tips, tricks & special knowhows for all the First Timers. Most of the information will also work with many brands of electric pressure cookers. Trust me, I'm no expert, but I can actually say that I am confident about using an electric pressure cooker now & I am not scared of using a stovetop one either. At least I'm not anymore. \ - - But let's just say about 3 years ago, I was terrified!!! I had no idea what a pressure cooker was or how it cooked or what I could possibly cook inside it. I heard horrible stories about them & I never had any interest in them at all, whatsoever. A lot of the cooking & recipes that I do on this blog now are a lot of new stuff that I've never even cooked in a pressure cooker before or cooked at all period. So this blog almost serves as my own special journey with trial & error while using my electric pressure cooker...& my cooktop PC. Basically, a lot of the stuff I share here is also really new to me. Unlike many other pressure cooker bloggers who are pros & have been at it for years & years, I'm a beginner like you. But, people with a lot of experience with pressure cooking are sometimes hard to follow; they've written books for the equally experienced. While people with little or

2 no experience, are a dime a dozen & want to get courage from those of us. Among the people with little or no experience, a percentage of them are afraid & have little interest. In fact, quite a few probably have a pressure cooker sitting in their kitchen completely unused or still in its original packaging! COOKING WHOLE CHICKENS COMPARED TO PIECES OF CHICKEN: Cooking chicken pieces such as legs, thighs, wings & breasts are easy. If you're cooking 4 pcs, 10-minutes will do the trick. If you're doing a bigger portion such as 10 pcs or more, minutes will do fine. Same with.a whole chicken. 30- minutes at the most will get everything cooked thoroughly & falling apart. I love cooking chicken in the pressure cooker. It always comes out moist, tender & flavorful. There are so many different ways to cook chicken, too. If you never liked chicken before, you will like it once you've cooked it in the pressure cooker. SIMMERING: I had a reader who recently got a new model of an Electric pressure cooker & he asked me a question regarding simmering or slow cooking in it. This is what I told him: I'm not sure if there is a simmering feature that can function like a slow cooker. It would mean that you need to set a really low heat setting. The only thing I can think of doing since your model comes with a Keep Warm feature, is to set it to that, leave the lid open & cook food on that lower setting. Also, I know that if you just press the Start button by itself, it will turn on the browning feature which the heat is at a medium-high setting. You can simmer food that way with the lid open. But this setting will cook the food fast. I don't know of any other way to use the pressure cooker to "slow cook" though. The purpose of the pressure cooker is to cook fast, but don't be put off a simmer can continue with the lid off. THICKENING SAUCES & SOUPS: Many times when you're pressure cooking vegetables or meats, the pressure within the machine will cause the food to release a lot of its own natural liquids. This can a put a damper on the dish if you are trying to make something with a thick sauce. I've recently discovered that if you make a really basic Roux at the beginning of the recipe, it will help to thicken the liquids as it cooks.

3 PRE-PROGRAMMED MENU BUTTONS: Electric Pressure Cookers have many pre-programmed menu buttons for a variety of different foods. I found that most of these work best for making dishes that are at least half of the inner pot capacity (3lbs or less). If you are cooking anything more than half a pot, then I recommend using your own programmed cook times. I occasionally get messages from readers that tell me that they threw a pot roast into the pressure cooker & then pressed the MEAT button on the machine. Well, the meat button only cooks for about minutes. That is definitely not enough time at all for a large dense roast. It would be perfect for Ribs, Chicken or small pieces of meat though. People who like to cook & aren't afraid to cook & try new things. When I did my contest a few weeks ago, asking readers what they wanted to see cooked on my blog in the future, there were quite a lot of answers from foodies who wanted to know more about cooking food that actually.cannot be cooked in a pressure cooker...electric or stovetop. It made me realize that many people just don't really know what a pressure cooker can & cannot do. So I've decided to compile a list of tips & other information that I hope will help everyone know & understand the wonderful world of pressure cooking. Please feel free to add any information that you may have experienced yourself & that I have not covered. I will try to continuously add to it on this blog as well. Let's start: NO BAKING: You cannot BAKE in a pressure cooker. Baking requires dry heat. Things like casseroles or apple pies cannot be pressure cooked because they require an oven to heat it up & remove the moisture. In a pressure cooker, these items would become mush. Dough would never bake brown or get crusty. It would just be soggy steamed dough. Pressure cookers require moisture to heat the food hot enough so that the moisture becomes steam. With the lid & rubber seal properly in place, that steam will build up & create a compartment of hot steam pressure. Then the heating element will shut off, the pressure cooker will use the hot steam trapped inside to cook the food the rest of the way.

4 You might be able to get away with pressure cooking a casserole, lasagna or some other soft dish to start it off & then finish it off briefly in an oven, to get a brown baked crust on the top of it. BROWNING: The browning feature in many Electric Pressure Cookers functions by turning on the heating element & using the heat from that to brown &/or saute foods before pressure cooking it. The only problem I've encountered with this feature is that some Electric Pressure Cookers have an automatic shut-off system when it detects that not enough liquid is present & it thinks it's going to over-heat. So when you're browning without any moisture or liquid in the pot, the browning setting could last only about 5-minutes. Bummer if you're trying to brown a large piece of roast, etc. There's really no way to extend this time-frame unless you add a little bit of liquid, but that would defeat the purpose of browning...unless it detects oil or butter. I only use this feature for sauteing or browning smaller cuts of meats really quickly. I haven't found the need to really brown a large portion of meat yet but several pieces of meat, chicken, or ground meat work well. MEATS THAT TURN OUT TOO HARD OR TOUGH: A lot of people think that the pressure cooker is over-cooking their meat when their end result is super hard, rubbery & tough. But actually, they've sometimes under-cooked it. Large roasts such as roast beef, tenderloins, etc. often require more than 60-minutes of cook time. Sometimes 90-minutes if the meat is really large & dense. The purpose of the pressure cooker is allowing the meat to be cooked inside long enough so the intense pressure completely disintegrates all the "fibers" that hold the meat together. Large cuts of meat should be falling apart as you remove it from the cooking pot. It should be tender, juicy & moist. Ifyou remove the meat & it's tough, rubbery & you can barely insert a fork into it, that means it didn't have enough time to thoroughly render out all the "fibers" &/or, you've "quick-released the pressure- NEVER quick-release a stew or other meat dish, not even spaghetti sauce!

5 What you should know to follow pressure cooking recipes: 1. LOCK THE LID IN PLACE: After checking that all parts in the lid are in good working order, follow mfgrs' instructions to set & lock the lid properly. The seal may feel a bit loose but it will tighten as heat & pressure rises. 2. BRING TO HIGH PRESSURE OVER HIGH HEAT: start the cooking process on high until the pop-up pressure gauge indicates you've reached high pressure. This is easier if you've set all your burners first. (See #3) 3. LOWER HEAT, BUT MAINTAIN HIGH PRESSURE: on a gas stove, turn flame to low or simmer. On an electric stove, you would have started on a larger burner on high; then, after high pressure is reached, move the cooker over to a smaller burner pre-set at medium or medium-low. 4. CHECK RECIPE ON HOW TO RELEASE PRESSURE: Remove the cooker from heat as soon as the cooking-under-pressure time is up. Release pressure ONLY if your recipe calls for it. (Meats tend to toughen if pressure is released too quickly.) Most recipes have natural-pressure-release time factored into the total time. Na_tural-pressure-release can take 10>15 minutes. 5. QUICK RELEASE THE REMAINING PRESSURE: This can also be the cold--release method, used primarily for vegetables, seafood & other tender foods. Just move the pressure cooker to the sink & run cold over the lid until the pressure indicator lowers...or AUTOMATIC RELEASE: Move the dial to the steam release position. I do this while the cooker is in the sink. 6. REMOVE LID TILTING AWAY FOR YOU: Use this precaution on every pressure cooker &, as an added precaution, do not immediately put your face over the pot, even after you've safely removed the lid & steam has dissipated. Contents could still be boiling & any remaining steam will be HOT!! At this point you could either set the lid back in place (but don't l ick it) for additional cooking by the residual heat or allow contents to cool. The first thing you need to do is run a test. Running what's known as a " test" before you cook your first actual food in a new pressure cooker is a good idea for several reasons. You will become familiar with how your pressure cooker functions and can be sure that it's operating correctly - without the risk of ruining any food. First read your pressure cooker's instruction manual to learn how to use your PC.

6 To do the test, measure 2 cups of and place it inside the pressure cooker. Lock the lid in place on the pressure cooker. Next, following the instructions for your pressure cooker, "cook" the on high pressure for 20 minutes. Be sure, if you're using a stovetop PC that you reduce the heat as low as possible to maintain the pressure once it's reached high pressure. You don't want to "cook" your at any higher temperature than is necessary for maintaining high pressure. After "cooking" is done, release the pressure using a quick release and allow the to cool. Once the is cool enough to handle safely, pour it back into the measuring cup to see how much remains and thus how much has been lost. A good result would be losing only Yi C. of and any amount less than YJ C. is excellent. If your PC lost more than Yi cup of, re-read your instructions and repeat the test. If it fails the second time and you're certain you did everything right, you might have a defective unit. Contact customer service for assistance or for instructions on returning the unit for a refund or replacement. Once you have become a skilled in the use of your pressure cooker, you will want to adapt some of your own favorite recipes to pressure cooking. Spending a few minutes in converting a pet recipe will pay dividends in time saved as you use the recipe over and over. Recipes for soups, poultry, seafood, vegetables and many combination foods can easily be adapted to pressure cooking. Here are the three important things to determine and check. AMOUNT OF LIQUID: Use comparable recipes in this book as your guide. In general, when preparing soups and braised meats, the amount of can be reduced form the traditional recipe because it allows for evaporation during the long cooking. Therefore, vegetables and mixtures including vegetables may need only small amounts of. At least 1/2 cup of is always added to the cooker for the production of steam. COOKING TIME. The length of time that a food should pressure cooked is usually 1/3 (one-third) of the cooking time given in your recipe. Do not start counting time until 15 lb. pressure has been reached and you lowered heat for cooking. METHOD OF COOLING THE COOKER. Whether you should cool the cooker immediately.or let pressure drop of its own accord depends on the type of food being prepared. Again, checking a similar recipe in this book is helpful. In general, large solid pieces of meat, like roasts, should continue to cook while pressure drops by itself. For other foods, the cooker can be cooled right away and food served immediately. Use the rack is another thing to decide upon in adapting personal recipes to the pressure cooker. When you want to blend flavors during cooking, place food in the cooking liquid (, broth, beer, etc.). When you wish to cook foods such as roasts out of the liquid, place them on rack, above the liquid. Some cooks like a crisper exterior on their meats than is usually produced by the pressure cooker. For a crisp outside, just broil meat a minute or two after removing from the cooker.

7 Some 'to do' & a few 'not to do' things while using a pressure cooker. Remember: the abbreviation pc means pressure cooker, not personal chef or personal computer. The Most Important to do! Read & understand your particular pc instruction manual. Do a test to be sure the new or different pc is operating normally & to see how much liquid the pc uses in a given time period. To do the test, add a measured 2 cups of to the pc. Cook the on high pressure for 20 minutes then do a quick pressure release. After the pot has cooled sufficiently, measure the exact amount of left in the pot. Let s say, for example, you have 1% cups of left. Your now know your particular pc will use % cup of in a 20 minute interval. This knowledge can be beneficial when cooking somethi ng that takes a long time. All pressure cooker recipes can be used in either an electric (digital) pc or a stove top pc. An oddity is that the PSI rating from pot to pot seems to make little, if any, difference in the cook time. With either type pc, all you need to know is the cook time, the pressure setting of either high or low & the method of pressure _release when done cooking. Obviously, if the recipe calls for a cold pressure release it does not apply to an electric pc primarily for safety reasons. In that case simply do a quick release using the steam release valve located on the unit s lid. Another interesting thing is that regular recipes can quite often be converted to pressure cooking by using the "Thirds" method. An example: If something takes an hour to cook on the stovetop then cook it for 20 minutes in the pc for nearly the same results. If a pc recipe does not call for either a high or low pressure setting one should use the high pressure setting. By the same token, if a recipe fails to call for a certain type of pressure release, most generally, allow a natural release for meat and a quick release for vegetables. Do not overfill a pc. You can safely fill a pc two thirds full, maximum. If cooking foods that tend to foam, add a tablespoon of cooking oil & only fill the pc one half full. These guidelines certainly bring up the question as to what size pc to buy in the first place. Like an 8'qt pc filled only one half full is actually what? The answer is: It's an 8 qt. pc filled only one half full...gotcha...ha.

8 On this list, PIP in a pc recipe means Pot in Pot pressure cooking. The method calls for putting a trivet or rack & some in the bottom of a pc. Place the food in a covered cook safe, food safe, pot or bowl that will fit in a pc with some edge clearance. Place a foil sling under the inner pot to facilitate a very careful removal of a very hot pot from the pc after the cooking is done. Cook as per the recipe. The general consensus among experienced pc users is that normally it is better to use a trivet or rack & elevate the food over as little liquid as possible so that it is cooked by steaming rather than being submerged in. There are exceptions to be sure. Soups, stews, dried beans & grains including rice, for example. And, if you want to infuse or marinate a seasoned broth into meat, then submersion works best. Sometimes whether to steam or infuse is a personal choice unless you're following a recipes direction. It is generally accepted that meat holds it's juices better that it improves the taste by browning the meat before pressure cooking. One common method is to put a tsp of cooking oil & a small amount of diced onions along with a bit of minced garlic (optional) in a pc and saute the onion/garlic mix until it begins to barely brown & next add the meat and brown on all sides. Then add liquid along with any other ingredients & pressure cook as usual.are you looking for a recipe for your pressure cooker? Well if you are in this group you are in the right place! We have probably the largest collection of PC recipes anywhere in our group files & message archives. First if you have not been in the files section of the group do yourself a favor & run do not walk here. Come on do it now!! I will even provide you a link to this here it is: Once you are there look at the various folders. You will see a folder with many manuals for pressure cookers. Look at these even if you do not have that particular pc as most of these do have recipes in them! & if you do have one of these cookers & lost your manual download it & save it to your computer for later use. The biggest source of recipes in this file section is in the Recipes folder. If you click on that folder you will see many other folders where the recipes are divided into specific types like breads, desserts, gravy & sauces, main dishes, soups etc. & more. Many of these folder have individual folders where these recipes are again in specific types. If you go to the main dishes folder you will see folders for beef & veal, fish & seafood, pork, poultry & lots more. Take a look it s FREE!! Last but certainly not least the message archives have thousands of messages & recipes in them. Yahoo has a great tool for searching these messages. Take a look at the messages section of the group:

9 See the little box that says search? Well if you are looking for a particular recipe you can type in there what you are looking for & you will see recipes & more for this. Let s pretend we want a recipe for chicken soup. We type in the search box the words chicken soup & then we click on the search button. Next you will see all the messages that contain those words. Many of these messages will be recipes & many will not be recipes. You just need to look through these messages for the ones you want. If you want there s even an advanced search function where you can search for more specific searches. Try it today. Again probably the largest collection of pressure cooker recipes anywhere including the internet & the world is right here +n the files & messages archives of the group. Take a look today & the next time you need a recipe please refer to this note! Please consider saving this note for future use also. NOTES:

10 Brining guidelines Any lean, dry meat is an ideal candidate for brining; some of my favorites are shrimp, fish fillets, chicken pieces, whole chickens, and pork chops. Keep all meat and fish refrigerated during brining, rinse them well afterwards, and don't overcook them.i,you need more liquid to completely submerge the meat, measure more and add it, along with the proper quantity of salt. You can add dried herbs, such as thyme, oregano, or sage, to the brine or rub them directly on the meat for more flavor. You can also supplement or replace the with another liquid, such as apple cider for a turkey or pork brine. Many brines include sugar, fine as a flavor enhancer but sugar has no technical function when it comes to juiciness; salt is the key. The chart below gives salt concentration and brining time for various foods. Concentrations are for Diamond Crystal kosher salt. For table salt, cut salt amounts by V2; for Morton s kosher salt, cut amounts by %. Meat or Fish Brine Concentration Brining time Whole turkey Turkey breast Pork chops Large whole chicken Chicken pieces Cornish hens Shrimp (1/2 lb. extralarge shrimp, shells on Thin fish fillets 2 cups salt to 1 gallon ½ cup salt to 1 quart ½ cup salt to 1 quart 1 cup salt to 2 quarts ½ cup salt to 1 quart 1 cup salt to 2 quarts ½ cup salt to 1 pint ice ½ cup salt to 1 pint ice 12 to 24 hours 4 to 6 hours 4 hours 3 to 4 hours 2 hours (or 1 hour in a concentrated brine with 1 cup salt 1 hour 30 minutes 10 minutes

11 PC Barely Bolognese sauce 3 Tbs olive oil 1 large onion, chopped 1 Tbs minced garlic X cup cooked bacon pieces 2 lbs peeled, seeded, diced tomatoes 1 cup dry white wine or red (optional.) 2 bay leaves 2 tsp Italian seasoning 2 tsp parsley flakes 1 tsp sugar, aguave syrup, honey salt & pepper to taste after cooking Pour the olive oil into lid off PC, heat on high/brown until sizzling. Add onion, garlic & stir constantly for one minute: add wine & let it come to boil, add remaining ingredients. Stir, then securely lock the pressure cooker lid, set the cooker to high & cook for 8 minutes. Allow pressure release naturally for 10 minutes before releasing remaining pressure & safely remove lid. If you want to make Bolognese meat sauce instead, use one lb ground beef & X lb ground Italian sausage before adding the wine & tomatoes. Cook for 2 >3 min, breaking meat apart & browning well; add the remaining ingredients etc. After cooking, you can also run the sauce through a food processor.

12 What You Need to Know When Converting a Recipe Experience is the best teacher; there are no guidelines for converting traditional recipes for pressure- cooker use. In some cases this may involve a trial & error until you get perfect results, so take notes as you work to convert recipes. The best way to convert a traditional recipe is to use a similar pressure cooker recipe as a guide. In addition to giving the amount of liquid needed, the cooking time & information about which cooking method is used, you'll find the amount of cooking liquid required & the pressure release method. Liquids In adapting traditional recipe in the pressure cooker, the amount of or other flavoring liquids, can be reduced because liquids do not evaporate like they do in regular cooking. See the instruction manual of your cooker for the minimum amount of required for the production of steam & never use less than the recommended amount. Keep in mind that the modern pressure cooker is a tightly closed system & it will lose very little liquid compared to cooking the same recipe in one of the old-style units with a vent pipe & a rocking, weighted pressure regulator. Another thing to remember, is that as foods are pressured, they release their own juices which will also add to the liquid. Using a similar pressure cooker recipe as a guide will help to determine the best approximate ratio of solid ingredients to liquids. Cooking Method & Techniques Contrary to what most people think, there are several different pressure cooking methods available that take advantage of moist heat. This will include a very large range of recipes for Boiling, Braising, Stewing, Poaching, Steaming, Steam Roasting, & Baking. Choosing the cooking method will have a huge impact on the finished outcome of your recipe. This is also where you'll need to decide on the correct cooking techniques such infusion cooking or PIP (Pan In Pot). Also determine if a rack or other cooking accessory is needed. You may find several similar pressure cooker recipes that use different cooking methods which will produce different results. Choose the one that best matches the original recipes, although be prepared to change it if the results are not satisfactory. Timing Using the 15psi pressure setting. The length of time that a food should pressure cooked is usually one-third of the cooking time given in a traditional oven or stovetop recipe. Use the Cooking Time Charts as a guide for determining cooking times. Use a similar pressure cooker recipe as a guide will help you determine the best cooking time, as well all as the amount of liquids needed.

13 Release Method Whether you should cool the cooker immediately or let pressure drop of its own accord depends on the type of food being prepared. The Cooking Time Charts gives the recommended methods to depressurize the cooker for all types of foods. Using a similar pressure cooker recipe as a guide will determine the best pressure release method.

14 Converting Slow Cooker Recipes Many people have great plans when they buy a slow cookers -- which is actually a brand name for a slow cooker -- thinking that it's a great idea to have dinner cooked by the time everyone gets home. Using a slow cooker requires a lot of advanced planning & some good organizational skills, & for those who need to get off to work in the morning & there's kids to get off to school, & critters needing to be cared for, it s hard to find enough spare time to prep the ingredients for the evening meal at m. So many a slow cooker gets shelved as cooks discover they do not have all that extra time in their busy morning schedules to actually put it to use & prepare the evening meal in advance of running out the door in the morning. All of your favorite crock pot recipes can be converted to pressure cooker. Really! Using a similar pressure cooker recipe as a guide will help eliminate a lot of the guess work by providing the best cooking times & amount of liquid needed. A pressure cooker can cook the same types of recipes -- & so many more, too -- but unlike a slow cooker, the pressure cooker cooks the food in minutes, NOT hours! This allows you to prepare dinner in a more leisurely manner after getting home from work. 'I don't know about you, but I'd rather let the pressure cook dinner in 20 minutes (or less!) & use the time saved to clean up, set the table, or make something that I don't normally have time to do, like a dessert. Another big plus here; if you forget to thaw to things out.. no worries, its quick & easy to defrost & there's also several different ways -- including the pressure cooker -- to solve that problem in just a few minutes. Thickening Some conventional dishes instruct you to add a roux or thickening agent at the beginning of the cooking process. Then as the meal cooks over low heat, the liquid becomes the rich, thick sauce. However, in the high heat of pressure cookery, thickeners such as flour & cornstarch, tend to scorch. Therefore, plan to thicken pressure-cooked sauces, soups, & stews after the pressure is released. Make a roux, whisk it in, & cook your sauce until it reaches the desired consistency.