I have a slow cooker, and I love it. I use it a lot on weekends, when hubby and I have a lot of errands to run. I can put a few ingredients in early in the day, go about my business, and have a hot, home-cooked dinner ready when I come home. But I’ve been thinking about getting a pressure cooker, too.
The question is, is there a point in having both? ISTM, a pressure cooker is like a reverse slow cooker, but serves the same purpose. You can cook stuff without having to fuss with it for an hour or two prior to when you want to eat.
So, do you have a pressure cooker? What’s it really good at? Is there anything it’s bad at?
I’ve never owned one, only because my mother always told me the danger in using them is akin to running a meth lab in your baby’s nursery. I know KFC makes their chicken in pressure cookers, and I LOVE that stuff. But is there any truth to the rumor that they contain enough nuclear power to take out the free world?
I have one and use it a LOT in the summer (when I need to cook, but it’s just too darn hot to spend too much time in the kitchen). Want a quick meal? Throw in a roast, carrots, potatoes and onions into the pressure cooker and within about 20 minutes or so, it’s ready to eat. Corn on the cob cooks in little time at all. (Don’t ask me how long, etc. because I tend to cook by smell, and when it smells “done”, then I turn it off.)
I have an older pressure cooker that works just fine, but I’ve heard there are newer ones on the market which may be safer than the older ones. Personally, I’ve never had a problem with my older one that has a bobbing weight on the top to let out the steam.
I just got a Kuhn Rikon pressure cooker and I love it. I think the basic design of the cooker has changed since the 50’s to greatly reduce the danger of an explosion, and if you follow some basic instructions, there’s nothing to worry about.
I love it. I can cook stews in next to no time and steam 'taters in a few minutes. Soaked beans take about 20 minutes to cook, so you can do them in the evening after you come home from work. The most surprising thing of all is that it makes terrific stock without simmering all day. I once dumped in a whole package of boneless skinless chicken thighs, some water and a bit of salt, and 20 minutes later I had tender stewed chicken and a big batch of luscious chicken broth.
I think it would depend on the food. Put frozen peas in there for an hour and you’d have an icky mush. Put a frozen chicken in there…well I’m not sure what you’d have. I don’t think I’d put anything in there for an hour though. Your best bet is to find a good pressure cooker cook book and go from there.
I have a big one that I got for next to nothing at a garage sale. It is an enormous Presto, and they still make gaskets for the thing if I need to replace mine.
It serves a different purpose than a slow cooker, but the end is the same - good meals with little fuss. The difference with a pressure cooker is that you can do it all at once rather than all day.
One note of warning - KFC uses special pressure fryers. Do not fry things in your pressure cooker. It isn’t safe.
If anyone wants to share recipes, I’m all ears. And I’ll share some as well.
Just as a guide, I make a pork chops and rice dish that, after I brown the chops, cook up in only about 12 minutes under pressure. I’ve also made collard greens that I used to simmer on the stove for about 40 minutes - the pressure cooker took 8-10.
Brown pork chops in a couple tablespoons of oil, and remove to a plate. Throw 2 cups white or brown rice into the drippings along with 1 medium diced onion and 1/2 diced bell pepper - stir until onion sweats and rice browns slightly.
Add 2 regular cans diced tomatoes to which water has been added to make 4 cups total liquid, along with 1/2 tsp chili powder. Stir and add pork chops to top.
Cover and bring to high pressure. Maintain pressure for 12 minutes. If white rice is used, quick release. Brown rice should use a natural release.
Very, very tasty. My wife asks for this dish a lot.
I have had both, I like the pressure cooker much better and use it almost daily. The food does come out about the same as a slow cooker, but in much less time (and consuming much less energy). Almost anything you cook in a slow cooker should do find in a pressure cooker, but it may be better to cook some of the food first (usually meats), let the pressure come down, open in and add some of the other foods(usually vegetables), then reheat it up to pressure. This avoids soggy vegetables .
As for frozen foods, well perhaps, but it’s far better if the pieces are small, so the heat gets into the center faster.
Pressure cookers do explode food all over the kitchen on occasions, and the slow cooker will never do that. You can’t look in a pressure cooker while it cooks. You need to know the exact time to have the meal cooking. Remember that over cooking in a pressure cooker for a minute too long, translates into minutes of over cooking in a regular pan. The one time a pressure cooker does a better job than an open kettle is when your canning. The food and jar is sterilized much faster, and you get less mushy pickles and the like.
Anyone here ever make flan in a pressure cooker? My MIL used to do this, and it turned out great, but I don’t know her recipe. My husband and I have tried to replicate it, but haven’t had a lot of success. Any hints you can give me?
Frozen chicken breasts
a few sprigs of rosemary
a few cloves of garlic
lots of ground pepper
1 cup of white wine
2 cups water
Raise to boil with lid off to boil off the alcohol (different vapor pressure than water, bad thing in a pressure vessel). Then seal the lid and reduce heat to normal pressure cooking temp.
My dad had them and used them all the time. I sold them both at a garage sale; I just don’t see the point. If you have a microwave and a steamer, you pretty much have all the bases covered, IMHO.
I have used them for years and never had anything like this except once. I was a bit impatient and forced the lid off with some pressure still present. The lid flew off the top, I was holding it , but it knocked my arm up with a lot of force. Hot liquid also burst forth and I got some minor burns on both my hands/arms.
If you follow the rules, and even push them a bit, there should be no problem.
I don’t know how it comes out as stated, but if you cook any meat in a pressure cooker you can get it as tender as you want, all the way to falling apart - it just depends on how long you cook it.
Even after just twelve minutes, you could cut them with a fork. They weren’t mushy, though, just tender and nicely browned from the steps prior to pressure cooking.
