ISO Pressure Cooker Advice

[Some Like it Hot]

I just nabbed me a 5 qt pressure cooker for less than $20. I went small as that I only have two mouths to feed.

Any advice about these things?

Any recipes that are made to be pressure cooked that I must try?

A question as well: I know some dishes like bean soups / stoups that I traditionally do in a pot, simmering for several hours. Do you lose flavor when you cook them as quickly as the pressure cooker cooks them? I keep thinking the slow simmering imparts a more hearty and complex flavor.

 

[pacanis]

I just started making my own spaghetti sauce. I found a recipe online that said twenty minutes in the PC. I thought it was dang good. Thick, tasty..... I think PCs give you a great flavor in a short amount of time.
I did some country style ribs (mostly) in the PC that had my neighbor bringing me over a couple packages to cook up for him. I think it was around ten minutes on the grill to sear, then 30 minutes in the PC above the cooking liquid. They taste like you cooked them long and slow. Do a search using my name, you'll run into them.
Hmmm, I think I'll take some out of the freezer for tonight.

 

[jabbur]

I've been thinking about expanding into pressure cooking. What size is a recommended? I see they run from 4 qt to huge for canning. I don't plan on getting into canning. Just want to try it out for roasts, veggies etc.

 

[pacanis]

I'm certainly no source of info, I only got mine maybe a year ago. It's an electric one from QVC that can also double as a slow cooker. I think it's called the perfect pressure cooker. You can see a vid of it if you go to their site. It doesn't quite reach the pressure of a stovetop model, but since it's the only one I've had I don't notice. I like the timing feature.

 

[Some Like it Hot]

I've been thinking about expanding into pressure cooking. What size is a recommended? I see they run from 4 qt to huge for canning. I don't plan on getting into canning. Just want to try it out for roasts, veggies etc.

That is how I ended up with mine. Plus, I kept hearing about and seeing recipes where a pressure cooker was used. I'm dying to try mine!!!

Pacanis, tomato sauce would be awesome!!! That recipe is posted out here???

 

[pacanis]

That is how I ended up with mine. Plus, I kept hearing about and seeing recipes where a pressure cooker was used. I'm dying to try mine!!!

Pacanis, tomato sauce would be awesome!!! That recipe is posted out here???

No. not here. Just Google "pressure cooker spaghetti sauce". I think it was from allrecipes.com or something like that. Google pressure cooker xxxxxx (fill in the blank) and you will get a lot of good sites with recipes and a few not so good that want you to join or only give you are partial recipe, but the site I mentioned is pretty good and has reviews from people who have tried their recipes.

 

[Some Like it Hot]

Thanks pacanis! I have been wanting to make my own spaghetti sauce!

 

[babetoo]

i am thinking i need to have one. all this info on here is very helpful.

 

[Some Like it Hot]

I would love to hear about what others have cooked in their pressure cooker. Surely out of the 18 billion members here, there are some experts??

 

[gadzooks]

Any kind of beans in my pressure cookers...4q and 6q. My fave is black beans, with onion, garlic, celery, carrot and potatoes. Add oo, cumin, Mexican oregano and a minced habañero (2 for the brave). If you want meat, cube it and brown it in oo first. Couple drops of liquid smoke. Another treat is a 6-7# pork shoulder. Put it on the little round rack thingy that keeps it off the bottom, add 1/2" of water to start. When it's done, let it cool and pull it with a pair of forks. Add BBQ sauce. Mm-m-m-m-m. Be sure and give the bone to your dog after it cools. It'll be soft. Dog will love you. Presto website has tons of pressure cooker recipes.

 

[VegQueen]

I am a pressure cooker expert and a good size to get is around 6 quarts or larger. I just returned from teaching a cooking class where I made beans for a bean salad (4 minutes at pressure and a natural pressure release), Sicilian cauliflower (3 minutes, quick release), Harvest Vegetable soup (3 minutes, quick release) and a Fall Fruit compote in 1 minute at pressure.
The food is always flavorful -- much more so than you can get with almost any other cooking method. I sing the pressure cooker's praises whenver I can. It's ecologically sound and can help people eat well on a budget.

 

[CookwareFreak]

I have an electric pressure cooker...I love it! The best thing to cook in a pressure cooker is artichokes. I love artichokes...but they take FOREVER on the stove...especially if you are like me and can't stand the wait to eat them! I can cook two artichokes in 6-8 minutes once my pressure cooker comes up to pressure.

 

[sugarx2]

Try ebay for Pressure Cooking cook books

I just nabbed me a 5 qt pressure cooker for less than $20. I went small as that I only have two mouths to feed.

Any advice about these things?

Any recipes that are made to be pressure cooked that I must try?

A question as well: I know some dishes like bean soups / stoups that I traditionally do in a pot, simmering for several hours. Do you lose flavor when you cook them as quickly as the pressure cooker cooks them? I keep thinking the slow simmering imparts a more hearty and complex flavor.

HI! I picked up three cookbooks from years ago, on EBAY. Go there and search for Pressure Cooker COOKBOOKS and see what shows up. Great prices and ask for media/book rate shipping!

I have done bbq flavored ribs, with no boiling, no marinating and no fuss, they were delicious. Just be sure you like the BBQ sauce. FAMOUS DAVE's makes a good selection of them!

Have Fun!

 

[Yakuta]

I have used my pressure cooker for as long as I can remember (since I first learned how to cook). I have a stove top version and I use it to cook almost anything and everything.

Meat tenderizes and cooks in a quarter time than the traditional stove top or oven method
I use it to boil potatoes (in 1/4 less time)
I use it to make a dozen different bean dishes

To make curries, or beans I add some oil to the cooker, saute my onions with spices, tomatoes etc. I add the meat or beans some water and cover and let the cooker go for 30 minutes or so and viola it's tender and perfectly cooked.