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Shine
Feb 26, 2007

No Muscles For The Majority
Slow cookers are a common recommendation to people in YLLS who want to do :effort: cooking, but last year I bought an Instant Pot electric pressure cooker, and soon after started recommending those instead. I don't know what the differences are to serious cooks, but as a cooking layman it seems like they're basically slow cookers that aren't slow, and blow up if you're really dumb with them.

I've been using it for pretty simple things, like chili, beans, and simple "filler" protein like pulled pork/chicken. Lazy, functional stuff. I'm curious to see what people do with these things that is more creative than salsa chicken and the like. What are some cool things I can do with my pressure cooker that will make me want to spend all my time using it instead of working out and playing War Thunder?

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bartolimu
Nov 25, 2002


A neat trick I recently learned is doing soft- or hard-boiled eggs in a pressure cooker. With the run-up time of an electric cooker it doesn't really save any cooking time, but it makes the eggs way easier to peel. I'll never do deviled eggs on the stove top again. Off-forums link. There's a thread somewhere around here with particulars as well, but I don't have it bookmarked.

There's also near-instant vegetable caramelization, which makes things like French onion soup much faster without losing flavor.

Butch Cassidy
Jul 28, 2010

Risotto! I'll see if I can dig up my old writeup. Also, baby potatoes come out buttery smooth with a pop to the skin in only three minutes. And dulce de leche

TychoCelchuuu
Jan 2, 2012

This space for Rent.
Mostly I use it to cook beans. I can decide I want hummus and cook up dried chickpeas in about an hour, no overnight soaking necessary. That's super convenient. One nice thing you can do if you have a tray or whatever is put a head of cabbage and some red potatoes in there, then cook for a very short period of time (basically a minute or two after it comes up to pressure). Bam - instant cabbage and potatoes ready for eating along with some corned beef. Modernist Cuisine's Caramlized Carrot Soup is delicious and easy as hell.

guppy
Sep 21, 2004

sting like a byob
I love the idea of pressure cookers, but every time I think about buying one I see a picture of someone's pressure cooker lid blown through the ceiling and I think "Maybe I won't do that." I have no idea if this fear is reasonable but it seems to come up a lot.

bartolimu
Nov 25, 2002


If you're concerned, buy an electric pressure cooker. They're nearly impossible to gently caress up, and aside from a slightly longer heat-up time work just like a stove top model.

TychoCelchuuu
Jan 2, 2012

This space for Rent.

guppy posted:

I love the idea of pressure cookers, but every time I think about buying one I see a picture of someone's pressure cooker lid blown through the ceiling and I think "Maybe I won't do that." I have no idea if this fear is reasonable but it seems to come up a lot.
What, do you live in your ceilings or something? Don't be a wuss.

Shine
Feb 26, 2007

No Muscles For The Majority
I'll give the eggs a try now. My cooker doesn't have a low pressure setting (the Duo line does, but mine's the regular) so hopefully the high pressure doesn't crack them.

The soup dealie sounds like it would own hard with sweet potatoes. I'll give that a go in the next day or so.

guppy posted:

I love the idea of pressure cookers, but every time I think about buying one I see a picture of someone's pressure cooker lid blown through the ceiling and I think "Maybe I won't do that." I have no idea if this fear is reasonable but it seems to come up a lot.

Like Bart said, get an electric one. The only way to screw it up is to do something that the manual warns you a hundred times not to do, like use it for frying or force it open when it's pressurized by pushing down the little locking nub with a chopstick while it's shooting hot steam into your fingers, which is a dumb idea anyway.

Even stovetop ones have redundant safety features that make it hard to explode your kitchen unless you are reaaaaallllly dumb.

Shine fucked around with this message at 18:27 on Mar 5, 2015

Doom Rooster
Sep 3, 2008

Pillbug
If you have a big pressure cooker, you can actually cook multiple things at once by stacking up stuff in stainless steel bowls. I think dino. was the one who taught me that. I have a big 10qt cooker and it's neat cooking 4 different things in there at once.

Kalista
Oct 18, 2001
While this recipe is really easy and not fancy, it's also really delicious, and makes great leftovers for work over the next few days. I've usually add ginger, and I've added squash to it too, and you could throw in a lot of other vegetables. Add peppers if you want more spice, etc.

http://www.seriouseats.com/recipes/2012/05/colombian-chicken-stew-with-potatoes-tomato-onion-recipe.html

Kalista fucked around with this message at 20:37 on Mar 5, 2015

Casu Marzu
Oct 20, 2008

guppy posted:

I love the idea of pressure cookers, but every time I think about buying one I see a picture of someone's pressure cooker lid blown through the ceiling and I think "Maybe I won't do that." I have no idea if this fear is reasonable but it seems to come up a lot.

That doesnt really happen anymore. I purposely overheated an older one to the busting point, and all that went was the gasket. They don't really explode, explode anymore.

EVG
Dec 17, 2005

If I Saw It, Here's How It Happened.
I made about 6 quarts of delicious soup tonight in my Fagor duo. This recipe: http://themerlinmenu.blogspot.com/2009/10/sweet-potato-carrot-soup.html

I doubled it to have enough to share at work tomorrow, used vegetable broth and olive oil instead of chicken stock and butter to make it vegan, and added fresh ginger (minced) instead of powdered. I put in a touch too much cayenne and it came out spicier than expected, so I put in a can of coconut milk I had on hand which toned it down nicely.

Very good! (It's great as written too, just needed vegan to share)

Sunday I made these short ribs, served over right with some baby bok choy on the side: https://www.cooksillustrated.com/recipes/7539-pressure-cooker-asian-style-boneless-beef-short-ribs

I make chicken stock probably once a month, it's simple as hell and done in an hour start to finish.

I've made this goulash twice now, definitely spring for the high-quality beef. I bought a nice piece of chuck roast from the butcher counter and had them trim and chop it into 1.5" pieces for me, rather than buying sad pre-cut "stew meat". http://www.mykitchenintherockies.com/2013/02/24/german-beef-goulash/ Served over spatzle.

I love my pressure cooker.

Shine
Feb 26, 2007

No Muscles For The Majority
I made caramelized carrot soup today and it was hella good! I'm gonna try it with sweet potatoes next time. Sweet potatoes are the poo poo.

EVG posted:

Sunday I made these short ribs, served over right with some baby bok choy on the side: https://www.cooksillustrated.com/recipes/7539-pressure-cooker-asian-style-boneless-beef-short-ribs

That'll probably be next.

oxyrosis
Aug 4, 2006
Scars are tattoos with better stories.

Butch Cassidy posted:

Risotto! I'll see if I can dig up my old writeup. Also, baby potatoes come out buttery smooth with a pop to the skin in only three minutes. And dulce de leche

I also dont have a recipe, but I have to agree with this. I tried to mimic the butternut squash risotto from fresh n easy and was surprised at how easy and close I got.

My cooker is ancient, seals with a twist of the lid and has a manufactured hole(stem?) in the top of the lid.

The worst thing ive done is epically fail at making some gajar halwa in it. I forgot to turn off the heat once steam started escaping and in the process burned sugary carrots and condensed milk onto the bottom of the cooker. Im still trying to clean it, I've got a stubborn patch left after soaking for a month, boiling and scraping with coke, and lots of harsh language.

I'll get it clean someday.

oxyrosis
Aug 4, 2006
Scars are tattoos with better stories.
UPDATE! I do have the recipe for the risotto, well I have the ingredients, just sautee the onions and whatnot in the cooker then clamp down the lid, start steaming, KILL heat and let cook for 30min.

EVG
Dec 17, 2005

If I Saw It, Here's How It Happened.
Is there a reason why you didn't just copy/paste that?

Oh, this bolognese was AMAZING. http://www.hippressurecooking.com/traditional-bolognese-sauce-in-half-the-time/

oxyrosis
Aug 4, 2006
Scars are tattoos with better stories.

EVG posted:

Is there a reason why you didn't just copy/paste that?

Oh, this bolognese was AMAZING. http://www.hippressurecooking.com/traditional-bolognese-sauce-in-half-the-time/

It was a shopping list

mindphlux
Jan 8, 2004

by R. Guyovich
I use my pressure cooker for stock and quick cooking meat dishes mainly. Braised lamb shank on a Monday night after work? Why not, done in 45.

Archenteron
Nov 3, 2006

:marc:

Butch Cassidy posted:

Risotto! I'll see if I can dig up my old writeup.

I keep it bookmarked, actually, just made it for dinner yesterday. Here you go!

Flash Gordon Ramsay
Sep 28, 2004

Grimey Drawer
That recipe above has a 4:1 ratio of stock to rice which is kind of ridiculous. I do it like Butch Cassidy's linked thread, 2:1.

Really all you need to know for pressure cooked risotto is 2:1 stock to rice, and 6 minute cook time. Everything else can be personalized/improvised.

Thunder Moose
Mar 7, 2015

S.J.C.
Perhaps not a-typical, but delicious and simple nonetheless:

3-4 pounds second-cut beef brisket

1 cup of freshly made coffee
1/4 cup dark brown sugar
12 ounces of your favorite BBQ sauce
Blend/mix these together - stew your brisket in the crock-pot for 8 hours on low minimum, serve on toasted onion brioche rolls.

Ultimate Mango
Jan 18, 2005

Thunder Moose posted:

Perhaps not a-typical, but delicious and simple nonetheless:

3-4 pounds second-cut beef brisket

1 cup of freshly made coffee
1/4 cup dark brown sugar
12 ounces of your favorite BBQ sauce
Blend/mix these together - stew your brisket in the crock-pot for 8 hours on low minimum, serve on toasted onion brioche rolls.

I am trying to wrap my head around this one. What, if any, was the texture of the beef? Was it cut up before cooking or just fell apart during?

BLARGHLE
Oct 2, 2013

But I want something good
to die for
To make it beautiful to live.
Yams Fan

Ultimate Mango posted:

I am trying to wrap my head around this one. What, if any, was the texture of the beef? Was it cut up before cooking or just fell apart during?

That's the half assed alternative to smoked pork/beef. It works pretty well with chicken thighs though!

Ultimate Mango
Jan 18, 2005

BLARGHLE posted:

That's the half assed alternative to smoked pork/beef. It works pretty well with chicken thighs though!

To clarify: it was the eight hours under pressure that confused me.

Butch Cassidy
Jul 28, 2010

Ultimate Mango posted:

To clarify: it was the eight hours under pressure that confused me.

Eight hours in a crock pot. But the recipe could easily work in a pressure cooker much more quickly.

mich
Feb 28, 2003
I may be racist but I'm the good kind of racist! You better put down those chopsticks, you HITLER!
I have a pressure cooker set that I love, same lid fits a bigger and smaller pot. I use the big pot for soups and big braises and the smaller if doing just a pound of beans or if I'm breaking down a chicken I immediately throw the carcass into the PC to make stock since it's so quick. I know you can just cook smaller amounts of things in the bigger pot but my sink is not very big so clean up is a lot easier with the smaller pot. It's also a nice pot in itself in a size I didn't already have so I use it for just regular non-PC cooking too. It usually is $250-299 on amazon but just dropped to ~$206 so for anyone who was wanting to get a PC but hadn't yet, this is a good deal if you were looking to get one of the nicer ones. The WMF brand is comparable to Kuhn Rikon.

http://www.amazon.com/WMF-Perfect-Stainless-Pressure-Interchangeable/dp/B005EQK3IE

EVG
Dec 17, 2005

If I Saw It, Here's How It Happened.

mich posted:

I have a pressure cooker set that I love, same lid fits a bigger and smaller pot. I use the big pot for soups and big braises and the smaller if doing just a pound of beans or if I'm breaking down a chicken I immediately throw the carcass into the PC to make stock since it's so quick. I know you can just cook smaller amounts of things in the bigger pot but my sink is not very big so clean up is a lot easier with the smaller pot. It's also a nice pot in itself in a size I didn't already have so I use it for just regular non-PC cooking too. It usually is $250-299 on amazon but just dropped to ~$206 so for anyone who was wanting to get a PC but hadn't yet, this is a good deal if you were looking to get one of the nicer ones. The WMF brand is comparable to Kuhn Rikon.

http://www.amazon.com/WMF-Perfect-Stainless-Pressure-Interchangeable/dp/B005EQK3IE

I have a similar setup with the Fagor Duo (large pot, small pot, lid that works on both) and it also came with a normal glass lid it you want to use it as a pot, and a steamer insert I've never used. $150, and I'm very happy with it. http://www.amazon.com/Fagor-Combi-5...words=fagor+duo

Rime
Nov 2, 2011

by Games Forum
So I have this steel pressure cooker from, like, the 1940's or 50's that my grandmother used for canning. Hasn't been put to the test in about 15 years at this point however.

On a scale of 1 to Dead, how likely do you think it is to explode?

Arcsech
Aug 5, 2008

Rime posted:

So I have this steel pressure cooker from, like, the 1940's or 50's that my grandmother used for canning. Hasn't been put to the test in about 15 years at this point however.

On a scale of 1 to Dead, how likely do you think it is to explode?

I'm not an expert, but you will almost certainly need to at least replace the sealing ring. Beyond that, I would think that if it isn't rusting or otherwise structurally compromised, it will likely be fine, if lacking modern safety features and thus possibly requiring you to be a bit more careful to follow proper safety procedures yourself.

toplitzin
Jun 13, 2003


Bye Grandma

Mr. Wiggles
Dec 1, 2003

We are all drinking from the highball glass of ideology.
Ummmmm

mindphlux
Jan 8, 2004

by R. Guyovich
loll

finally thread delivers

Shine
Feb 26, 2007

No Muscles For The Majority

toplitzin posted:

Bye Grandma



Good lord. :stare:

Neon Noodle
Nov 11, 2016

there's nothing wrong here in montana
I got an Instant Pot and made carnitas in it on a weeknight. It took an hour. I am in love. :swoon:

Then this weekend I made chicken stock with a bunch of frozen carcasses and wings I had in the freezer. I didn't even need to thaw them. :staredog:

Peep Jerky
Apr 11, 2005
I've got an Instant Pot that I've used a couple times. I remember the manual said it's usually recommended to let it cool down for like 15 minutes before releasing the pressure valve, but I feel like most of the recipes I've seen don't factor the extra time into the cooking time. What do goons with pressure cookers recommend? If you release the pressure right away, do you put a towel or something over the valve so you're not filling your kitchen cabinets with steam?

The Midniter
Jul 9, 2001

Peep Jerky posted:

I've got an Instant Pot that I've used a couple times. I remember the manual said it's usually recommended to let it cool down for like 15 minutes before releasing the pressure valve, but I feel like most of the recipes I've seen don't factor the extra time into the cooking time. What do goons with pressure cookers recommend? If you release the pressure right away, do you put a towel or something over the valve so you're not filling your kitchen cabinets with steam?

When I use the quick release, I put the cooker on a trivet on the kitchen island so it's away from under the cabinets. If you don't have an island, you can just put it on a chair in the middle of the room or something, or even outside.

Alternately, you can just put it in the sink and run cold water over it until the pressure drops. Much quicker and no steam to release. This may affect your cooking times slightly, since it prevents any residual-heat cooking called for in some recipes.

Neon Noodle
Nov 11, 2016

there's nothing wrong here in montana

The Midniter posted:

When I use the quick release, I put the cooker on a trivet on the kitchen island so it's away from under the cabinets. If you don't have an island, you can just put it on a chair in the middle of the room or something, or even outside.

Alternately, you can just put it in the sink and run cold water over it until the pressure drops. Much quicker and no steam to release. This may affect your cooking times slightly, since it prevents any residual-heat cooking called for in some recipes.

Do not do this with an Instant Pot. It's electric.

I have had success with putting a damp cool towel over the lid during the cooldown phase. It makes it pretty fast to depressurize, without the shock of the quick release. And when I do eventually press the release valve, the towel catches most of the steam.

The Midniter
Jul 9, 2001

Neon Noodle posted:

Do not do this with an Instant Pot. It's electric.


Whoops, I forgot about that fact in my response. Yeaaaaah...don't do that with an electric pressure cooker. My bad.

Butch Cassidy
Jul 28, 2010

Received a Farberware 7-in-1 for Christmas. Seems to do okay but I can't find any reference for water:rice ratio to use the rice setting. The obvious answer is to use my rice cooker or stove but it's the principle of the thing. Anyone happen to know a proper ratio?

I was initially underwhelmed with the gift but the delay function is actually pretty handy and it does save a bit on the gas bill. Will likely keep the bulky thing and run it into the ground. It will also be more comfortable for me to let the kids learn on. No carrying the boiling bomb to the sink for a quick release.

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89
Feb 24, 2006

#worldchamps
Got yo pressure cooker action right here:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yWOcb049MxE

Pressure Cooker Chili video will be up in the next day or two!

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