OT: Pressure cookers

Cymbaline65

So what is everyone's take on pressure cookers? I've been thinking of getting one - not as a substitute for anything but more as another tool in the arsenal. Cooks Illustrated listed some best buys in the $100 range so I'm not talking about a major investment. In the same breath, I don't need another thing gathering dust. What say you all forum guys and gals?

jhl192

I don't have one but I have a friend that has bought several looking for the best one.  She really likes the pressure cooker for time savings and good results.  She is an excellent cook.  

Cymbaline65

So, time savings is a biggie - especially during the work week. What about product? Tenderness of meat etc.. How often does she use it?

Eggcelsior

It's great for beans or stew/chili, braised meat, basically anything you cook in a covered pot. Fagor is a nice brand. My mom and MIL both use them frequently for beans.

Botch

I bought CI's "Best Buy" 8-quart, and I've used it quite a bit, especially over the winter months.  It's great to have a soup or stew ready in less than an hour (and most of that time is prep).  It does wonders for tenderizing beef.

Oddly, I mostly bought it to be able to cook beans from a dry state (I'm always forgetting to soak them the night before) but I don't think the texture is very good doing it that way.  So, I still (try) to soak them the night before.  Haven't regretted the purchase at all!  

Cymbaline65

I'm <thinking> that SWMBO will probably use it more than me. I'm too gravitated to fire and smoke for my weekend cooks but I can see where she could benefit. Fagor is the brand I'm considering. Bed, Bath and Beyond has some compelling coupons. Have not thought of side dishes and other long cook items (such as beans.)

chashans

I have Tefal. Used mainly for beans, and before the BGE, to do quick pulled beef/pork (taco meat). Very happy with Tefal.

Cymbaline65

Thanks for the input, guys. Probably going to pull the trigger soon.

gdenby

I bought mine maybe 10 years ago, and it has a permanent place on my stove top. It might have been after reading a CI review. Whoever did the review, they found that models made by the Spanish company Fagor performed almost as well as the more expensive Swiss Kuhn-Ricon. I bought a 5 piece set. I had been dabbling with making my own soup stocks, and the pressure cooker made that a snap. I only use commercial broths/stocks now at a pinch. And often bones can be used more than once. The results are not as rich as the first run, but the results really improve the quality of things like rice that need to be boiled in a liquid. A small downside is that I loose freezer space to the bags of leftover bones being stored for stock making instead of thrown away.

The time savings are substantial, but you have to be careful w. some smaller things like rice and grains. A minute or two too long, and they turn to gluey mush. Old beans can sometimes be cooked to tender. The model I have can be used w. an induction cooktop. I have a single heat element induction cooker. The induction heater transfers almost all the heat energy directly into the cooking vessel, and because of the pressure cookers quick efficiency, I sometime cook things during the summer that otherwise would make the kitchen to steamy hot.

Canugghead

We've been thinking of getting this, it won't gather dust since one of its many functions is to replace an old rice cooker that's used almost daily:

http://www.amazon.com/Instant-Pot-IP-LUX60-Programmable-6-33-Quart/dp/B0073GIN08/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1393338360&sr=8-1&keywords=smart+pot+pressure+cooker

fishlessman

at camp partys seem to happen real quick, this last weekend the SIL had braised beef ribs in 20 minutes to feed about 12 people, you cant leave the lights on in the winter up there )

Little Steven

gdenby said:

I bought mine maybe 10 years ago, and it has a permanent place on my stove top. It might have been after reading a CI review. Whoever did the review, they found that models made by the Spanish company Fagor performed almost as well as the more expensive Swiss Kuhn-Ricon. I bought a 5 piece set. I had been dabbling with making my own soup stocks, and the pressure cooker made that a snap. I only use commercial broths/stocks now at a pinch. And often bones can be used more than once. The results are not as rich as the first run, but the results really improve the quality of things like rice that need to be boiled in a liquid. A small downside is that I loose freezer space to the bags of leftover bones being stored for stock making instead of thrown away.

The time savings are substantial, but you have to be careful w. some smaller things like rice and grains. A minute or two too long, and they turn to gluey mush. Old beans can sometimes be cooked to tender. The model I have can be used w. an induction cooktop. I have a single heat element induction cooker. The induction heater transfers almost all the heat energy directly into the cooking vessel, and because of the pressure cookers quick efficiency, I sometime cook things during the summer that otherwise would make the kitchen to steamy hot

 

@gdenby,

 

I am always impressed by your culinary knowledge! The secondary use of bones makes a product called remouillage and is used for exactly what you state. I bought a large Kuhn Rikon cooker mainly for stockmaking and Indian cooks. 

caliking

I have a few, from India. Pressure cookers are standard issue in every Indian kitchen. We use ours for meat curries, daals, and beans.

Chef Charles

Canugghead said:

We've been thinking of getting this, it won't gather dust since one of its many functions is to replace an old rice cooker that's used almost daily:

http://www.amazon.com/Instant-Pot-IP-LUX60-Programmable-6-33-Quart/dp/B0073GIN08/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1393338360&sr=8-1&keywords=smart+pot+pressure+cooker

Gary,

Do not hesitate to get the Instant Pot.  I bought ours to replace a rice cooker that always yielded crispy rice unless I stopped it before the automatic shut off.  The Instapot does a really good job on rice but I have found so many other uses for it and it has become one of our most used appliances.  I would never think about buying canned beans.  It does a good job on quinoa and we have used it to make soups.  We even use ours to steam corn on the cob!

Tom

Budgeezer

I have a Fagor and love it.  As mentioned above we use it to make beans from dry to done in about 35 minutes.  We also use it to make carnitas, guisada and pulled beef, usually done in 45-50 minutes start to finish.  An excellent tool to add to the rest of your kitchen devices. 

Here is the recipe for the carnitas:  http://modernistcuisine.com/recipes/pressure-cooked-carnitas/  

Canugghead

Thanks Tom, I remember you told me about it first.  At a holiday potluck recently someone made a vegetarian curry dish in it that was amazing, they also couldn't stop praising about it. Nothing wrong with our rice cooker but the non-stick coating is kind of worrisome.

btw, would you recommend getting an extra gasket or inner pot?  

Browninggold

I've had this one for a few years..Deni pressure cooker. Now called Big Boss http://www.amazon.com/Big-Boss-1300-Watt-Stainless-8-5-Quart/dp/B008J9YFP0/ref=sr_1_6?ie=UTF8&qid=1393344491&sr=8-6&keywords=deni+pressure+cooker

Chef Charles

Canugghead said:

Thanks Tom, I remember you told me about it first.  At a holiday potluck recently someone made a vegetarian curry dish in it that was amazing, they also couldn't stop praising about it. Nothing wrong with our rice cooker but the non-stick coating is kind of worrisome.

btw, would you recommend getting an extra gasket or inner pot?  

When we made our initial purchase, we did not get either an extra gasket or inner pot.  The gasket needed replacing after about 3 years and I can't see any reason for whey the inner pot would fail.  I think having a second gasket around would be a good thing.

Tom

Canugghead

Chef Charles

An extra pot is more for convenience. Some folks also use one gasket for neutral-tasting cook like plain rice, and a different gasket for others like curry.

gdenby

Little Steven said:

 

@gdenby,

 

I am always impressed by your culinary knowledge! The secondary use of bones makes a product called remouillage and is used for exactly what you state. I bought a large Kuhn Rikon cooker mainly for stockmaking and Indian cooks.

Thanks for the compliment. But you knew the French term for it. FWIW, while I waited for my copy of MC, I d-loaded Escoffier's "Guide to Modern Cookery. Managed to read thru the first hundred pages or so before becoming bewildered with all the variations.

bicktrav

Had one and got rid of it.  Looks like I'm in the minority here, but I just never bonded with the thing and it took up way to much storage/counter space.

RRP

My PC is another toy stored in the basement. The reason I bought it was our oven was on the fritz and though I intended to replace it soon there was a lead time factor involved. I used mine maybe 4 or 5 times over the course of a month. After that it has been packed away and that has probably been 5 or 6 years ago!

Skiddymarker

Sauces and broths are the items the pressure cooker is most used. Mine is a 60 year old Presto, my Mom got it for Christmas and I inherited it when she passed away. Drop some veggies and the whole chicken carcass in and let her go for easy chicken broth. The rings and seals are getting harder to buy, it is a weird 8 imperial quart size. 

I have been looking to replace it for some time and have considered the Fagor at Costco, it comes with two bases and a conventional lid plus a "steamer" basket for <$100 delivered. 

http://www.costco.com/Fagor-Rapida-5-piece-Pressure-Cooker-Set.product.11289309.html

Aviator

I have two of the Fagor, large and small and they get used regularly. Again, it depends on what type of cooking you do. I would first make a snapshot of your cooking needs and then see if you will benefit from a PC.

Dredger

Little Steven

gdenby said:

Little Steven said:

 

@gdenby,

 

I am always impressed by your culinary knowledge! The secondary use of bones makes a product called remouillage and is used for exactly what you state. I bought a large Kuhn Rikon cooker mainly for stockmaking and Indian cooks.

Thanks for the compliment. But you knew the French term for it. FWIW, while I waited for my copy of MC, I d-loaded Escoffier's "Guide to Modern Cookery. Managed to read thru the first hundred pages or so before becoming bewildered with all the variations.

I want to get Escoffier's book. I have "The New Professional Chef" by Culinary Institute of America. It's their basic textbook so all of the stock, sauce and making are laid out in a way that makes it very understandable. Once you understand that, meat cutting and the various cooking methods everything else is really just ingredients.

cortguitarman

I have a $100 presto. I actually have never used it to cook with. We just got into home canning last year and use it as our canner. We do intend to use it for other things, we just haven't yet. It is a versatile tool. With the money.

Judy Mayberry

I've been using pressure cookers for the last couple of years. Can't believe how delicious quick BBQ pork ribs and pot roast,turned out! Last week I made split pea soup that cooked for just 12 minutes. 

I have a 4.8-qt. Fissler (made in Germany) and just got a 6.3-qt. Fissler for larger batches. And I'm just a beginner! Next I'm' gonna learn to do Indian curries, and beans. I make dal on the stove; it only takes 10 minutes--no need to pressure cook.

caliking

Some daals take longer to cook on the stove, so for those the pressure cooker comes in handy if pressed for time.

Little Steven

True dat! I think the pressure cooked goat and lamb are better than any other way of cooking. It's so neat how much juice comes out of the meat and bones.

Canugghead

Little Steven said:

True dat! I think the pressure cooked goat and lamb are better than any other way of cooking. It's so neat how much juice comes out of the meat and bones.

Have you tried goat and lamb in SV yet? just wondering.