i don't know whether to be steamed or just under pressure over this...

[dweller]

yes, i just received a Presto 8 qt pressure cooker for a belated birthday gift.

Now i'm going to have to learn how to use it! Gather recipes, experiment, stock the larder!

all those tomatoes, guess i'll have no excuse now but to eat what we can, and what we can't we can.

okay, i'll quit now before i start singing Bowie :D

dp

[eleny]

1. it's easy

start with pressuring plain veggies. that only takes a few minutes of pressure and a quick cooldown of the cooker under a stream of water in the sink. the cookbook that came with it is your best friend! that was some wonderful gift!

[dweller]

2. yes it is, that's what i said

when a young bride recently got one and i commented to the giver about how nice and useful it would be for her. Her was my daughter, the giver was my mom. I know my daughter loves hers and has used it several times so far.

i must have made a point since then my bd came along and whoop, look what dad got :)
i've canned a few things the old fashioned stove top method, but this baby is going to shorten sealing time big time.

looking forward to a cookoff with my daughter, dueling pressure pots!

dp

[Stinky The Clown]

3. I agree with eleny ... just start with easy stuff

A pressure cooker is kinda the home version of a commercial steamer. It really cooks like any other pot, except the pressure speeds things up. Another benefit is that the "good stuff" that evaporates when you cook at atmosphere stays in the product. It is also an excellent way to get tough meat tender. Your stews will improve because the flavors sort of get "force blended" ... the carrots assume the beef flavor and the beef assumes the carrot flavor.

I don't use mine as much as I should ... but it gets plenty of use when artichokes are at a reasonable price!

..... and by the way ... sing yer liddle heart out! We're with ya.

[Heidi]

4. You're a more courageous cook than I am.

I've been scared to death of pressure cookers ever since I saw my sister very nearly destroy our mom's kitchen while pressure cooking pinto beans.

Good luck, and protection.

[Warpy]

8. Pressure cookers are safer now

and the only way I can get pintos "done" at 6000 feet is to use one. It's either pressure cook them or use canned beans, and that runs into serious money.

Just follow the manufacturer's instructions when you're cooking any sort of bean. Split peas are the worst "foamers," so I generally cook those in a bowl set into my big pressure canner.

I've used a pressure cooker for almost 30 years (gawd I'm old) with no real mishaps. The worst thing that ever happened was when a top got stuck and I broke one handle trying to get it open and had to buy a replacement handle to screw back on.

If you're a meat eater, that fist pressure cooked pot roast is going to be a real revelation. The toughest meat gets fork tender when it's pressure cooked.

[Longhorn]

9. I have some vague memories

of a meal all over the ceiling. :D

[Heidi]

11. Try pinto beans all over the ceiling . . .

and a completely decimated range hood. After my sister's pressure cooking adventure, we both are fortunate to be alive.

[wildeyed]

5. Here is a link to a thread about pressure cooking from a few weeks

ago. http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_topic&forum=236&topic_id=6558

I have an under-utilized pressure cooker, but recently I have been using it more often. I purchased a new cookbook, "The Pressured Cook" on ebay to kind of jump start the process.

[dweller]

6. thanks for the link

i may need a good cookbook, a small one came with my cooker, but i want to check out more options.

really looking forward to canning with this puppy too.

dp

[Stinky The Clown]

7. A cookbook is fine, but it is more about learing technique.

Once you learn to use the thing, any standard recipe will become easier to adapt to pressure cooking. This is something where learning the "why" is more important than learning the "how".

[eleny]

10. Is your cooker large enough to do canning?

Although I grew up learning to pressure cook, I've never canned in a pressure cooker. I thought that for canning, you needed one of the really large sized ones that are specifically "pressure canners".

[dweller]

12. only pint sized jars

and 1/2 pint jars will fit. It's a canner, according to the handbook. While i've used the larger ones in restaurant work before for cooking, i really wanted one for home canning. I will use it for both probably.

dp

[eleny]

14. Is there an insert for holding the small jars?

I have a mid sized cooker and wondered if there's an insert I can get to be able to do some canning. The only insert I've got in my mid sized p/cooker is the small plate that sits on the bottom to elevate foods while pressuring. My canning experience is with water bath canning of fruits and putting up jams and jellies. So I'm most familiar with the wire insert that holds the jars upright in the large water bath pot.

[dweller]

15. that's all i have too

i invert it for cooking (flat side against the bottom) and flip it over (raised about 1/4") for canning. Or at least that's what i'm reading in the instruction manual.

what size do you have? some of the smaller sizes of Presto are just for cooking according to my reading of the webpage
www.gopresto.com
i didn't read about the smaller ones in detail, just the 8qt or larger ones.

dp

it's not a wire jar holder, just a flat pan with a flanged edge that has holes in it. I know what you are referring to with the wire/rod constructed jar holders, and no i didn't get one of those.

[eleny]

18. I'm not sure of the quarts

I'll have to find the cookbook that came with it to be sure. I also have the same insert as yours. When I find the cookbook or determine the size of the cooker, I'll post. Nice chatting with you today.

[dweller]

19. and you too eleny

i knew i'd find solidarity and communion here in the cooking forum :)


peace.
dp

[Lars39]

13. A lot of folks take advantage of their outdoor gas grill

and do the heat producing work outside in the shade.
I'd love to have a garden, but the deer and rabbits would just get fat. :)

[dweller]

16. not recommended for pressure cooking

since you can't regulate the heat source.

but for smoking roasting BBQ'ing, i'm all for it.

dp

[Lars39]

17. *smacks forehead* Thanks for catching that!

I meant the gas grills that have an adjustable gas burner on the side. :blush:

[dweller]

20. okay, Pot Roast in the pressure cooker

took all the advice and checked out several recipes. Picked the ingreds and seasonings i prefer and am giving the baby a test run.

depending on how it goes, will repeat Friday nite with daughters and SIL for dinner.

it's rockin steady in the kitchen.
wish me luck.


dp

[Stinky The Clown]

21. Post pictures

we wanna see. :)

[dweller]

22. ...burp...

too late.


It was good. The chuck was a bit stringy, but tender overall. Potatoes, carrots, gravy and the bread along side was excellant.


and as a side, the pets were on the best behavior for the past hour or more. Just sitting here sniffing the air, and looking at me in perfect poised, posed positions....waiting for the leftovers. Uncanny how calm they sat, watching me. . .

i'm not sure i seared the meat enough, nor cooked enough in the first pressurization. Added the potatoes, carrots and more liquid and the gravy makings for 10 minutes at the end. Turned it off and headed over to pick up daughter #2 from her pt job, came home and brought it back to pressure for a warmup and show her how it worked. Cooled down and served. Very tasty.

bet it's better tomorrow.

dp