Pressure Cooker vs Sous Vide
 

I'm trying to expand my culinary boundaries and Sous Vide interested me, but
it's so time consuming and there are the consumables to consider. I started
thinking about pressure cooker cooking as a possible means to expand into things
that either take too long or I never get right. I've seen some interesting
recipes for ribs and carnitas but was wondering if anyone has advice/suggestions
or nice family recipes

Pressure Cooker vs Sous Vide
 

On 7/31/2011 9:17 AM, Malcom "Mal" Reynolds wrote:
> I'm trying to expand my culinary boundaries and Sous Vide interested me, but
> it's so time consuming and there are the consumables to consider. I started
> thinking about pressure cooker cooking as a possible means to expand into things
> that either take too long or I never get right. I've seen some interesting
> recipes for ribs and carnitas but was wondering if anyone has advice/suggestions
> or nice family recipes

The first time I used a pressure cooker, I was scared to death of that
thing blowing up and shooting shrapnel all over the kitchen. That was
pretty silly because the working pressure is less than half of your
standard passenger car tire. I was just a kid at the time and had to
learn how to use it by myself. It was odd that we would even have a
pressure cooker because my mom never used it.

If you're a practical cook and saving time is important, a pressure
cooker is invaluable. You can cook a pot roast in less than an hour.
It's pretty amazing and a wonderful invention. My recommendation is that
if you have to cook for a family you get one that's 8 quarts or above in
capacity. Typically, the fill line for one of these is about 2/3rds up
the side of the pot so the capacity is a little less than what it seems.
I cook for a few people so my 6 quart works OK most times but I wish I
had a little more capacity.

Good luck and watch out for those blue-hands! :-)

Pressure Cooker vs Sous Vide
 

In article >,
"Malcom \"Mal\" Reynolds" > wrote:

> I'm trying to expand my culinary boundaries and Sous Vide interested me, but
> it's so time consuming and there are the consumables to consider. I started
> thinking about pressure cooker cooking as a possible means to expand into
> things
> that either take too long or I never get right. I've seen some interesting
> recipes for ribs and carnitas but was wondering if anyone has
> advice/suggestions
> or nice family recipes

They seem like opposite concepts to me. The point of sous vide is to
cook at well below the boiling point of water. The point of pressure
cookers is to raise the pressure to raise the boiling point of water to
250F, or so, way higher than the boiling point of water at normal
pressure.

--
Dan Abel
Petaluma, California USA

Pressure Cooker vs Sous Vide
 

On Sun, 31 Jul 2011 12:17:46 -0700, "Malcom \"Mal\" Reynolds"
> wrote:

>I'm trying to expand my culinary boundaries and Sous Vide interested me, but
>it's so time consuming and there are the consumables to consider. I started
>thinking about pressure cooker cooking as a possible means to expand into things
>that either take too long or I never get right. I've seen some interesting
>recipes for ribs and carnitas but was wondering if anyone has advice/suggestions
>or nice family recipes

IMHO, sous vide is a gimmick, concocted by foo-foo chefs/restaurants
to charge outrageous prices. I'll gladly pay you Tuesday when I get my
rare steak which I ordered last week on Saturday. There is a side
benefit though, it's keeping Kent occupied.
Pressure cooking is a direct opposite. It's not really anything more
than boiling something at higher than normal temperatures.
Bigger models are great for pressure canning low acid items that are
not safe for boiling water canning and we use our canner regularly. We
also have several pressure cookers and, although they are admittedly
fast, we've found most dishes cooked in a pressure cooker taste very
similar.
As I said, this is just MHO. YMMV.

Ross.

Pressure Cooker vs Sous Vide
 

In article >,
dsi1 > wrote:


> The first time I used a pressure cooker, I was scared to death of that
> thing blowing up and shooting shrapnel all over the kitchen. That was
> pretty silly because the working pressure is less than half of your
> standard passenger car tire. I was just a kid at the time and had to
> learn how to use it by myself. It was odd that we would even have a
> pressure cooker because my mom never used it.

I like to play with simple math sometimes. Say you have a 12 inch PC.
That's a radius of 6 inches, squared, times pi and times 15 psi is 1500
pounds!

--
Dan Abel
Petaluma, California USA

Pressure Cooker vs Sous Vide
 

In article >, Sqwertz >
wrote:

> On Sun, 31 Jul 2011 12:17:46 -0700, Malcom "Mal" Reynolds wrote:
>
> > I'm trying to expand my culinary boundaries and Sous Vide interested me,
> > but
> > it's so time consuming and there are the consumables to consider. I started
> > thinking about pressure cooker cooking as a possible means to expand into
> > things
> > that either take too long or I never get right. I've seen some interesting
> > recipes for ribs and carnitas but was wondering if anyone has
> > advice/suggestions
> > or nice family recipes
>
> You can't do ribs or carnitas using either method (unless you're deep
> frying carnitas in your pressure cooker, which is a safety issue).
>
> I say just learn to cook better suing your stove and oven.
>
> -sw

This person would disagree about the ribs

http://www.paulstravelpictures.com/P...k-Ribs-Recipe/

and this seems reasonable to me for carnitas

http://www.foodandwine.com/recipes/p...-pork-carnitas

Pressure Cooker vs Sous Vide
 

In article >,
Dan Abel > wrote:

> In article >,
> dsi1 > wrote:
>
>
> > The first time I used a pressure cooker, I was scared to death of that
> > thing blowing up and shooting shrapnel all over the kitchen. That was
> > pretty silly because the working pressure is less than half of your
> > standard passenger car tire. I was just a kid at the time and had to
> > learn how to use it by myself. It was odd that we would even have a
> > pressure cooker because my mom never used it.
>
> I like to play with simple math sometimes. Say you have a 12 inch PC.
> That's a radius of 6 inches, squared, times pi and times 15 psi is 1500
> pounds!

As opposed to how much for a tire?

Pressure Cooker vs Sous Vide
 

On 7/31/2011 12:54 PM, Dan Abel wrote:
> In >,
> > wrote:
>
>
>> The first time I used a pressure cooker, I was scared to death of that
>> thing blowing up and shooting shrapnel all over the kitchen. That was
>> pretty silly because the working pressure is less than half of your
>> standard passenger car tire. I was just a kid at the time and had to
>> learn how to use it by myself. It was odd that we would even have a
>> pressure cooker because my mom never used it.
>
> I like to play with simple math sometimes. Say you have a 12 inch PC.
> That's a radius of 6 inches, squared, times pi and times 15 psi is 1500
> pounds!
>

That sounds dangerous! Guess I better stick with the microwave. :-)

Pressure Cooker vs Sous Vide
 

In article >, Sqwertz >
wrote:

> On Sun, 31 Jul 2011 16:30:06 -0700, Malcom "Mal" Reynolds wrote:
>
> > In article >, Sqwertz
> > >
> > wrote:
> >
> >> On Sun, 31 Jul 2011 12:17:46 -0700, Malcom "Mal" Reynolds wrote:
> >>
> >>> I'm trying to expand my culinary boundaries and Sous Vide interested me,
> >>> but
> >>> it's so time consuming and there are the consumables to consider. I
> >>> started
> >>> thinking about pressure cooker cooking as a possible means to expand into
> >>> things
> >>> that either take too long or I never get right. I've seen some
> >>> interesting
> >>> recipes for ribs and carnitas but was wondering if anyone has
> >>> advice/suggestions
> >>> or nice family recipes
> >>
> >> You can't do ribs or carnitas using either method (unless you're deep
> >> frying carnitas in your pressure cooker, which is a safety issue).
> >>
> >> I say just learn to cook better suing your stove and oven.
> >>
> >> -sw
> >
> > This person would disagree about the ribs
> >
> > http://www.paulstravelpictures.com/P...k-Ribs-Recipe/
>
> Cooked in Kraft BBQ sauce in a pressure cooker. Screw that. I'll
> pass, thank you.
>
> Just like I said.
>
> -sw

If the BBQ sauce is your only quibble...

Pressure Cooker vs Sous Vide
 

On 7/31/2011 12:54 PM, Dan Abel wrote:
> In >,
> > wrote:
>
>
>> The first time I used a pressure cooker, I was scared to death of that
>> thing blowing up and shooting shrapnel all over the kitchen. That was
>> pretty silly because the working pressure is less than half of your
>> standard passenger car tire. I was just a kid at the time and had to
>> learn how to use it by myself. It was odd that we would even have a
>> pressure cooker because my mom never used it.
>
> I like to play with simple math sometimes. Say you have a 12 inch PC.
> That's a radius of 6 inches, squared, times pi and times 15 psi is 1500
> pounds!
>

OTOH, that's only the calculation of the pressure on the lid. It would
probably be more accurate to get the total pressure in the whole vessel.
Evidently you got a bigger PC than I do. Mine has a radius of only 5"
and a height of around 9". That's the breaks. :-)

Pressure Cooker vs Sous Vide
 

Sqwertz wrote:
>
> You can't do ribs or carnitas using either method ...

Ribs cooked in a pressure cooker are soft flavorful, but they are
definitely not a BBQ style. Viewing them as a BBQ style isn't the way
to go in this case. It's not a valid comparison. Ribs cooked with
pressure are still ribs, though. BBQ is not the only way to cook ribs.

Carnitas is a specific cooking method that does not use a pressure
cooker. Pork can be cooked in a pressure cooker to come out soft enough
to pull. It can be delicious but again it's not the same thing and it
is not a valid comparison. Pork cooked with pressure is still pork, but
it's definitely not carnitas.

Pressure cooking is a good way to soften tough meat. It works for cuts
that started out tender but dry heat tends to bring out a better flavor.
Pressure cooking fine tender meat works but it's a waste. I remember a
scene from the movie Apocolypse Now:

"I was a sous chef when I was as civilian so when they drafted me they
made me a cook. They sent me to cook school. One time they had fifty
pounds of the finest prime rib you ever saw. They put it in a giant
kettle. I looked in there and I tell you it was turning gray. It was a
sin." (the best I can remember).

But pick a tough cut of most any meat and the pressure cooker will do a
fine job on it. Turning a stewing chicken into pulled chicken anyone?
Dice up a tough rump roast and make it into a very fast goulash anyone?

Pressure cooking is a fast method. Sous vide is a slow method. It's
like comparing a microwave and a crockpot with both turned into a fancy
gourmet method.

Pressure Cooker vs Sous Vide
 

In article >,
dsi1 > wrote:

> On 7/31/2011 12:54 PM, Dan Abel wrote:
> > In >,
> > > wrote:
> >
> >
> >> The first time I used a pressure cooker, I was scared to death of that
> >> thing blowing up and shooting shrapnel all over the kitchen. That was
> >> pretty silly because the working pressure is less than half of your
> >> standard passenger car tire. I was just a kid at the time and had to
> >> learn how to use it by myself. It was odd that we would even have a
> >> pressure cooker because my mom never used it.
> >
> > I like to play with simple math sometimes. Say you have a 12 inch PC.
> > That's a radius of 6 inches, squared, times pi and times 15 psi is 1500
> > pounds!
> >
>
> OTOH, that's only the calculation of the pressure on the lid. It would
> probably be more accurate to get the total pressure in the whole vessel.
> Evidently you got a bigger PC than I do. Mine has a radius of only 5"
> and a height of around 9". That's the breaks. :-)

That's correct. It was just an example. I must have come up with that
when someone was wondering about the lid blowing off if the safety valve
failed.

--
Dan Abel
Petaluma, California USA

Pressure Cooker vs Sous Vide
 

On 8/1/2011 5:48 AM, Doug Freyburger wrote:
> Sqwertz wrote:
>>
>> You can't do ribs or carnitas using either method ...
>
> Ribs cooked in a pressure cooker are soft flavorful, but they are
> definitely not a BBQ style. Viewing them as a BBQ style isn't the way
> to go in this case. It's not a valid comparison. Ribs cooked with
> pressure are still ribs, though. BBQ is not the only way to cook ribs.

Cooking ribs twice by boiling and then baking is not a new idea - at
least I've had it prepared this way many times. I've done it myself.
I've never thought to pressure cook ribs because ribs are too bulky to
cook in the pressure cookers that I've had.

Braising and then frying is not a new idea either. I like to finish pork
abobo off by reducing the liquid until it starts to fry. Serving pork
adobo wet is also popular - it's the cook's choice. Portuguese vinho
d'alhos is also a braised pork dish that's finished off by frying - I
love that stuff!


>
> Carnitas is a specific cooking method that does not use a pressure
> cooker. Pork can be cooked in a pressure cooker to come out soft enough
> to pull. It can be delicious but again it's not the same thing and it
> is not a valid comparison. Pork cooked with pressure is still pork, but
> it's definitely not carnitas.
>
> Pressure cooking is a good way to soften tough meat. It works for cuts
> that started out tender but dry heat tends to bring out a better flavor.
> Pressure cooking fine tender meat works but it's a waste. I remember a
> scene from the movie Apocolypse Now:
>
> "I was a sous chef when I was as civilian so when they drafted me they
> made me a cook. They sent me to cook school. One time they had fifty
> pounds of the finest prime rib you ever saw. They put it in a giant
> kettle. I looked in there and I tell you it was turning gray. It was a
> sin." (the best I can remember).
>
> But pick a tough cut of most any meat and the pressure cooker will do a
> fine job on it. Turning a stewing chicken into pulled chicken anyone?
> Dice up a tough rump roast and make it into a very fast goulash anyone?
>
> Pressure cooking is a fast method. Sous vide is a slow method. It's
> like comparing a microwave and a crockpot with both turned into a fancy
> gourmet method.

Pressure Cooker vs Sous Vide
 

Sqwertz > wrote:

>True carnitas need to be crispy chewy on the outside and tender juicy
>on the inside. Can't be accomplished with a residential pressure
>cooker, IMO.

There are approaches for carnitas where the whole pork shoulder
is deep-fried rather than braised or pressure-cooked. In fact
I thought that was the more common approach.

Steve

Pressure Cooker vs Sous Vide
 

On Jul 31, 9:41*pm, Sqwertz > wrote:
> On Sun, 31 Jul 2011 16:30:06 -0700, Malcom "Mal" Reynolds wrote:
> > In article >, Sqwertz >
> > wrote:
>
> >> On Sun, 31 Jul 2011 12:17:46 -0700, Malcom "Mal" Reynolds wrote:
>
> >>> I'm trying to expand my culinary boundaries and Sous Vide interested me,
> >>> but
> >>> it's so time consuming and there are the consumables to consider. I started
> >>> thinking about pressure cooker cooking as a possible means to expand into
> >>> things
> >>> that either take too long or I never get right. I've seen some interesting
> >>> recipes for ribs and carnitas but was wondering if anyone has
> >>> advice/suggestions
> >>> or nice family recipes
>
> >> You can't do ribs or carnitas using either method (unless you're deep
> >> frying carnitas in your pressure cooker, which is a safety issue).
>
> >> I say just learn to cook better suing your stove and oven.
>
> >> -sw
>
> > This person would disagree about the ribs
>
> >http://www.paulstravelpictures.com/P...k-Ribs-Recipe/
>
> Cooked in Kraft BBQ sauce in a pressure cooker. *Screw that. I'll
> pass, thank you.
>
> Just like I said.
>
> -sw- Hide quoted text -
>
> - Show quoted text -

If you check out QVC and HSN's web sites do a search there for
pressure cookers.
They have many different brands and the electric cookers are great.
You set the time and
everything is automatic. Nothing dangerous about these newer
cookers.
You can watch the videos on those web sites to see how to use them.

I've been using pressure cookers since 1947. I received one for a
wedding gift.
I had no idea what it was so I read the directions and have been using
them since.
I love the foods cooked in them. The flavors of each food blend
together.

Once my crazy husband said he wanted to see what would happen if he
opened
one before the pressure was out. My oldest daughter at the time was
in a high chair
near the stove so I quickly grabbed her and went to another room.
Yes, he opened it and food was all over the walls and ceiling.
You can't open the new pressure cookers until all the pressure is
out.
They are very safe to use.

Lucille

Pressure Cooker vs Sous Vide
 

On Mon, 1 Aug 2011 14:08:41 -0500 in rec.food.cooking, Sqwertz
> wrote,
>True carnitas need to be crispy chewy on the outside and tender juicy
>on the inside.

Carnitas are cooked in two steps for just that reason.

>Can't be accomplished with a residential pressure cooker, IMO.

The first step can be, quite well.

Pressure Cooker vs Sous Vide
 

On Tue, 2 Aug 2011 03:53:05 -0700 (PDT), Lucille
> wrote:

> Once my crazy husband said he wanted to see what would happen if he
> opened
> one before the pressure was out. My oldest daughter at the time was
> in a high chair
> near the stove so I quickly grabbed her and went to another room.
> Yes, he opened it and food was all over the walls and ceiling.
> You can't open the new pressure cookers until all the pressure is
> out.
> They are very safe to use.

I hope you didn't get stuck cleaning up his mess.

--

Today's mighty oak is just yesterday's nut that held its ground.

Pressure Cooker vs Sous Vide
 

On Tue, 2 Aug 2011 10:50:12 -0500 in rec.food.cooking, Sqwertz
> wrote,
>I don't see any reason to break out the PC just for making carnitas.

No reason unless you are in a big hurry.

Or maybe if you are at 8000 feet elevation like notbob.