I just bought a pressure cooker and tried out my first pressure cooked
food last night. It was a pleasure to use and the braised short rib
came out very nicely in an amazingly short time . I used a recipe found
in Lorna Sass cook book. Does anyone in this forum use a pressure
cooker in their daily cooking? Want to share any good recipes? The
cooker that I bought is a 12L Kuhn Rikon Hotel cooker. My original
intention was to get a big size to make beef and chicken stock. I am so
please with this cooker and I will try out their 5L flypan very soon.

-Mikey

Mikey > wrote in :

> I just bought a pressure cooker and tried out my first pressure cooked
> food last night. It was a pleasure to use and the braised short rib
> came out very nicely in an amazingly short time . I used a recipe
> found in Lorna Sass cook book. Does anyone in this forum use a
> pressure cooker in their daily cooking? Want to share any good
> recipes? The cooker that I bought is a 12L Kuhn Rikon Hotel cooker.
> My original intention was to get a big size to make beef and chicken
> stock. I am so please with this cooker and I will try out their 5L
> flypan very soon.
>
> -Mikey
>

I've been using a pressure cooker on a regular basis for years. My now
wife says she decided to keep me when I showed up at her apartment with
a present of a pressure cooker and taught her how to use it.

Apart from the large soups and stews in half an hour, it is a real boon
for the little things as well.

Give baking potatoes 10 minutes in the pressure cooker and 10 minutes in
the oven to crispen the outside a bit and they're done, otherwise it's
an hour in the oven.

Artichokes are done in 10-11 minutes, not half an hour, beetroot in 8-15
minutes, depending on size.

Of course, if you there's a hint of a cold in the house, you need
chicken soup in a hurry.

Cut up a chicken, an onion, a carrot, and a couple of celery stalks and
throw them in the pressure cooker, along with a hot pepper or two and a
cubic inch of ginger and a few cloves of garlic, minced. Add a handful
of rice, salt, and pepper, water to cover (taking care not to come
closer than an inch to the top of the pot), bang on the lid, bring it up
to pressure and cook it for 15 minutes. MMHMM!

Mark P. Nelson

Mark P. Nelson wrote:
> Mikey > wrote in :
>
>
>>I just bought a pressure cooker and tried out my first pressure cooked
>>food last night. It was a pleasure to use and the braised short rib
>>came out very nicely in an amazingly short time . I used a recipe
>>found in Lorna Sass cook book. Does anyone in this forum use a
>>pressure cooker in their daily cooking? Want to share any good
>>recipes? The cooker that I bought is a 12L Kuhn Rikon Hotel cooker.
>>My original intention was to get a big size to make beef and chicken
>>stock. I am so please with this cooker and I will try out their 5L
>>flypan very soon.
>>
>>-Mikey
>>
>
>
> I've been using a pressure cooker on a regular basis for years. My now
> wife says she decided to keep me when I showed up at her apartment with
> a present of a pressure cooker and taught her how to use it.
>
> Apart from the large soups and stews in half an hour, it is a real boon
> for the little things as well.
>
> Give baking potatoes 10 minutes in the pressure cooker and 10 minutes in
> the oven to crispen the outside a bit and they're done, otherwise it's
> an hour in the oven.
>
> Artichokes are done in 10-11 minutes, not half an hour, beetroot in 8-15
> minutes, depending on size.
>
> Of course, if you there's a hint of a cold in the house, you need
> chicken soup in a hurry.
>
> Cut up a chicken, an onion, a carrot, and a couple of celery stalks and
> throw them in the pressure cooker, along with a hot pepper or two and a
> cubic inch of ginger and a few cloves of garlic, minced. Add a handful
> of rice, salt, and pepper, water to cover (taking care not to come
> closer than an inch to the top of the pot), bang on the lid, bring it up
> to pressure and cook it for 15 minutes. MMHMM!
>
> Mark P. Nelson
>
I love how I can put the trimmings of things in to make stock while I
chop, saute, etc. and the stock gets added to the soup or stew I was
chopping the food for. Add an inch of ginger per 1/2 gallon to make the
stock lively without a ginger flavour.
Also, google groups for "cult of the pressure cooker".
blacksalt

>Of course, if you there's a hint of a cold in the house, you need
>chicken soup in a hurry.

Thanks for this tip. I've just been wondering about chicken soup in a
PC. But does the fat and scum get all infused into the broth? Can it be
separated or skimmed off? I learned somewhere that you're supposed to
cook a chicken stock on very low heat because a high boil will disperse
the fat particles throughout the liquid, making it impossible to skim.
NOt that I need my stock to be fat free (I don't) but you do want to
skim some of the schmaltz off.

And doesn't the scum and/or rice clog up the valve? Is it okay to put
in a bay leaf or would that also possibly block the valve?

Leila - worry wart

In article . com>,
"Leila" > wrote:

> >Of course, if you there's a hint of a cold in the house, you need
> >chicken soup in a hurry.
>
> Thanks for this tip. I've just been wondering about chicken soup in a
> PC. But does the fat and scum get all infused into the broth? Can it be
> separated or skimmed off? I learned somewhere that you're supposed to
> cook a chicken stock on very low heat because a high boil will disperse
> the fat particles throughout the liquid, making it impossible to skim.
> NOt that I need my stock to be fat free (I don't) but you do want to
> skim some of the schmaltz off.
>
> And doesn't the scum and/or rice clog up the valve? Is it okay to put
> in a bay leaf or would that also possibly block the valve?
>
> Leila - worry wart
>

Leila, I don't usually do chicken stock in the pressure cooker because I
make way more in my Demeyere kettle than the capacity of the pressure
pan, but I do beef stock/broth all the time. I cook it (with bay leaf,
peppercorns, some salt, maybe some onion) and then strain to get the
liquid -- I toss all but the meat and chill the broth before removing
the hardened fat. As far as chicken soup and fat dispersion, when the
stuff is cold, the fat rises for easy removal. HTH.
--
-Barb, <http://www.jamlady.eboard.com> Arizona vacation pics added 3-24-05.
"I read recipes the way I read science fiction: I get to the end and
say,'Well, that's not going to happen.'" - Comedian Rita Rudner,
performance at New York, New York, January 10, 2005.

Melba's Jammin' wrote:

> In article . com>,
> "Leila" > wrote:
>
>
>>>Of course, if you there's a hint of a cold in the house, you need
>>>chicken soup in a hurry.
>>
>>Thanks for this tip. I've just been wondering about chicken soup in a
>>PC. But does the fat and scum get all infused into the broth? Can it be
>>separated or skimmed off? I learned somewhere that you're supposed to
>>cook a chicken stock on very low heat because a high boil will disperse
>>the fat particles throughout the liquid, making it impossible to skim.
>>NOt that I need my stock to be fat free (I don't) but you do want to
>>skim some of the schmaltz off.
>>
>>And doesn't the scum and/or rice clog up the valve? Is it okay to put
>>in a bay leaf or would that also possibly block the valve?
>>
>>Leila - worry wart
>>
>
>
> Leila, I don't usually do chicken stock in the pressure cooker because I
> make way more in my Demeyere kettle than the capacity of the pressure
> pan, but I do beef stock/broth all the time. I cook it (with bay leaf,
> peppercorns, some salt, maybe some onion) and then strain to get the
> liquid -- I toss all but the meat and chill the broth before removing
> the hardened fat. As far as chicken soup and fat dispersion, when the
> stuff is cold, the fat rises for easy removal. HTH.


You've never made chicken stock in your 20-something quart pressure
canner? Ten pound bag of chicken hindquarters, a handful off bay leaves
and peppercorns, 1 yellow onion, halved (do not peel the papery skin
off), 1 carrot, 1 whole clove. Some parsley if you got it. Water to
cover. Pressure cook for a long time. Use the meat to make chicken
salad or tamales, cuz it's not good for much else after that.

Someday I'll try pressing some of the overcooked chicken meat into a
loaf to slice for sandwiches.

Bob

Thanks Barb for the helpful advice.

I read somewhere (maybe here?) that Indian folk, i.e. from India, cook
in enormous pressure cookers, like our canners. They stack different
dishes in separate containers so they can have their rice, their entree
and their side dish cooked all together. Anybody have more info about
this?

Leila

Leila wrote:
> Thanks Barb for the helpful advice.
>
> I read somewhere (maybe here?) that Indian folk, i.e. from India,
cook
> in enormous pressure cookers, like our canners. They stack different
> dishes in separate containers so they can have their rice, their
entree
> and their side dish cooked all together. Anybody have more info about
> this?
>
> Leila

I don't have any info about pressure cooker use in India, but here is
an interesting website that has Indian Microwave Recipes:

http://www.indianmirror.com/cuisine/cus3.html


Rusty

Leila wrote:
>>Of course, if you there's a hint of a cold in the house, you need
>>chicken soup in a hurry.
>
>
> Thanks for this tip. I've just been wondering about chicken soup in a
> PC. But does the fat and scum get all infused into the broth? Can it be
> separated or skimmed off? I learned somewhere that you're supposed to
> cook a chicken stock on very low heat because a high boil will disperse
> the fat particles throughout the liquid, making it impossible to skim.
> NOt that I need my stock to be fat free (I don't) but you do want to
> skim some of the schmaltz off.
>
> And doesn't the scum and/or rice clog up the valve? Is it okay to put
> in a bay leaf or would that also possibly block the valve?
>
> Leila - worry wart
>


The liquid just simmers in a pressure cooker, it doesn't boil hard once
you get it up to pressure and turn the heat down. I've never tried to
make a *clear* broth, as for chinese soups, but the fat all rises to the
top just fine.

I wouldn't put the rice in until I was through pressurizing everything
cuz I don't want the rice overcooked that much. How is the bay leaf
going to get to the valve? (it will be just fine.) If you are still
worries about it, just use 1 bay leaf. It won't be big enough to block
both the pressure regulator and the emergency blowout plug. :-)

Just fill the cooker half-way, or maybe a little more but not much.
Less than half if you are cooking split peas or other stuff that could
really foam up a lot.

Best regards,
Bob

"Leila" > wrote in news:1111991628.059245.49900
@f14g2000cwb.googlegroups.com:

> I learned somewhere that you're supposed to
> cook a chicken stock on very low heat because a high boil will disperse
> the fat particles throughout the liquid, making it impossible to skim.
> NOt that I need my stock to be fat free (I don't) but you do want to
> skim some of the schmaltz off.
>
> And doesn't the scum and/or rice clog up the valve? Is it okay to put
> in a bay leaf or would that also possibly block the valve?
>

The fat rises to the surface long before the soup is cool enough to eat.

If you only put half a cup of rice in and leave an inch or so of freeboard,
I've never had a problem.

Even 2 bay leaves would be just fine!

Mark P. Nelson

--
While I'll admit that anyone can make a mistake once, to go on making the
same lethal errors century after century seems to me nothing short of
deliberate.--V.

In article >, "Mark P. Nelson"
> wrote:
(snip)
> Add a handful
> of rice, salt, and pepper, water to cover (taking care not to come
> closer than an inch to the top of the pot), bang on the lid, bring it up
> to pressure and cook it for 15 minutes. MMHMM!

> Mark P. Nelson

Whoa! An inch from the top? My instruction manual (Presto - maybe
20-25 years old) says to fill the pressure pan no more than 2/3 full -
and there's a mark on the side of the pan at that level, as well.
--
-Barb, <http://www.jamlady.eboard.com> Arizona vacation pics added 3-24-05.
"I read recipes the way I read science fiction: I get to the end and
say,'Well, that's not going to happen.'" - Comedian Rita Rudner,
performance at New York, New York, January 10, 2005.

Melba's Jammin' > wrote in news:thisisbogus-
:

>
> Whoa! An inch from the top? My instruction manual (Presto - maybe
> 20-25 years old) says to fill the pressure pan no more than 2/3 full -
> and there's a mark on the side of the pan at that level, as well.

I'm sure it says that in my books too, but I have been using the things for
about 25 years and never had a problem.

Mark P. Nelson wrote:

> Mikey > wrote in :
>
>
>>I just bought a pressure cooker and tried out my first pressure cooked
>>food last night. It was a pleasure to use and the braised short rib
>>came out very nicely in an amazingly short time . I used a recipe
>>found in Lorna Sass cook book. Does anyone in this forum use a
>>pressure cooker in their daily cooking? Want to share any good
>>recipes? The cooker that I bought is a 12L Kuhn Rikon Hotel cooker.
>>My original intention was to get a big size to make beef and chicken
>>stock. I am so please with this cooker and I will try out their 5L
>>flypan very soon.
>>
>>-Mikey
>>
>
>
> I've been using a pressure cooker on a regular basis for years. My now
> wife says she decided to keep me when I showed up at her apartment with
> a present of a pressure cooker and taught her how to use it.
>
> Apart from the large soups and stews in half an hour, it is a real boon
> for the little things as well.
>
> Give baking potatoes 10 minutes in the pressure cooker and 10 minutes in
> the oven to crispen the outside a bit and they're done, otherwise it's
> an hour in the oven.

I'm curious about this way of cooking potatoes. Are the potatoes on a
rack in the pressure cooker? How do they compare with potatoes baked in
the oven? TIA

>
> Artichokes are done in 10-11 minutes, not half an hour, beetroot in 8-15
> minutes, depending on size.
>
> Of course, if you there's a hint of a cold in the house, you need
> chicken soup in a hurry.
>
> Cut up a chicken, an onion, a carrot, and a couple of celery stalks and
> throw them in the pressure cooker, along with a hot pepper or two and a
> cubic inch of ginger and a few cloves of garlic, minced. Add a handful
> of rice, salt, and pepper, water to cover (taking care not to come
> closer than an inch to the top of the pot), bang on the lid, bring it up
> to pressure and cook it for 15 minutes. MMHMM!
>
> Mark P. Nelson
>

Serendipity > wrote in news:114hdp764j3us06
@corp.supernews.com:

> Mark P. Nelson wrote:
>>
>> Give baking potatoes 10 minutes in the pressure cooker and 10 minutes in
>> the oven to crispen the outside a bit and they're done, otherwise it's
>> an hour in the oven.
>
> I'm curious about this way of cooking potatoes. Are the potatoes on a
> rack in the pressure cooker? How do they compare with potatoes baked in
> the oven? TIA
>

Yes, put the potatoes on a steamer rack and pressure cook them for 10-15
minutes, depending on their size. Cool the cooker and put the potatoes in
a pre-heated oven (425F or so) for 10 minutes to dry out and crisp up the
skins a little. They are not quite the same texture as potatoes baked
their full time in the oven, tasting a little more like boiled than baked,
but with butter and chives or sour cream they're really good and take half
the cooking time.

Mark P. Nelson

--
While I'll admit that anyone can make a mistake once, to go on making the
same lethal errors century after century seems to me nothing short of
deliberate.--V.

On Mon, 28 Mar 2005 11:43:36 -0500, Serendipity >
wrote:

>> I've been using a pressure cooker on a regular basis for years. My now
>> wife says she decided to keep me when I showed up at her apartment with
>> a present of a pressure cooker and taught her how to use it.
>>
>> Apart from the large soups and stews in half an hour, it is a real boon
>> for the little things as well.
>>
>> Give baking potatoes 10 minutes in the pressure cooker and 10 minutes in
>> the oven to crispen the outside a bit and they're done, otherwise it's
>> an hour in the oven.
>
>I'm curious about this way of cooking potatoes. Are the potatoes on a
>rack in the pressure cooker? How do they compare with potatoes baked in
>the oven? TIA

it's amazing how easy it is to cook potatoes in the microwave oven...

Bill

On Thu 31 Mar 2005 02:32:34a, Bill wrote in rec.food.cooking:

> On Mon, 28 Mar 2005 11:43:36 -0500, Serendipity >
> wrote:
>
>>> I've been using a pressure cooker on a regular basis for years. My
>>> now wife says she decided to keep me when I showed up at her apartment
>>> with a present of a pressure cooker and taught her how to use it.
>>>
>>> Apart from the large soups and stews in half an hour, it is a real
>>> boon for the little things as well.
>>>
>>> Give baking potatoes 10 minutes in the pressure cooker and 10 minutes
>>> in the oven to crispen the outside a bit and they're done, otherwise
>>> it's an hour in the oven.
>>
>>I'm curious about this way of cooking potatoes. Are the potatoes on a
>>rack in the pressure cooker? How do they compare with potatoes baked in
>>the oven? TIA
>
> it's amazing how easy it is to cook potatoes in the microwave oven...
>
> Bill

"Cooked" potatoes, yes, but hardly a resemblance to a "baked" potato. The
same goes for potatoes cooked in a pressure cooker. No amount of
"crisping" a potato cooked in either m/w or p/c equates to the taste and
texture of a truly baked potato.

--
Wayne Boatwright
____________________________________________

Give me a smart idiot over a stupid genius any day.
Sam Goldwyn, 1882-1974

On 31 Mar 2005 11:40:18 +0200, Wayne Boatwright
> wrote:

>On Thu 31 Mar 2005 02:32:34a, Bill wrote in rec.food.cooking:
>
>> On Mon, 28 Mar 2005 11:43:36 -0500, Serendipity >
>> wrote:
>>
>>>> I've been using a pressure cooker on a regular basis for years. My
>>>> now wife says she decided to keep me when I showed up at her apartment
>>>> with a present of a pressure cooker and taught her how to use it.
>>>>
>>>> Apart from the large soups and stews in half an hour, it is a real
>>>> boon for the little things as well.
>>>>
>>>> Give baking potatoes 10 minutes in the pressure cooker and 10 minutes
>>>> in the oven to crispen the outside a bit and they're done, otherwise
>>>> it's an hour in the oven.
>>>
>>>I'm curious about this way of cooking potatoes. Are the potatoes on a
>>>rack in the pressure cooker? How do they compare with potatoes baked in
>>>the oven? TIA
>>
>> it's amazing how easy it is to cook potatoes in the microwave oven...
>>
>> Bill
>
>"Cooked" potatoes, yes, but hardly a resemblance to a "baked" potato. The
>same goes for potatoes cooked in a pressure cooker. No amount of
>"crisping" a potato cooked in either m/w or p/c equates to the taste and
>texture of a truly baked potato.


My opinion exactly. Some things just aren't worth the time saved.

Mikey wrote:
> I just bought a pressure cooker and tried out my first pressure cooked
> food last night. It was a pleasure to use and the braised short rib
> came out very nicely in an amazingly short time . I used a recipe found
> in Lorna Sass cook book. Does anyone in this forum use a pressure
> cooker in their daily cooking? Want to share any good recipes? The
> cooker that I bought is a 12L Kuhn Rikon Hotel cooker. My original
> intention was to get a big size to make beef and chicken stock. I am so
> please with this cooker and I will try out their 5L flypan very soon.
>
> -Mikey

I encourage you to try every recipe in her books you can. She has two
just for PC's.
Try goat curry in the PC. I use the recipe on Penzey's Rogan Josh spice,
adding diced potato the last 20 minutes. It is always a hit. If the goat
is cut on a bandsaw, fish out the shards before serving.
There are many goat curry recipes on the net. Or, see if you can get
some real live mutton.
blacksalt

Thanks to those who recommended Lorna Sass' books on pressure cooking.
I've requested three of them from the local library and I may end up
buying one.

Here's a Lorna Sass recipe found on the internet (at about.com I
think):

Chicken Gumbo (Pressure Cooker)
The author says: "Here's my streamlined version of the traditional
Louisiana gumbo. The okra-gumbo is the African name for this
vegetable-becomes meltingly soft and thickens the stew while the
andouille sausage gives it fire and smoke. If you can't locate this
type of sausage, use the best smoked sausage you can find and make the
gumbo chili-hot by seasoning with Tabasco sauce after cooking. There's
plenty of sauce, so serve the gumbo over rice."
Cooking Times:
4 or 12 minutes high pressure
3 minutes additional cooking

Ingredients

1/2 pound andouille or other smoked sausage, cut into 1/4-inch slices
1 tablespoon olive oil (optional)
4 scallions, thinly sliced (keep white and green parts separate)
1 cup chicken broth
1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
1 teaspoon dried thyme leaves
2 large bay leaves
2 large ribs celery, cut into 1/2-inch slices
1 large green bell pepper, seeded and diced
3/4 pound fresh okra, trimmed and cut into 1-inch chunks, or one
10-ounce package frozen sliced okra (rinse away any ice crystals; (see
Tip below)
3 pounds chicken thighs, skinned and well trimmed, or 2-1/2 pounds
boneless, skinless chicken, cut into 1 -inch pieces
One 15-ounce can diced tomatoes, or stewed whole tomatoes, coarsely
chopped, with liquid
1 to 2 cloves garlic, pushed through a press
1 to 2 tablespoons fil=E9 powder, cornmeal, or quick-cooking polenta
(optional)
Salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley
Tabasco sauce

Heat the cooker over medium-high heat, and brown the sausage well on
both sides, 4 to 5 minutes. Add olive oil, if needed, to prevent
sticking. Set the sausage aside. If there is more than a thin film of
fat in the cooker, tip out the excess.

Over medium-high heat, cook the sliced scallion whites, stirring
frequently, for about 1 minute. Add the broth and take care to scrape
up any browned bits sticking to the bottom of the cooker. Add the
Worcestershire, thyme, bay leaves, celery, green pepper, okra, chicken,
and half of the browned sausage. Pour the tomatoes on top. Do not stir.


Lock the lid in place. Over high heat, bring to high pressure. Reduce
the heat just enough to maintain high pressure and cook for 4 minutes
for chopped boneless chicken or 12 minutes for whole thighs.
Quick-release the pressure. Remove the lid, tilting it away from you to
allow excess steam to escape.

Remove the bay leaves. Stir well as you add the reserved sausage and
garlic. If the stew is too thin, sprinkle on the fil=E9 or other
thickener while stirring. Bring to a boil, then lower the heat to
medium and simmer until the stew has thickened a bit and the garlic has
lost its raw edge, about 3 minutes. Add salt and pepper. Stir in the
scallion greens and parsley just before serving. Pass the Tabasco sauce
at the table.
Yield: 6 servings

Tip
If you can find only whole frozen okra, allow it to thaw slightly and
then cut into 1-inch chunks. If you 're an okra lover and have bought a
16-ounce package, feel free to use all of it.

Variations

Chicken Gumbo with Poultry Sausage
Instead of andouille, use a sliced smoked turkey or chicken sausage.
You'll probably need to use 1 to 2 tablespoons of oil for the browning
stage.

Chicken Creole
Omit the okra. Instead of sausage, use 1/2 pound smoked country ham,
cut into 1/2-inch cubes. Omit browning the ham and cook the scallion
whites in olive oil.

Cathy's Gumbo with Corn
My colleague, cookbook author Cathy Walthers, likes to add 1 cup fresh
or frozen corn kernels for the last minute or two of cooking. Although
not traditional, the corn adds great color and crunch

(end quoted recipe)
Leila

Mikey wrote:

> I just bought a pressure cooker and tried out my first pressure cooked
> food last night. It was a pleasure to use and the braised short rib
> came out very nicely in an amazingly short time . I used a recipe found
> in Lorna Sass cook book. Does anyone in this forum use a pressure
> cooker in their daily cooking? Want to share any good recipes? The
> cooker that I bought is a 12L Kuhn Rikon Hotel cooker. My original
> intention was to get a big size to make beef and chicken stock. I am so
> please with this cooker and I will try out their 5L flypan very soon.

I use a pressure cooker an average of twice a week for cooking and
during the canning season almost daily. I think they are great. I'm
not familiar with your brand but I think they all work about the same.
I have 2 cookers and one canner. For canning, I use approved recipes.
For cooking, I'm a little more creative.
>
> -Mikey

Mikey wrote:
> I just bought a pressure cooker and tried out my first pressure
cooked
> food last night. It was a pleasure to use and the braised short rib
> came out very nicely in an amazingly short time . I used a recipe
found
> in Lorna Sass cook book.

snip
> -Mikey

Because of this thread I requested 3 Lorna Sass PC cookbooks from the
library. The most recent one just arrived and I just don't see that
it's an improvement over the other two. I prefer the oldest one
actually but they're all worthwhile. The newest one does give a recipe
for lamb shanks with white beans. It also gives multiple variations for
each main recipe (she calls them transformations). She has simplified
techniques, as well - she no longer thinks it's worth it to brown meats
in most cases, although she has you brown the top of a whole chicken
before cooking it in a sauce of balsamic vinegar, tomato paste, stock,
and dried figs. Okay, so the latest book has some great recipes!

I made chicken legs with escarole, olives and raisins in a spicy tomato
sauce a couple of weeks ago for my MIL (From either the 1989 or the 99
book) and she was very impressed. The flavors were excellent.

Am cooking some brown rice right now - Sass has you cook rice in lots
of water and then drain. Her risotto recipes are tempting - and I must
say the latest of her books gives the most range of risotto recipes.

Leila