Pressure Cooker Recipes . . . 'Beyond Beans' !

[nomadic mama]

I realized recently that when many boaters get pressure cookers for the galley, the first thing they learn how to cook in them is beans. That- and 12 minute brown rice (mmmmmm) are definitely one of the great benefits of using a pressure cooker, but there is so much more! It's taken me a little time to get the hang of it, but after two years of cruising (and another year using the PC back at our home port) I've got some favorites down. I thought I'd share them here.

What are some of YOUR favorite pressure cooker recipes?

Behan
S/V Totem Family

- Use to cook a whole chicken down to fork tenderness in a fraction of the time. It’s about 5 min per pound... this is an easy crowd/crew pleaser on Totem.

- “hunks of meat.” Doesn’t that sound appetizing? OK, seriously, it’s one of the things we used to do most, when we were stateside, and bought a side of beef annually. This worked well in Mexico too, where beef isn’t aged so tends to be tough. Start with a larger piece of a less tender cut. Have a bunch of sliced onions and a little water underneath. Season season season.Two favorites:
1) Pork shoulder makes great carnitas or shredded pork, we add achiote paste for lots of flavor.
2) Beef (stew meat, or almost anything really) with a chopped onion, some garlic, chili powder and a can of diced tomatoes. excellent for tacos, enchiladas, or comfort food sandwiches.

- Curries: we made a DELICIOUS (if I do say so myself) curry for a crowd at the Bora Bora Yacht Club this week, in our PC. Saute onions, add chopped veggies (we used sweet potatoes, carrots and green papaya- which cooks up *exactly* like squash, BTW) add coconut milk and green curry paste (get the good stuff before you leave home... we haven't seen any since San Diego). AFTER this is cooked (4-5 min under pressure), add the sliced fish, then just close the top and let it sit for a few minutes. Al dente veggies, perfectly-not-overdone fish, curry awesomeness.

- for Indian style curry: toast CURRY spices first in the dry PC, then add some oil, then sauté onions in that… once they’ve softened, add whatever you want in the curry (favorites for us: carrots, diced potatoes, sweet potatoes, plantain… good as a veggie dish, you could chicken). The kids love dressing up their servings with dollops of plain yogurt, sprinkle of unsweetened shredded coconut, chopped peanuts, raisins, etc.

- Teriyaki: sauté chopped onion… add some garlic, diced carrots, grated ginger (I cheat a lot on this count, powder is OK to sub)... put in thin sliced beef, add teriyaki sauce and any heat you want. we like a little sriricha. Our friends make this and put a can of beer in, but he’s also cooking that w/o a PC and so it reduces down, it might be too thin to cook in the PC that way. After it’s cooked, I thicken it up with cornstarch or a buerre manie (sp? Mush butter into flour, roughly equal parts, this helps it smoothly dissolve into the sauce and then the flour will cook & thicken it). Serve over rice. Kids love this with pineapple chunks cooked in… could probably do it with chicken as well.

- Bangers & Mash: pan fry sausages while you make mashed potatoes in the PC: use a trivet, add potatoes (quartered) and a little water underneath. Cook 8 or 10 min, depressurize, then put through a ricer. add milk and butter as desired (I seem to desire a lot of butter).

- The PC is fantastic for easy stock. Not as rich as the stuff I would simmer stovetop for hours, but good and gets it done.

- Make a faster sauce for pasta… saute onions, ground meat if you want, add veggies and tomato sauce, then cook it up while a 2nd pot boils water for noodles.

- Chicken soup: sauté onions/celery/carrots, add uncooked chicken parts, brown them then add stock, herbs, and cook under pressure
- pull out chicken to dice up and return to the pot, while you’re doing that, put noodles in and they should cook in the residual heat of the soup.
- Another chicken recipe: brown chicken parts, set aside. Sauté onion, add garlic, add bell peppers and celery
- add some white wine, large can of diced tomatoes, some tomato paste, sliced mushrooms (if you want) and herbs (oregano, fennel seeds, thyme, pinch of red pepper flakes… secret awesome addition: grated orange zest)
- return chicken, then cook under pressure til it’s done. Great with pasta.

- I’ve heard that pressure cookers are the best way to make risotto- and by a friend from Italy, so I believe it! We’ve not tried that though… we haven’t seen much besides long grain white rice since we left the US anyway.

- Beans: OK, OK... they had to come up eventually, right? Just to share my most favorite, though. Our family has been on a garbanzo kick lately. Lightly salted, the kids eat em like popcorn. You really can't beat that for a healthy snack!

[SaucySailoress]

I have seen loads of recipes for pressure cookers - so I figure it's time to get one. Who can reciommend a good brand.

[rebel heart]

Originally Posted by Aaza Dana

I have seen loads of recipes for pressure cookers - so I figure it's time to get one. Who can reciommend a good brand.

Get the 4 quart!

[Auspicious]

I have a 5l Kuhn Rikon. It does indeed do a good job on risotto.

My contribution:

Meadle a la Auspicious


Meadle is the name my Mom gave a stove-top casserole we often had when I was a child to help stretch meat. The proportions of pasta to meat are pretty forgiving and subject to adjustment based on how much of the other ingredients you have and how many people you are trying to feed. I adapted it for my pressure cooker. This recipe feeds me for two or three meals, sometimes four, depending on how hungry I am and what else I make. It scales up easily, just don’t overload your pressure cooker.


1 cup uncooked pasta (any small pasta shape works well)
½ lb ground beef (I prefer lean)
2 cloves of garlic, minced or 1 tsp prepared crushed garlic
1 medium onion
3 or 4 small to medium tomatoes
or
½ to ¾ of a 15 oz can of stewed, crushed, or chopped tomatoes
1 small to medium bell pepper
1 tsp oregano
salt & pepper


I usually make meadle with elbow macaroni. Rustle through your vegetables and pitch in whatever is about to go bad. Hot peppers, carrots, celery, and cauliflower work well. Mushrooms tend to disintegrate, but leftover cooked mushrooms or canned mushrooms added after cooking work well.


In a 4-quart or larger pressure cooker, brown ground beef over medium heat until it crumbles. Pour off the drippings. Stir in the rest of the ingredients. Add the pasta and just enough water (or stock) to barely cover the pasta. Lock the lid in place. Bring to 15psi over high heat, immediately reduce the heat to the lowest possible setting to stabilize and maintain that pressure. Cook 6-8 minutes. Remove from heat and use the natural release method (if you are patient *grin*) before opening the lid. Transfer to a serving dish. You can sprinkle your choice of cheese over top (feta is great, parmesan is good as well).


This dish keeps pretty well, and if sealed in bags with a vacuum sealer can be reheated in the bag in boiling water (even boiling sea water) so you won’t make another pot dirty.

[SaltyMonkey]

Hey all. I appreciate this thread. I have a pressure cooker and never used it because I couldn't figure out how to use it or didn't want to because there was nothing I wanted to cook in it!

PS: Im afraid my pressure cooker would blow up taking my arm off and sinking the boat.

[inSanity]

Been using a pressure cooker at home for a couple of years now. Love the darned thing. I can make stews and soups that taste like they've been simmering all day, all in about 30 minutes time.

Will try out some of the recipes here. Haven't even thought about using pressure cooker on my boat, but WTH!!!!

[Lodesman]

You can make a reasonable facsimile of Kentucky Fried Chicken - with two added benefits: 1) you can omit the MSG if you choose to; and
2) you can use real chicken

See here: Original Recipe Kentucky Fried Chicken

We like our Fagor cooker/canner - it's fool-proof and stainless ++

[FlyWright]

Are you folks using the new electric digital PCs or the old style stove-top models? We have been using the new digital Cuissanart 6Qt model and absolutely love it.

Makes the best pork shoulder roast with a cup of apple cider and 50 minutes of high pressure/quick release. Applesauce with 4-8 peeled and cored apples, cinnamon and sugar to taste in 5 minutes. Can't beat it.

Also great pulled pork or BBQ beef in diluted BBQ sauce.

[inSanity]

Yumm.

I use an old fashioned pressure cooker, no guage.

[Auspicious]

No electric PC on the boat -- watch the red rings on the plunger of my KR PC.

[Lodesman]

We've done Cola Ham in the slow cooker and the traditional method. We'll give it a go in the PC next time - should work out: How to Cook a Ham in a Pressure Cooker Cooking a Ham

[SaucySailoress]

Originally Posted by rebel heart

Get the 4 quart!

Why?? We were thinking a 2 litre one would be OK for just the two of us...

Hey and I just found out that 1 quart is 0.9l!!!

[Minggat]

We saw one at the boat show and bought it. Sure we paid way too much. my Asian wife only uses ti for beef ribs so far. Which after cooking, she then BBQs. good stuff.

[FlyWright]

Mine says to only fill half full, leaving 1/2 airspace for the pressure. I have a 6 Qt that is sometimes small for a large meal for 4 or 5.

[Trox]

I don't have a pressure cooker, but am thinking of getting one. Is a 6 qt too big for the boat propane stove? What size does everyone have?