Pressure cooker recipes

[boxermom]

I just bought a pressure cooker at a garage sale for $2.50. I looked up how to use it and tried my first meal last night. Spareribs and saurkraut. It was delicious! I couldn't believe that it only took 20 minutes after the browning. Do any of you use a pressure cooker to cook meals? If so, do you have favorite recipes to share? I don't use the crockpot very often, because I don't plan ahead very well.

 

[Carolyn]

I used to use mine a lot when I was working and my kids were home. Here are some things we liked.

Roast Beef with veggies:
Season, flour beef roast. Remove rack and heat oil in PC pan, brown meat on each side. Remove meat and replace rack. Put roast at bottom, then put carrots, potaoes, onions, whole or very large pieces. I used oregano, 1 bay leaf, salt and pepper, garlic powder (or a crushed clove). Add about 1 to 2 cups water. Cook until done*. Add a little evap milk and cornstarch dissolved in water and a dash of soy sauce to make gravey after you remove meat and veggies. Stir until thickened, add more salt and pepper if needed.
*Cook until done (you will need to look up a time chart if you don't have one). In less than 1 hour you have a feast that seems like it took hours.

Deer or Beef stew

Prepared much the same way except cut the meat and veggies in smaller pieces. Add more water to make more gravey. This one cooks very quickly.

Meat with Spanish rice

I have used round or other lean steak, chicken, and pork steaks or chops for this. It would be great with brown rice but I didn't cook with brown then.

Rice, the amount you want, water as directed on package minus 1 cup. Add canned tomatoes (pint), chopped onion and pepper bell or chili (you could use the rotel tomatoes). I usually add a little cumin, garlic and chili powder, pepper and enough salt to cook the rice.
Salt and pepper meat and place on top. Cook until done.

 

[peeplessinNC]

I love my Presto 4 qt. stainless cooker! Made pinto beans with a ham hock in it recently and the beans were perfect. Here are some favorite recipes:


Cajun Red Beans & Rice (25 minutes) Serves 4 to 6

1/2 pound (1 cup) dried red beans
2 cups water
11/2-2 pound ham hock
4 celery ribs, finely chopped
1 medium onion, peeled and finely chopped
1 green bell pepper, stemmed, cored and finely chopped
3 bay leaves
1 teaspoon white pepper
1 teaspoon dried thyme
3/4 teaspoon garlic powder
1/2 teaspoon cayenne
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
11/2 teaspoons Tabasco sauce
1/2 pound sausage

Wash, sort and soak beans overnight. In a 4-quart or larger pressure cooker, add soaked, drained beans, water, celery, onion, green bell pepper, bay leaves, white pepper, dried thyme, garlic powder, cayenne, black pepper and Tabasco sauce. Allow ingredients to come to a boil, stirring often. Add ham hock. Close lid and bring pressure to (high). Adjust heat to maintain pressure. Cook for 10 minutes. Remove from heat and use natural release. Remove ham hock and let cool.

While ham hock is cooling, slice sausage into 1/4-inch pieces and brown in a skillet. Remove ham from bone. Add sausage and ham to the bean mixture. Close lid and bring pressure up. Adjust heat to stabilize pressure. Cook for 10 minutes. Remove from heat, natural release. Discard bay leaves. Serve over white rice.

Country Pork Ribs and Sauerkraut ~ Pressure Cooker

1 1/2 to 2 lbs. pork country-style ribs, trimmed of extra fat, cut into 3-4 inch pieces
oil – a drizzle to brown the ribs
1 large clove garlic, minced
1/2 large onion, sliced
2 cups sauerkraut - drain and save the liquid from the sauerkraut
1 TB brown sugar
1/2 t. salt
freshly ground black pepper
1-2 med. to large Yukon Gold potatoes, peeled cut in 4 pieces
1 large carrot, peel cut into 2-inch pieces
1/2 t. dried thyme
1/2 cup sauerkraut juice - saved from draining the sauerkraut
1/2 cup apple juice or apple cider
1/2 cup water

The ribs are browned in the heated PC in just a little olive oil. Then add garlic and onion on top of the meat. Mix sauerkraut, brown sugar, salt and pepper in a bowl and pour over ribs in pot. Push the potato and carrot pieces down into the sauerkraut and added a sprinkle of dried thyme. Add liquids to pot.
Put on the lid, put on the temperature gauge and turned up the heat to medium high. After the gauge begins to rock, turn down the heat to low and set timer for 15 minutes. I stayed in the kitchen to be sure the gauge was kept gently rocking on a very low flame (gas stove).
After 15 minutes, cut off the flame on the stove and let the pot sit for 3 minutes. Carefully carry the pot to the sink and turn on the tap for a slow drizzle of water over the pot. When the handle lock latch and the over-pressure vent go down, it is safe to open the pot and enjoy the aromas.

 

[BettyR]

I use mine a LOT!! Here are a few of the things I make most.

Vegetable Beef Soup

2 pounds of stew meat
1 large onion, chopped
1 large bell pepper, chopped
1/2 pound baby carrots
1 can whole kernel corn – including liquid
1 can cut green beans – including liquid
1- 14 ounce can tomatoes, chopped
1 can undiluted Campbell’s tomato soup
1- tablespoon beef bullion
1-tablespoon garlic salt
just enough water to cover all

2 pounds red potatoes (scrubbed and chopped into bite size pieces)

Place all ingredients, -(except the potatoes)- into a pressure cooker. Bring to pressure and cook for 15 minutes...turn fire off and let pot sit for 30 minutes. Release any pressure if there is any left and open the pot and add the potatoes, bring the pot back up to pressure and cook foe 3 minutes...release pressure....soup is ready.

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Chilli

Pick and wash 1 pound of red or pinto beans. Place washed beans in pressure cooker with 8 cups of water. Bring up to pressure and cook for 15 minutes...turn fire off under pan and let them sit for 30 minutes. Release any pressure left and drain the beans.

Then make your chili, add your beans and simmer for 30 minutes.

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Pot Roast

Brown roast well on all sides, season with onion powder, garlic powder, salt and pepper. Add a 1 quart carton of beef broth...bring to pressure and cook for 50 minutes for a 3 pound roast. Let the pressure drop naturally. remove roast from the pot and use the broth to make your gravy.

 

[peeplessinNC]

Pressure cooking tips:

If your recipe calls for tomato products, i.e. catsup, diced tomatoes, tomato sauce, etc., add the tomato ingredient lastly over top all the other ingredients in the dish, and DO NOT STIR to distribute the tomatoes, but put the lid on and pressure cook. Unless you have a lot of water or broth in the pot, the tomatoes can burn on the bottom. Adding them in but not stirring helps to prevent the possibility of the tomatoes burning. After cooking, when pressure is released, open the lid and give everything a good stir.

Brown rice is so much quicker in the pressure cooker! I cook 2 cups with the amount of water indicated in my Presto manual and a pat of butter in 12 minutes or so, cool it, then pack in freezer zip bags and freeze. You can do the same with barley or other grains.

When you want to pressure cook a recipe but don't know how long to time it, check your manual for the time of the food item that is most similar to the food in your recipe. For example, you want to make a pork stew with cubes of pork, so check the time for the cubes of beef in a beef stew recipe in your manual.

Natural release of the pressure = turn off heat when time is up, let pot sit until it cools down and all the pressure is out of the pot (usually 15 minutes or so for my 4 qt. PC) - do not remove lid until pressure indicators are down and lid can safely be removed.

Quick release = when cooking time is up, carefully (with pot holders!) carry pot to your (empty!) sink, set pot in sink, turn on a small drizzle of cool water to run over the lid and down the sides of the pot. After a few minutes of cooling the pot with a thin drizzle of water, the pressure will be gone, the pressure indicators will go down and the lid can safely be removed.

I grew up with my mom cooking wonderful meals in her 1946 Presto cooker that they received as a wedding present!

 

[boxermom]

Thank you all! These wound wonderful. Can't wait to try them!