From the old board . . .

Posted by Sydney2

I saw this being talked about in another thread and had a question. I know my grandmother used one all the time and the meat was always very tender. I have no idea how to use one could some one explain? Please I am curious maybe I will go buy one for myself. I was always nervous about them because from what I do know you have to be careful and know what your doing is this true?

Posted by NancyB

Just don't be a dumbass and follow the instructions.
About the only thing that can go wrong is if you let it get too full of pressure and the safety valve releases... it will blow the contents all over.
It's never happened to me. I rarely use mine anymore...I don't know why really

Posted by charlottesweb

Don't take the lid off untill the pressure has gone completely down..
I always put mine in the kitchen sink and run cold water over the lid just as a precaution before I take the lid off..
As Nancy said just follow the instructions and you'll do ok.
I've never had a mishap with mine....I don't cook with mine much anymore either.
I do pressure my stew meat before I cook my beef and veggie stew.

Posted by Beruthiel

I was given a pressure cooker donkey's years ago by my in-laws, who used one all the time, and I had no idea how to use it, but it came with a little book of recipes, and so I figured it out.
The main things is to follow the recipe instructions exactly, since changing amounts of anything affects the cooking time, so if you add more than it tells you to of anything, it comes out not fully cooked.
The cold water in the sink is also what I do.
I found that we didn't like most of the recipes in the book, so all I use it for now is stew, with diced up stewing beef, potatoes, onion, carrots, green beans, tomatoes, and seasonings.
A pressure cooker used to be the equivalent of a microwave - it cooks a lot faster than the same dish in the oven or on the stove top.
I find that if you don't brown the meat throughly before doing the pressure cooking part, the meat isn't very tasty, even if it is tender, so that's an important point. I fiddled around with that recipe until we got a tasty stew, the original recipe didn't taste that great!
I think a crock pot, which I DON'T have, would be more useful...

Posted by Beruthiel

Just bumping this up, to mention that I've added a couple of useful links in the OTHER pressure cooker thread, for anyone interested in pressure cookers and recipes for them. Hope they're useful.

From the other thread . . .

Posted by Beruthiel

By the way, I went looking and found the Presto pressure cooker website, and it has a great recipe index.

Also, you can get the user manuals for all their products right online, on PDF, so I checked out the one for a 4 quart cooker and it's just like my old booklet, complete with recipes too, even the original of the above stew is there!

Here's the link to the recipe index:

http://www.gopresto.com/recipes/index.php

And here's the link to the product manual page:

http://www.gopresto.com/products/manuals.php

I hope these will be useful for anyone interested in pressure cooking - saving the link is easier than hunting down recipes, they're all there, done for you.

Tale of woe - last time I tried to make the above pressure cooker stew, I had it all ready to go and the flipping lid wouldn't go on and seal!
I ended up cooking it with extra water on top of the stove like an ordinary stew, and funnily enough it came out much the same.
Luckily, we figured out what the problem was, and I guess I need a new sealing ring, which, also luckily, seems to be available in quite a few places online, including Presto's website. Phew! We've had it for 44 years and finally it needs something replaced, just shows how little I've used it, LOL! Oh, and they include a new pressure button thingamajig as well, only around 6 or 7 dollars for both, not bad!
Anyway, in my pressure cooker browsing because of the debacle, I came across a nice pot roast recipe which includes veggies, and another that the person called stew, but sounds like another pot roast, so I think I'll try them.
One is from allrecipes.com, but I forget where the first one came from.
Here they are:

Pot Roast with Vegetables 3 1/4 lb (1.5 kg) chuck or round roast, trimmed of excess fat 4 tablespoons (60 ml) vegetable oil Salt and pepper 1 cup (250 ml) onion, finely chopped 1/2 cup (125 ml) carrot, finely chopped 1/2 cup (125 ml) celery, finely chopped 1/2 cup (125 ml) parsnip or turnip, finely chopped 2 1/2 cups (625 ml) beef stock

2 bay leaves 1 teaspoon (5 ml) dried thyme ------------- 1 lb (450 g) medium-size red potatoes, scrubbed and quartered 3 large-size carrots, peeled and cut into 5 or 6 chunks 3 large-size parsnips, peeled and cut into 5 or 6 chunks

Directions:

Roast: Heat 3 tablespoons oil in pressure cooker over high heat.
Add meat and brown well on all sides lifting meat frequently with long wooden
spoon to prevent sticking—about 2 to 3 minutes per side. Add extra oil as
needed. Season each side with salt and pepper (use less if using canned
stock or bouillon). Remove meat to platter and set aside.

In blackened oil remaining in pressure cooker, sauté the chopped onion, carrot,
celery, and parsnip for 3 minutes, stirring occasionally. Scrape any
browned bits from bottom of cooker. Add beef stock, bay leaves, and dried
thyme. Set trivet in cooker and place meat on it, broad side down, so that
as much surface as possible submerges.

Lock lid into place and bring to pressure, then lower heat and cook for the
suggested time. (Suggested time for 15 psi pressure cookers: Cook
for 60 minutes on high pressure.)

Allow pressure to drop by the natural release method for 15 minutes.

When pot roast is done, it should be easy to pierce with a fork. If it is
not sufficiently tender, lock lid back in place and heat to high pressure for
another 5 minutes, then let pressure drop naturally. Transfer to platter
and set aside in warm place. Remove trivet from cooker.


Vegetables: Place potatoes, carrot chunks, and
parsnip chunks in cooker. Lock lid into place and bring to pressure, then
lower heat and cook for suggested time.
(Suggested time for 15 psi pressure cookers: Cook for 5 minutes on high
pressure)


Allow
pressure to drop by the quick release method.

Gravy: Mash 2 tablespoons
all-purpose flour into 2 tablespoons softened unsalted butter. Over high
heat, gradually whisk flour-butter mixture into liquid in cooker. Cook,
stirring constantly, until mixture thickens - 3 to 4 minutes. Remove bay
leaves and season to taste.

Pressure-Cooked Beef Roast Submitted By: Joanne Wright Prep Time: 15 Minutes Cook Time: 50 Minutes Ready In: 1 Hour 5 Minutes Servings: 6 Ingredients: 1 (2 pound) boneless beef chuck roast 1 tablespoon vegetable oil 5 cups water, divided 8 medium potatoes, peeled and quartered 4 medium carrots, halved 1 medium onion, quartered 1 teaspoon minced garlic 3/4 teaspoon salt 1/2 teaspoon pepper 1/2 teaspoon dried thyme 2 bay leaves 2 tablespoons cornstarch 1/4 cup cold water Directions: 1. In a pressure cooker, brown roast in oil on all sides. Remove roast. Add cooking rack; place roast on rack. Add 4 cups of water. Close cover securely; place pressure regulator on vent pipe. Bring cooker to full pressure over high heat. Reduce heat to medium-high; cook for 40 minutes. (Pressure regulator should maintain a slow steady rocking motion; adjust heat if needed.) 2. Remove from the heat; allow pressure to drop on its own. Remove meat and keep warm. Pour pan juices into a bowl; skim fat. Remove rack from cooker. Add potatoes, carrots, onion, garlic, salt, pepper, thyme, bay leaves, pan juices and remaining water to cooker. Cover securely; return cooker to full pressure. Reduce heat; cook for 8 minutes. 3. Immediately cool according to manufacturer's directions until pressure is completely reduced. With a slotted spoon, remove vegetables and keep warm. Discard bay leaves. Combine cornstarch and cold water until smooth; stir into pan juices. Bring to a boil; cook and stir for 2 minutes or until thickened. Serve with beef and vegetables.

I han't thought of a pressure cooker in years! I used one for many years 'back in the day'... I used to can tomatoes, etc. too. Surprisingly, the picture that comes to mind is my mother's pressure cooker on the stove, with the pressure thingy rocking back and forth, back and forth LOL Thanks for the lovely memory Ruthie

I still have my Grandma Jessie's pressure cooker. I don't use it much anymore but I can't part with it. She always spent summers at the cottage with us and she and Mom used it there all the time. It weighs a ton! (By the way, it always made the best darn popcorn - must have been the thickness of the metal as far as heat distribution went - we'd just lock the lid and shake it back and forth on high heat - without the pressure thing on)

You're welcome, Mappy. :-)
Cousin_Jake, thanks for the tip, I'll remember that when we run out of microwave popcorn and have to use up that jar we have of the loose kind! ;-)

My Mother uses hers every week, they scare the hell out of me too.

But the cook fast...

I still haven't ventured into Pressure Cooking. I am a scardy cat also LOL.

I've always wanted a pressure cooker, 'cause I'd love to be able to cook things faster. BUT, I'm scared to death of blowing up the house.

My mother has used her's since I was a little girl, and that's a long time.
Never seen one blow up, I think if you don't follow directions that would be the only time it would be possible.

As long as you don't overfill it and block the pressure release valve, it should be fine.

I bought one a long time ago but was to chicken to try it......kept it for years....finally gave it away.