Pressure Cooking

[Hannah on 'Rita T']

Stove broke and I cooked a meat loaf in the pressure cooker last night. I'll never cook one in the oven again. Brown the cold meatloaf in the pressure cooker, I used a 2 1/2 quart small one, then add tomato sauce, I didn't have tomato sauce so used canned tomatoes I junked up with herbs and Worcestershire. Twenty-five minutes at pressure and natural relese. Unbelievable, tend meatloaf with roasted tomatoes is the result.

[daddle]

Interesting...anything that saves LPG and cabin heat while tasting yummy is good.

[skipmac]

Originally Posted by daddle

Interesting...anything that saves LPG and cabin heat while tasting yummy is good.

Absolutely. Also excellent for doing dried beans.

[Hannah on 'Rita T']

Originally Posted by skipmac

Absolutely. Also excellent for doing dried beans.

In Oriental where it is 22 degrees at night I would rather have the heat. I've used the pressure cooker for a couple of decades but never for a meatloaf before.

[JanetGroene]

Here's another method. It isn't faster because you don't raise pressure, but it works as a roaster for people who don't have an oven. Make sure cooker is completely clean because it will get hot and any grease will bake on. Put a rack in the bottom of the pressure cooker. On the rack put a pan with the meatloaf in it and on the side put scrubbed baking potatoes. Remove the rubber gasket from the cooker (important!), lock on the lid and put it over a medium burner. Check for doneness after about 30 minutes, then as infrequently as possible (to avoid losing the even heat inside the cooker.)

[boatman61]

Also does the best lamb and beef curries... really gets the spice flavours and tenderises the meats beautifully... in 1/3rd the time.. a no loose deal

[MichaelC]

I also use my small pressure cooker for ship's bread [a recipe I think I originally got from a Janet Groene article, right, Janet?] and to make popcorn [olive oil and chili oil - no butter needed or wanted]. It will cook anything, and as Janet says, will act as an oven. Quiche, anybody? I do refrain, however, from cooking tomatoes in the aluminum. [That is supposed to cause something, but I forget what ....]

[boatman61]

Originally Posted by MichaelC

I also use my small pressure cooker for ship's bread [a recipe I think I originally got from a Janet Groene article, right, Janet?] and to make popcorn [olive oil and chili oil - no butter needed or wanted]. It will cook anything, and as Janet says, will act as an oven. Quiche, anybody? I do refrain, however, from cooking tomatoes in the aluminum. [That is supposed to cause something, but I forget what ....]

Aluminum does not like acids.. however many chuck in a teaspoon of sugar to act as a nuetraliser... or someone was pulling my leg a few years back..

[GeoPowers]

We must need a pressure-cooker-for-dummies cookbook or user's guide. We bought one when we first moved aboard because we always heard people rave about them and that you "had" to have one. Used it once or twice, thought that it took about as long to heat stuff up (we only tried veggies), and that the pot was a pain to wash (big and the handle doesn't come off ). Now the only time we use our pressure cooker is when boiling crab without the lid! Maybe we have too big a pot?

[Hannah on 'Rita T']

One of us is doing it wrong, as the joke goes. I use my pressure cooker two or three times a week, for beans, stews, risotto, any large cut of meat. Lorna Sass has some good cookbooks, and any cruising cookbook has pressure cooker recipes. Janet Groene, obviously, uses hers a lot. Half the cooking time equals half the propane consumption, which is a big deal for us. Propane is occasionally a pain to get. This year I have my first small pressure cooker, 2 1/2 quarts. It's a hoot. And it is a great-sized and weight pan to use for the standard rice and chicken recipe or hashes.

[Redbeard33]

which brands/sizes do you pressure chefs prefer, based on ease of use and marine being compatible?

[GeoPowers]

Originally Posted by Redbeard33

which brands/sizes do you pressure chefs prefer, based on ease of use and marine being compatible?

I'd like to know also!! I just looked and have a Fagor 6 Quart "Rapid Express". I'd like to know what successful PC cooks are using!



P.S. Redbeard, I like your signature "Blood, Sweat, and Beers" It's actually the name of my fantasy football league (championship round next week, woo hoo!).

[atoll]

another trick if you want to save gas is,get it up to pressure,then wrap the pressure cooker in a tea towel,then wrap it up in a sleeping bag,will carry on cooking for hours.

[beau]

Can someone give me the recipe for pressure cooker bread please.

[perchance]

When I was a kid my old man turned ours into a still and produced some serious moonshine with it. Raisins Prunes and yeast if I recall correctly. It burned with a nice blue flame.