Pressure Cooker vs slow cooker without electricity

[Mike OReilly]

We get good use out of our Kuhn pressure cooker. Can cook just about everything in it. Huge fuel savings, and makes food taste incredible.

[mausgras]

When the kids were small and we lived in the bush without services we used a pressure cooker a lot. It not only was quick it saved on gas and made very tasty meals.
One aspect not usually mentioned is the food can be kept out of the fridge that little bit longer if brought back to the steam for a minute or two and kept sealed.

[Aden]

Thanks for all suggestions and the links.

I will buy a pressure cooker and use it at home for practice first.

For the rice, I have to cook it on the pot separately, although I am not good at it. I always burn the rice on the pot for some reason. That's why I use rice cooker or microwave at home. However, I don't think I will use them on the boat due to the high electricity usage.

[newhaul]

I have a small one to cook my food in and a bigger one that will do 5,10 and 15 pounds pressure and will hold 8 pint sized canning jars to put up the extra salmon and tuna. Also great for baking bread in.
Edit fwiw I cook my rice in it as well just add the water and rice bring it up to pressure and remove from the heat. When pressure is off rice I done perfectly

[oldsalt_1942]

For my money a pressure cooker is one of the best galley tools there is. If you need to cook while underway and bouncing around, I would put whatever I wanted into the pot and leave the pressure valve off. The locking lid means that even if the pot flies off the burner your interior is not going to be coated with your meal.

[boatman61]

The true Meat, Potato and 3 Veg one pot cooker...

[boeing1]

we have 2, really speeds up cooking, the only thing had to replace were the rubber seals, which are easy to find...also I precooks ribs before putting them on the grill, makes them really tender.....

[kdaley]

Well my solution is based on my back country hiking / car camping experience. Early morning just bring rice, dahl and veggies like carrots to a boil, then put in a container like a thermos put it in your sleeping bag and by lunch you will have a hot cooked nutritious meal. Uses very little fuel and the low heat means the food is more nutritious as it is not cooked at high heat.

[CatCouple]

Originally Posted by oldsalt_1942

For my money a pressure cooker is one of the best galley tools there is. If you need to cook while underway and bouncing around, I would put whatever I wanted into the pot and leave the pressure valve off. The locking lid means that even if the pot flies off the burner your interior is not going to be coated with your meal.

totally agree with all the pressure cooker fans above. A must have piece of kit for any long distance cruising. on our atlantic crossing it was used for everything from Lamb dhansak and Mahi Mahi fish stew to reheating pre cooked meals from fozen and porridge. When the seaway gets rough pop the lid on and take off the weight and use as a a no spill saucepan.

For dockside with AC hook up we are considering a slow cooker in addition.

[Island Time O25]

+1 on pressure cookers.

I would suggest to get a nesting set which includes several sized pots including one which doubles up as a shallow pan. The all have same sized interchangeable covers. This way you pretty much don't need any other pots or pans. WM used to have such sets but a bit pricey there. These days one can probably get same stuff on ebay for a fraction of WM price.

For the budget conscious I would suggests visiting your local goodwill or similar shops. Many who got them as presents but are afraid to use them due to explosion fears donate totally brand new unused sets, especially during Spring cleaning season.

As an aside tip. If you're doing any type of oven cooking recipe best to use cast iron skillets or dutch oven pots or some such. Cuts down greatly on cooking time as cast iron retains heat very well and subsequently requires less cooking time. Most items can be cooking after the oven is shutoff and the pot wrapped in a good blanket or pizza delivery type of heat retainer. Saves you about 20-30 mins of oven time.

[thinwater]

Originally Posted by SV DestinyAscen

My cent is to get an insulated cooker and skip the pressure and slow cooker.

I found ours in Nagasaki in 1983 - still works. Just a pot with a nice insulated container. Easy to use, can be used as ice box. I've used it many a times to transfer hot stew to a neighbors boat.

^^ This. Other options are:

• Thermos Shuttle Chef
• Tiger Cooker
• Wonderbag
• A pile of fleece blankets.

Even at home I have gone to using the Wonderbag frequently. Nothing to watch. On the boat it is great; I load up the food and then go play, with no worry over a pot on the stove or watching the time. It will be ready whenever I return.

[pcmm]

Originally Posted by CaptTom

We love our Instant Pot brand pressure cooker. Lots of relatives have them too (sister-in-law was first, raved about it to family.) It's perfect for the boat.

Any modern pressure cooker won't blow up unless you put explosives in it (that sentence probably triggered something at the NSA. Guys, I'm not planning to do that!!)

It'll run on our 2K inverter underway motoring, or keeps genset run time to a minimum at anchor. We've even run it on the inverter from the batteries.

You can also use it as a slow cooker. This would be good if you were motoring all day and had an inverter.

If AC power is a problem, then the bag cookers may be a better option.

gotta ask, what does running an inverter and genset have to do with a pressure cooker? they rtun off the stove. so its just a bit of propane.

[bobgarrett]

We'd also support the use of a pressure cooker. We find ours invaluable for all the reasons given already.
One consideration though in choosing the model is to look carefully at the size to ensure it will fit the stove; some might be to large to fit.

[freelandken]

I have a Pro Selections that I purchased at the Annapolis Boat Show years ago. It can be used with electric, gas or induction stoves. The lid locking mechanism is excellent and you can fry chicken in it. Expensive, but I think it's worth it. Comes in several sizes. Made in Spain but available online. Google Pro Selections.

[dmksails]

Sea Dreamer - I'm not following how removing the cooker and wrapping it in a blanket works - can you do this for all recipes or just for certain ones. For instance, I looked up a pot roast recipe. It says to bring the cooker to high pressure over medium heat, then once pressure is reached, reduce the heat enough to maintain pressure. Cook this way for 1 hours


So, would I remove it from heat when it reached pressure, wrap in blanket and it would still cook? Would it be ready in an hour, or would I need to wait longer?