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Pressure Cooking, The Adventure Continues
by Guest Writer, Valerie Whitmore I've got to say, I'm totally digging my pressure cooker. I can't believe I went so long without one. I've been trying to test recipes with it that aren't the "norm" when you think of pressure cooking. I know roasts and other cuts of meat are fantastic in them, but I've been eager to expand my knowledge of how it works with different foods.
I've tested three more recipes since my last pressure cooking update. Salmon, beef stroganoff, and brown rice. Everything has turned out amazing (and still, nothing has exploded!).
Recipe #1: Pressure Cooker Salmon Steaks
The salmon recipe called for 1-inch thick salmon steaks. Of course, when I went to buy them the seafood counter at the supermarket didn't have what I needed. So, instead of the steaks I got fillets. In the center they were 1-inch thick but the ends tapered down to about half an inch.
The recipe is simple: you are basically poaching the fish in water and wine. Except, you're doing it under pressure
The salmon was placed on the trivet with the water and wine in the bottom.
Lemon and onion slices are added for extra flavor. Salt and pepper are the only seasonings added but I would think you could add other herbs and such to enhance the flavor more (fresh dill would be nice)
The directions said to heat for 6 minutes on high pressure but a) my pressure cooker's "high" setting is only 10psi, not 15 like most machines and b) the salmon fillets were thinner than what was called for. I would normally add cooking time to compensate for the psi difference but with the difference in the thickness of the salmon I decided to keep the cooking time the same.
The salmon was so delicate that I had to leave it on the trivet to take the photos or I was sure it'd fall apart.
The texture was incredible. It was so moist and flaky - and the flavor was positively buttery! A huge win for the pressure cooker! Now, one of my friends on Facebook pointed out that salmon is so quick-cooking it seems kind of pointless to drag out the pressure cooker. And, while I agree that there are other cooking methods that would produce quicker results, the way the fish turned out was totally worth it. In all, it took maybe 15-20 minutes from start to finish to cook
Recipe #2: Beef Stroganoff
As I mentioned in Of Rosemary and Roasts, I don't always have good luck cooking various cuts of beef. The beef just never seems to be as tender as I think it should be. Beef stroganoff, the non ground beef kind anyway, falls into that category.
I love stroganoff though, so when saw this recipe I knew it was heading to the test kitchen
The one thing that kind of puzzled me about the recipe was that it had you brown the meat first, then stir in the flour. It seems like dusting the meat with the flour and then browning it would be the usual method. I'm not sure why the instructions were otherwise - so if any of you more experienced pressure cookers know of some reason, please let me know!
Regardless of the flour step, the recipe turned out incredible. The meat was so tender! The whole thing took about 30 minutes. I can't wait to try larger cuts of meat in there to finally get an edible roast!
Recipe #3: Basic Brown Rice Under Pressure
We eat a lot of brown rice. The one thing I don't like about it is that it takes a long time to cook, usually about an hour. The instant kind just doesn't have the same texture that I enjoy with the regular rice. So either I have to budget enough cooking time for dinner, or use instant. Which means I'm using more instant rice than I prefer since I'm usually in a hurry.
For this recipe, you saute the rice in oil first using the browning setting and then (with the heat off) add the boiling water. I wanted a little more flavor so I used a low sodium chicken broth in place of the water
You cook it on high pressure for 15 minutes, then use the natural release method to release the pressure for 10 minutes. Now, because of the PSI difference with my unit I let the pressure release for 15 minutes. This gave it a little extra cooking time, and it turned out to be the perfect amount.
The recipe was done in 35 minutes. A big time saver compared to cooking brown rice the regular way! And the texture was some of the best rice I've ever made. Not sticky, not chewy, not mushy - just each grain perfectly cooked!
I'm looking forward to continuing this adventure with other unique recipes (so feel free to submit your favorites!)
I've tested three more recipes since my last pressure cooking update. Salmon, beef stroganoff, and brown rice. Everything has turned out amazing (and still, nothing has exploded!).
Recipe #1: Pressure Cooker Salmon Steaks
The salmon recipe called for 1-inch thick salmon steaks. Of course, when I went to buy them the seafood counter at the supermarket didn't have what I needed. So, instead of the steaks I got fillets. In the center they were 1-inch thick but the ends tapered down to about half an inch.
The recipe is simple: you are basically poaching the fish in water and wine. Except, you're doing it under pressure
The salmon was placed on the trivet with the water and wine in the bottom.
Lemon and onion slices are added for extra flavor. Salt and pepper are the only seasonings added but I would think you could add other herbs and such to enhance the flavor more (fresh dill would be nice)
The directions said to heat for 6 minutes on high pressure but a) my pressure cooker's "high" setting is only 10psi, not 15 like most machines and b) the salmon fillets were thinner than what was called for. I would normally add cooking time to compensate for the psi difference but with the difference in the thickness of the salmon I decided to keep the cooking time the same.
The salmon was so delicate that I had to leave it on the trivet to take the photos or I was sure it'd fall apart.
The texture was incredible. It was so moist and flaky - and the flavor was positively buttery! A huge win for the pressure cooker! Now, one of my friends on Facebook pointed out that salmon is so quick-cooking it seems kind of pointless to drag out the pressure cooker. And, while I agree that there are other cooking methods that would produce quicker results, the way the fish turned out was totally worth it. In all, it took maybe 15-20 minutes from start to finish to cook
Recipe #2: Beef Stroganoff
As I mentioned in Of Rosemary and Roasts, I don't always have good luck cooking various cuts of beef. The beef just never seems to be as tender as I think it should be. Beef stroganoff, the non ground beef kind anyway, falls into that category.
I love stroganoff though, so when saw this recipe I knew it was heading to the test kitchen
The one thing that kind of puzzled me about the recipe was that it had you brown the meat first, then stir in the flour. It seems like dusting the meat with the flour and then browning it would be the usual method. I'm not sure why the instructions were otherwise - so if any of you more experienced pressure cookers know of some reason, please let me know!
Regardless of the flour step, the recipe turned out incredible. The meat was so tender! The whole thing took about 30 minutes. I can't wait to try larger cuts of meat in there to finally get an edible roast!
Recipe #3: Basic Brown Rice Under Pressure
We eat a lot of brown rice. The one thing I don't like about it is that it takes a long time to cook, usually about an hour. The instant kind just doesn't have the same texture that I enjoy with the regular rice. So either I have to budget enough cooking time for dinner, or use instant. Which means I'm using more instant rice than I prefer since I'm usually in a hurry.
For this recipe, you saute the rice in oil first using the browning setting and then (with the heat off) add the boiling water. I wanted a little more flavor so I used a low sodium chicken broth in place of the water
You cook it on high pressure for 15 minutes, then use the natural release method to release the pressure for 10 minutes. Now, because of the PSI difference with my unit I let the pressure release for 15 minutes. This gave it a little extra cooking time, and it turned out to be the perfect amount.
The recipe was done in 35 minutes. A big time saver compared to cooking brown rice the regular way! And the texture was some of the best rice I've ever made. Not sticky, not chewy, not mushy - just each grain perfectly cooked!
I'm looking forward to continuing this adventure with other unique recipes (so feel free to submit your favorites!)