Kitchen

[Kachina624]

On 5/20/2014 Sharke said:

I never understood the demos showing making chili and mac and cheese in a pressure cooker? why? unless your doing the beans from scratch I guess. How long does it take to boil macaroni LOL

All Bob Warden's Mac & cheese is cooked pasta with cheese melted over it, making a sticky mess. I think it's awful and you don't need a pressure cooker to make it.

[Anniecamp]

I'm surprised that some have trouble with pot roast type meats in the PC. I love them from the PC. I do add though, a few minutes to the time recommended. It turns out so tender. We just had some last night for dinner. Delicious!

[depglass]

Add a few minutes? I would put that baby in for a good two hours.

[Anniecamp]

Oh my, depglass, certainly not in a pressure cooker? A 3-6 lb roast only takes mine about 40 minutes to cook to tender.

[Kay SD]

I've generally liked the Comfortable Under Pressure cookbook recipes better.

[BooBoo2]

I have never, ever had a dry flavorless roast from my PC! I have used stove top PC's and currently electric and never had issues. Not sure what is happening. Maybe not enough liquid? I brown my roasts right in the PC, then quarter an onion, then put water half way up the roast. A 3.5 to 4 lb roast I cook about 45 minutes, let the pressure come down and open and add quartered potatoes and cubed carrots and let come up to pressure and cook for another 8 minutes.

[bluejeansluvr]

On 5/30/2014 Anniecamp said:

Oh my, depglass, certainly not in a pressure cooker? A 3-6 lb roast only takes mine about 40 minutes to cook to tender.

ITA I can't imagine what a mess you would have leaving it in there for 2 hours. OMG.

OP-- I don't have the brand of PC, but in mine, I have a brown option and a sauté option. If I'm doing a roast, I put some olive oil in the bottom of mine, brown my roast for a while and then add beef broth, not water, and I use about 2 cups or more. If there's liquid left when you finish pressure cooking, you just use that for your gravy base and make gravy with it on top of the stove in a small saucepan. If I want to add onions, I remove the roast and sauté the onions, put the roast back in, add the broth and then put the lid on and set the timer for it to pressure cook.

I would use the cookbook that came with the PC as a guide and then add approx. 5 mins if your cut of meat is not that tender. If it a more expensive cut of meat, it would probably be more tender in less time.

I think that you are either comfortable cooking with a pressure cooker or you're not. I grew up with my mother using a pressure cooker on the top of the stove and that is what kind I used for years. I have only been using an electric PC for a short time and my gosh what a difference, it is so nice. I am loving mine.

Good luck, if you love the results of PC'd food you just have to keep practicing.

[bluejeansluvr]

On 5/20/2014 beach-mom said:

Are you using enough liquid? My first chicken recipe turned out not so well - the meat was not that tender. I got the "Better than Bouillon" that Bob Warden recommends, and I haven't had a problem since. Sometimes I add a little more liquid than it calls for! I use mine a lot now. I hope you have better luck with yours!

isn't that the best stuff? I love Better than Bouillon. I almost always use it when making soup, yummy! I get the vegetable kind for veggie soup and it is so good. More liquid is better than less, as long as you stay within the cup guideline marks on the inside of the cooker.

I am going to do some experimenting with using it for a roast, vs. using a regular broth. I am sure it is tasty.

Also their ham base is delicious and such a good flavoring for beans, and you don't have to use any kind of pork to get that taste. Less fat and calories but you still have the taste, tastes like your beans have been seasoned with ham. So good.

[CLEM]

What cut of meat are you using? I use chuck and it always comes out great.