Stock in my pressure cooker...

18 years ago

I decided to play with my new pressure cooker today and made stock.

I browned 4 chicken thighs and added them to the cooker with a halved onion, some garlic, spices, and carrots. Unfortunately I was out of parsley and lemons.

55 minutes in the cooker produced a thick, rich stock and meat that dropped off the bones. The sign that the collagen was rendered out of the bones? I could snap them easily between my fingers.

All I can say is wow! What an easy way to make chicken stock.

Sort by:Oldest

Comments (5)

Terri_PacNW
18 years ago
I'm glad you are enjoying your new toy Mike!
My husband won't allow one in our house..as a young boy he was burned badly by a cooker gone array..
kuzariprincess
18 years ago
I love my pressure cooker. I've had the same one since I first got married 31 years ago and I've only had one accident in all those years. The only trouble now is its getting harder and harder to find replacement gaskets. Its great for cooking dried beans too.
Related Discussions
My pressure cooker didn't hold pressure last night
Q
Comments (6)
Thanks for all of your responses! The gasket appears to be in good shape, it has no cracks or bends and feels as pliable as ever. And the leak was coming from the top of the lid, not the edges where the gasket is sealing. I appreciate your comments that the pot is old - I don't use it very often (maybe 10 times per year?), but it probably does need some attention due to age. The manufacturer is Kuhn/Rikon, and the name of the pot is Duromatic.
...See More
I LOVE my pressure cooker!
Q
Comments (47)
I have a small (4qt) Cook's Essentials similar to that one. It got me hooked on pressure cooking, and now I have a 6 qt Kuhn Rikon, a 4 and 8 qt Fagor, and a ridiculously huge 30 quart All-American pressure canner which I have used as a pressure cooker on occasion. Lorna recommends (and I agree) that chuck is the best beef to use for most pressure cooking; you do need a little fat content in the meat. Ann, the pressure cooker's forte is comfort foods done quickly. If you like slow-cooked braises you can probably adapt a recipe for pressure cooking that will yield 99% of the goodness in 33% of the time. Indeed, some of the PC versions are preferable. I prefer osso buco made in the PC (in about 50 minutes) to the slow stovetop method, and you can have corned beef & cabbage in about an hour. One recipe that I've become addicted to is Lorna's Curry in a Hurry. Decent curry in about 15 minutes. Takes you longer to cook the rice than to make the curry. But you can also cook really healthy, too. I love steamed artichokes, but I don't like having to wait 45 minutes for them to be done. The PC can do them in about 12 minutes. (Of course, whatever health benefits come from eating artichokes is probably negated by dipping the leaves in hollandaise or melted butter...)
...See More
I am loving my new pressure cooker!
Q
Comments (7)
Here's some opinions from an admitted Pressure Cooker enthusiast: I got into PC'ing when my mother gave me an electric pressure cooker. I played with it for a while and then bought a Kuhn Rikon. Once I got a stovetop PC I haven't used the electric one once. The Kuhn Rikon (I have the 6 qt stockpot; if I were to do it again, I'd get the 8 qt model) is fabulous. It's been called the "Mercedes-Benz" of pressure cookers, and that's apropos--great performance, but with ridiculously pricey parts. I replaced the gasket about a year ago, and now it needs another. Shopped around online, and the cheapest gasket I could find was $19 plus $7 shipping. That annoyed me, to have paid $180 or so for an item that needs $25 in parts every year or two. So I looked online for a Fagor PC (missvickie.com recommends them). Found a set of Fagor 'Splendid' PC's with a 8 qt stockpot, a 4 qt saute-type pan and a pressure lid which fits them both--for $104, but it was also at my local Dillard's for $109. Bought it there, and used it last night to fix a recipe out of Lorna Sass's 'Pressure Perfect'. It worked fine. Seems well built. So if you're considering a PC purchase, you might consider that Fagor set. The Kuhn Rikon might be the Mercedes, but this is at least a Lincoln Town Car. Here is a link that might be useful: Fagor Splendid PC set
...See More
Stock Pot vs Dutch Oven
Q
Comments (11)
Cast iron like LeCreuset or Staub is actually cast, as in molten iron poured into sand. If it doesn't come out true, they throw it in the scrap pile, and reuse the iron. Still, this is artisanship rather than computer-factory marvel and the lids fit, but not always perfectly tight. The thing that makes them "ovens" (LeCreuset changed the wording to "French oven" because too many new customers didn't understand the long use of "Dutch oven" as Annie explained it.) Lodge looks more like it's made in some kind of die mold nowadays. Very thick and mechanical looking. The thing that makes it an "oven" is the poor conductive qualities--i.e., good insulating qualities--of the cast iron or ceramic. In fact, the very best actual ovens for baking and roasting are cast iron or ceramic, too. The heat is even and gentle. In the case Linda described, where you're braising with low liquid, the traditional thing to do with your well fitting, but not sealed against steam, lid is to wrap the connection between lid and pot with pastry. Often it would be the scraps mushed together and formed into a belt shape, but making a quick dough of flour and water is no big deal if there are no scraps. Think Play-doh. That still works really well, though nowadays people are more likely to use silicone or parchment paper.
...See More
lsr2002
18 years ago
YES! I haven't made stock for us yet, but I start Brockley's dog food with chicken covered with water and cooked in the PC for about an hour and a quarter. At that point you can mush through the bones with a wooden spoon. I hit it with a stick blender and he gets the calcium from the bones. Each time I am impressed by how clear the stock is and I know I'll us it for soup for us this fall too.

I've also wondered about beef stock and demi glace in the PC. Do you have any plans to do beef stock?

I'm glad you're enjoying your PC. I have had mine almost a year now and have especially loved lamb shanks, and short ribs done in it.

Have you tried risotto yet? Its a seven minute wonder.

Lee
arley_gw
18 years ago
You've hit on one of the great advantages of a PC.

Quite often, after I have roasted a chicken for dinner, I'll throw the carcass into the PC with water, an onion, celery, carrots and some pepper, and bring it to pressure. By the time I'm done cleaning up the kitchen, I have made some great broth to be used in the next day or two.

The only drawback I know of is that the broth made this way is not as delicate as the stock made by gently poaching ingredients for hours and hours. Flavorwise, it's great, but if you're looking to make absolutely clear consomme or demi glace I don't think it would be as good. (My guess is that the higher temperature denatures the proteins, but that's just a guess. Classic French chefs make a big deal about never letting the stock boil. In a PC the temps get to around 250 degrees F, well over boiling.)

You'll find yourself with an abundance of fine broth, and you'll be adding it to all sorts of stuff. ("Hmm, I think I'll cook this pot roast in chicken stock.") Plus, since you control what goes in to the stock, it'll be a heck of a lot better than that pricey oversalted bilgewater they sell in cartons at the supermarket.

Wait till you try osso buco in the PC. Worth the expense of the PC right there.
kframe19
Original Author
18 years ago
Alton Brown does beef stock in the pressure cooker. He uses oxtails and shanks, IIRC.

Stock in my pressure cooker...

Comments (5)

Terri_PacNW

kuzariprincess

Related Discussions

lsr2002

arley_gw

kframe19
Original Author

COMPANY

BUSINESS SERVICES

GET HELP

CONNECT WITH US

Stock in my pressure cooker...

Comments (5)

Terri_PacNW

kuzariprincess

Related Discussions

lsr2002

arley_gw

kframe19Original Author

COMPANY

BUSINESS SERVICES

GET HELP

CONNECT WITH US

kframe19
Original Author