Instant Pot. Multi-function cooker (Part 1)

[Anna N]

The duck breast which was not cooked in the IP as explained up topic and potatoes that were initially cooked under pressure and then sautéed in duck fat. I am not sure how else you might get this incredibly creamy potato except with a pressure cooker.

As an aside the duck breast was left in the sous vide at 60°C for two hours longer than intended. It was definitely not as good as it could've been but still tender and juicy and very edible. What other technique could you get something still edible after being "overcooked" for two hours?

[rotuts]

I noticed what i thought was extra creamy-ness in the RedBiiss I pressure steamed for potato salad.

 

pressure-steamed whole, then smashed , seasoned / oiled , then grilled for a crust would also be extra special Id think.

[andiesenji]

OK.  I have now increased my vocabulary and I am laughing at myself as well.  Batticarne?  What's this? Some sort of culinary battering ram? 

With all the talk of stew and champ, my mind was in the British Isles and I had visions of andiesenji whaling away at the meat with a big old shillelagh or fierce Scottish war club!  

 

No.  Batticarne = meat pounder.  Just as it says.  If I'd only gone to the romance languages first  .   

 

Yep.  Mine are made in Italy, thus batticarne and while I have the other type, with the handle perpendicular to the business end, I get a lot more effect with this one.

 

Weighs 2 pounds so the weight of it does a lot of the work.

 

[andiesenji]

I recall that perhaps

 

 

andiesenji

 

used an electric PC for frying.

 

i dont fry.  no particular reason .

 

but if this could get 1 - 2 " of oil for frying  ..............

Yes. I have used it for deep frying but not with the lid on - as the pressure fryers are quite a different creature.

 

I used to have a pressure fryer - back when I was catering - however it was a commercial unit made by Broaster and I traded it to a friend about ten years ago.  It had special vents and was constructed specifically for pressure frying.  There is no way I would try pressure frying in a "small" pressure cooker.  

[Mmmpomps]

Do try this at home with or without the green onions.

No photos but both me and my teenage granddaughter have now consumed more calories than is good for either one of us. AND SO DAMNED EASY.

Many adventures today. But need to walk off those potatoes first. Stay tuned.

 

I resisted this yesterday ...will all my might...I'm making it tonight...LOL this sounds so good!

[JoNorvelleWalker]

Having had a little time to go burrowing into my memory tunnels I recall seeing them in a particular Asian store. In burrowing even further I believe I saw them at Nations in Hamilton. Perhaps when we return from our annual expedition to the farthest reaches next month we might be able to arrange a return visit.

 

A local inn a short walk from here serves pig cheeks.  My three year old granddaughter had them for her birthday last time we were there.  I can't say I have ever seen cheeks offered in the grocery store.  However pressure cooking sounds like a good method to prepare them.

[gfweb]

Braising is good for pig cheeks too.

 

And "braised PCs" sounds more appetizing than P-Cd PCs.

 

I need to use my PC more.  Other than speed, what does pressure cooking improve over braising?

[JoNorvelleWalker]

I suspect it is just speed for most meats.  Plant tissues, I'm pretty sure, are a different story...braising some chicken at the moment.

 

Carry on.

[andiesenji]

The Mexican supermarket will get hog jowls on request.  But will usually have them beginning around this time of the year, the traditional butchering season, because a lot of the Mexican families make guanciale, which is sort of like bacon.

 

They will also sell whole hog heads for people who want to make a traditional cabesa puerca roast.  My Mexican neighbors (now ex-neighbors, as they bought a small ranch a few miles from here - but still invite me to their family gatherings) used to do this for Thanksgiving and Christmas.  

 

So if there is a Mexican supermarket or a carniceria in your area, inquire about pork jowls - also the prices are usually better than regular supermarkets.

[Anna N]

Braising is good for pig cheeks too.

 

And "braised PCs" sounds more appetizing than P-Cd PCs.

 

I need to use my PC more.  Other than speed, what does pressure cooking improve over braising?

Energy savings for sure. Keeps kitchen cooler too, if that's an issue. Definitely does something for potatoes in terms of both flavour and creaminess in my opinion. Others claims are made about nutrition.

[rotuts]

ID say PC is a moist environment.  if you braise 'under water' it can't be that different than PC, it would just take longer.  if your braise pokes out of the water

 

you would get some nice mallard Reaction.

 

for starch, ie waxy potatoes you not only get speak, but I think a more creamy texture.

 

my russet mashed potatoes , because the were steamed under pressure, had more flavor, very little was lost in the water.

 

meats seem to have to be fatty :  that loin part of the country style rigs was almost inedible   it needed a fair amount of mayo.

 

and at least with the IP  there is only one pot to clean.

[Mmmpomps]

I am just cooking for myself , I appear to have a glut of food. I invited my girlfriend over for dinner last night, tonight it will be my boyfriend. This is getting out of hand
Beet salad to start:

 

Heated the beef neck stew. Interestingly the stew didn't noticbly 'improve' like it normally would via stove top or oven braise method. It was JUST as good on the first day! But Anna ...jeebus...that CHAMP how can such simple ingredients make such a luscious thing out of a little potato???? Credit to: http://dadcooksdinner.com/2013/03/pressure-cooker-champ-irish-mashed-potatoes-with-green-onions.html/  This will go on the menu and so will more working out!

 

Dessert was a chocolate croissant picked up at our local cooking school along with the loaf of whole wheat rye bread and roobios tea:

 

I love you IP

[Anna N]

Mmmmpomps,

I have been holding my breath all morning over those potatoes! I, too, cook just for one and send food off with friends and relatives. Your meal looks scrumptious!

[Mmmpomps]

Mmmmpomps,

I have been holding my breath all morning over those potatoes! I, too, cook just for one and send food off with friends and relatives. Your meal looks scrumptious!

 

I'm looking forward to taking them for lunch BUT how can that go with a chicken sandwich? HOW? 

 

I have to feed my friends or I couldn't keep creating new food! Infact this is weird but during dinner prep which was basically nothing, I put a whole chicken in the IP and let her go for 18 minutes. I sent my friend home with chicken for lunch and cowboy beans and crusty bread. Everyone wins

I'm making ribs tonight and I want to make a fresh pot of those spuds to go with it...But I think I'll refrain on the Champ.

 

Thanks Anna  it was a scruptious , warming dinner with a good friend Those are the best!

[AnneN]

Thanks to you Anna and Mmmpomps, I will be making champ tonight with grilled lamb chops and corn on the cob! Thankfully, I worked out this morning!

[Anna N]

Thanks to you Anna and Mmmpomps, I will be making champ tonight with grilled lamb chops and corn on the cob! Thankfully, I worked out this morning!

Sound delicious.

[AnneN]

Sound delicious.

Those potatoes are outstanding! Very intense potato flavor and creamy.

[rotuts]

did you use Yukon Gold for the Champ ?

 

I have russets so will try RussetChamp ( w skins ) tonight.

 

Ive never been much of a fan of YG's  don't taste buttery to me   taste nice, not buttery.  

 

Butter tastes buttery to me.

 

PR due to their colo(u)r ?

 

but the waxy-ness IP'd is a different story.

Edited September 17, 2015 by rotuts (log)

[Anna N]

Yesterday, lunch was so late that I had no appetite for a proper meal in the evening. But I did fancy a little something something. Rice pudding seemed as if it might fit the bill. I made half of this recipe. It was a fine, creamy rice pudding but it was missing the very thing that makes rice pudding worth eating--the skin that forms when it is slowly baked in the oven.... and a shaving of nutmeg.

[Anna N]

Tonight being Thursday my number two son visits. Plain and simple is how he prefers his food so I made this recipe. It makes an appearance in the book Good Food: Pressure Cooker Favourites rewritten for the pressure cooker. We both enjoyed it tonight and he got to take home enough for a couple more meals.

I made it my own by adding some mushrooms and by seasoning as I went along rather than waiting to the end. I also used duck stock instead of chicken bouillon cubes.

Edited to (hopefully) fix link to recipe.

Edited September 18, 2015 by Anna N (log)

[Kerry Beal]

My mother always mashed potatoes with the Mixmaster stand mixer taken off it's base - all 10 lbs of it. Made wonderful mashed spuds!

 

 

Saw one just like it in a thrift store today.

[rotuts]

that's the one.  the one I have has one of those old-fashioned 'braided' cords.   the covering for the wires is not rubber , but a braided material.

[rotuts]

""    some mushrooms  ""

 

were the mushrooms fresh or dried ?

 

""  by seasoning as I went along rather than waiting to the end ""

 

​Ive been wondering if seasoning, exempt for S & P  ( maybe P ) changes in a different way in an IP or a PC.

 

those temps are hard to achieve  any other way , except of course something on the surface of a grilled or baked item.

 

Ive also wondered if there is any difference between dried and fresh herbs at those temps.

 

remembering of course you are in a high humidity environment.

 

why have i thought about this ?

 

the waxy potatoes Im sure are creamier due to the IP and PC's temps.  even pressure-steamed.

Edited September 18, 2015 by rotuts (log)

[IowaDee]

I have one of the old Sunbeam mixers too!  My grandmother gave it to me eons ago.  It was a dinosaur when I got it but still chugs along like an old war horse.  I still have the original bowl as well.  Did replace the braided cord when it got too hot to handle.  Wish new stuff had even half the useful life of the oldies.  Not a piece of plastic on that baby. 

[Anna N]

""    some mushrooms  ""

 

were the mushrooms fresh or dried ?

 

""  by seasoning as I went along rather than waiting to the end ""

 

​Ive been wondering if seasoning, exempt for S & P  ( maybe P ) changes in a different way in an IP or a PC.

 

those temps are hard to achieve  any other way , except of course something on the surface of a grilled or baked item.

 

Ive also wondered if there is any difference between dried and fresh herbs at those temps.

 

remembering of course you are in a high humidity environment.

 

why have i thought about this ?

 

the waxy potatoes Im sure are creamier due to the IP and PC's temps.  even pressure-steamed.

These were fresh cremini mushrooms which I had "dry fried" while the rest of the casserole was cooking in the IP then added at the last minute with the peas just to re-heat. I used no other seasoning than salt and pepper out of respect for my son's extraordinarily plain palate. The only reason I mention it at all is that the recipe I followed from the book did not seasoning until just before service. Just as I like to clean as I go along so I like to season as I go along. I knew that I had made the duck stock myself from scratch and that I had not seasoned it at all so I had no fear of oversalting anything.