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Pressure cooking v. braise.


boudin noir

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My nickel's worth is that the texture is a little better in pressure cooking, but the flavor is better in some preparations (i.e., in a stock or sauce with added flavor elements) in a braise.

 

Or, what you gain on the pretzels you lose on the potato chips.

 

Don't ask. Eat it.

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I think the danger with pressure cooking is adding too much liquid. If you're used to braising on the stove top or in the oven, there's a learning curve in finding the right amount of liquid for a pressure cooker. Otherwise, I really haven't found much difference in taste or texture.

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2 hours ago, JAZ said:

I think the danger with pressure cooking is adding too much liquid. If you're used to braising on the stove top or in the oven, there's a learning curve in finding the right amount of liquid for a pressure cooker. Otherwise, I really haven't found much difference in taste or texture.

 

Interesting point. What's the rule of thumb?  How do you convert a braised recipe to a PC recipe...considering both liquid and time?

 

Edited by gfweb (log)
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id say the experiment to do w the iP is to start w the amount of liquid you might get in a braise for the amount of meat you start w in a braise.

 

braise allows for evaporation and the iP does not

 

if using wine in the iP concentrate it first on the stove top

 

and remember a braise is better the next day , so save some iP'd

 

to taste tomorrow

 

 

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13 hours ago, gfweb said:

 

Interesting point. What's the rule of thumb?  How do you convert a braised recipe to a PC recipe...considering both liquid and time?

 

 

 

For the liquid, if there is alcohol in the braise, I use the same amount of it for the PC version of the dish, but as rotuts mentioned, you do want to reduce it first. Any other liquids I generally cut in half, so long as there's at least half a cup to start. So if the braise recipe called for 1 cup of broth, I'd use 1/2 cup, but if the braise called for 1/2 cup, I'd still use 1/2 cup.

 

One thing you see a lot with traditional braise recipes is an instruction to bring the liquid halfway up the sides of the meat. That's generally a mistake in a pressure cooker, since the meat gives off so much liquid as it cooks. If you start with the meat halfway covered, you'll end up with a soup, not a braise.

 

For the time, I usually start with about 40 percent of the time in the PC that I'd use in a traditional braise. If there's one thing I've noticed with the proliferation of blog recipes for the Instant Pot and other electric PCs, it's that most people cook their meats for way too much time. Even respected, experienced recipe writers like Melissa Clark cook meat for too long.

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@JAZ

 

than you for your continued contributions !

 

money-mouth.gif.e2fcfb66c09b30d023981ef6eca046a2.gif

 

I do like your idea that a bit less time in the iPot is worth it.

 

what your personal take on 

 

the next day traditional braise

 

and the appropriate iPot version

 

as you have mentioned 

 

saving it for the Next Day

 

and the meat re-absorbs some of the flavor from the Jus ?

 

thanks again !

 

suprise.gif.db567dd1947939be668d0ed3e22f7684.gif

 

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12 hours ago, JAZ said:

If there's one thing I've noticed with the proliferation of blog recipes for the Instant Pot and other electric PCs, it's that most people cook their meats for way too much time.

 

No truer words were ever spoken!

Too much time in the pressure cooker will blast out the collagen and fat, destroying the texture and ruining the dish.

Most folks don't seem to notice! 

Just as some folks don't notice ruined stock.

I don't get-it!!! shock2.gif

 

My comments are meant to insult, we all perceive things differently.

Edited by DiggingDogFarm (log)
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~Martin :)

I just don't want to look back and think "I could have eaten that."

Unsupervised, rebellious, radical agrarian experimenter, minimalist penny-pincher, and adventurous cook. Crotchety, cantankerous, terse curmudgeon, non-conformist, and contrarian who questions everything!

The best thing about a vegetable garden is all the meat you can hunt and trap out of it!

 

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10 hours ago, JAZ said:

If there's one thing I've noticed with the proliferation of blog recipes for the Instant Pot and other electric PCs, it's that most people cook their meats for way too much time.

 

I think it's even more common with stove-top pressure cooker recipes—being that stove-top pressure cookers operate at higher p.s.i.

~Martin :)

I just don't want to look back and think "I could have eaten that."

Unsupervised, rebellious, radical agrarian experimenter, minimalist penny-pincher, and adventurous cook. Crotchety, cantankerous, terse curmudgeon, non-conformist, and contrarian who questions everything!

The best thing about a vegetable garden is all the meat you can hunt and trap out of it!

 

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2 hours ago, paulraphael said:

This Kenji Lopez article is primarily a rant against slow cookers, but along the way he addresses some of the differences between a traditional braise and a pressure cooked equivalent.

 

I just read Kenji's article.

I agree with some of what he wrote.

I haven't found any advantage in using a Kuhn Rikon Duromatic.

Mine sits idle—needs a new spring valve.

 

"See, older models of pressure cookers have what's called a "jiggler": a weight that sits on top of a steam vent. As pressure in the pot builds up, that steam pushes up on the weight harder and harder, until it finally lifts it just enough to vent a bit of steam out, releasing pressure and allowing the jiggler to settle back down. This happens at quite a rapid rate, leading to the weight "jiggling" up and down (hence the name). What this means is that in an old-school pressure cooker equipped with a jiggler, the liquid inside actually simmers slowly as pressure builds and is released. This leads to cloudier broths and stocks, and soups and stews with ingredients that tend to fall apart a little more.

By contrast, my favorite stovetop pressure cooker, the Kuhn Rikon Duromatic, has a spring-loaded valve that indicates when pressure has been reached long before it actually starts venting. That means that you can adjust the flame underneath to maintain high pressure without any release of steam at all."

 

You can do exactly the same with a 'jiggler' or 'blow-off' pressure cooker.

 

The Kuhn Rikon Duromatic operates at relatively low p.s.i.—11.6 (0.8 bar) when both indicator lines are visible.

Same p.s.i. as an Instant Pot.

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~Martin :)

I just don't want to look back and think "I could have eaten that."

Unsupervised, rebellious, radical agrarian experimenter, minimalist penny-pincher, and adventurous cook. Crotchety, cantankerous, terse curmudgeon, non-conformist, and contrarian who questions everything!

The best thing about a vegetable garden is all the meat you can hunt and trap out of it!

 

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FWIW,

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~Martin :)

I just don't want to look back and think "I could have eaten that."

Unsupervised, rebellious, radical agrarian experimenter, minimalist penny-pincher, and adventurous cook. Crotchety, cantankerous, terse curmudgeon, non-conformist, and contrarian who questions everything!

The best thing about a vegetable garden is all the meat you can hunt and trap out of it!

 

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I cited Kenji's article because it compares results between pressure cooking and braising. It's not the central point (which is that both pressure cooking and braising are generally better than a slow cooker). But there are some useful generalizations. 

Notes from the underbelly

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21 minutes ago, paulraphael said:

I cited Kenji's article because it compares results between pressure cooking and braising. It's not the central point (which is that both pressure cooking and braising are generally better than a slow cooker). But there are some useful generalizations. 

 

He's not necessarily wrong, considering the limited tools he's working with, but he doesn't seem to be open to the fact that 'slow cookers' perform in vastly different ways.

Gosh, there are a gazillion different 'slow cookers' now. Some with vastly different designs and controls than others.

This isn't the '70s.

Edited by DiggingDogFarm (log)

~Martin :)

I just don't want to look back and think "I could have eaten that."

Unsupervised, rebellious, radical agrarian experimenter, minimalist penny-pincher, and adventurous cook. Crotchety, cantankerous, terse curmudgeon, non-conformist, and contrarian who questions everything!

The best thing about a vegetable garden is all the meat you can hunt and trap out of it!

 

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