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Pressure Cooked Stock


schmoopie

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While making a large batch of chicken stock this weekend, I was flipping through the boob tube and came across one of those infomercials hawking a new pressure cooker set.  They talked about how quickly you could make stock in a pressure cooker.  That made me remember that guy on the Food Network, Alton Brown, doing a similar show on stocks cooked in a pressure cooker.

Has anyone tried this, and does it actually make a quality stock in less than half the time?

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Who has a pressure cooker large enough to make stock?

There is no less work involved in making pressure-cooker stock. It's just that you leave the apparatus alone on the stove for less time.

Harsher cooking and higher temperatures give stock a less mellow taste. Stock should never even reach the sea-level boiling temperature of water, no less go beyond that.

That being said, I tried some stock a friend made in a pressure cooker and I can't say I noticed anything wrong with it. It was maybe a little thin, but I suppose it could have been reduced later if necessary.

Steven A. Shaw aka "Fat Guy"
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The pressure cooker method espoused by Alton Brown is for people who need to make a relatively small amount of stock in a short time for a specific purpose such as soup.  I do not recommend this method for general stock making.  After all it freezes well, and if you are going to go to the trouble to make stock you might as well make a lot.

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  • 1 month later...

If you're crazy enough to have both a 3.5L and 5L pressure cooker, you can actually make a decent amount of stock.  It does save a fair amount of time and produce an acceptable stock.  However, you still have to reduce it down after the pressure cooker is done with it.

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Simmering is not boiling. You might bring to a boil and then bring it down. Or just bring it to a bare boil (roiling bubbles) and then turn it down to a point where small bubbles ocassionally and lazily surface. That is a simmer.

Boiling mixes all of the impurities oine strains out throughout the stock, making much more work and flattening out the stock.

I like Alton Brown's show. But shortcuts usually short circuit the energy of any dish.

Hypothetically, I can see using a pressure cooker. But if I needed to short cut that way, I'd just buy a prepared stock or use a base.

"I've caught you Richardson, stuffing spit-backs in your vile maw. 'Let tomorrow's omelets go empty,' is that your fucking attitude?" -E. B. Farnum

"Behold, I teach you the ubermunch. The ubermunch is the meaning of the earth. Let your will say: the ubermunch shall be the meaning of the earth!" -Fritzy N.

"It's okay to like celery more than yogurt, but it's not okay to think that batter is yogurt."

Serving fine and fresh gratuitous comments since Oct 5 2001, 09:53 PM

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Quote: from Jinmyo on 12:12 pm on Jan. 16, 2002

Simmering is not boiling. You might bring to a boil and then bring it down. Or just bring it to a bare boil (roiling bubbles) and then turn it down to a point where small bubbles ocassionally and lazily surface. That is a simmer.

Actually, a simmer is a little more vigorous than that. There should be constant, but small and non-stacking bubbles on the surface of the simmering liquid.

Cooks Illustrated did a Kitchen Note about this showing the differences between a simmer and a boil, I think in conjunction with the bouillabaisse recipe in September 2001. Unfortunately, the Kitchen Notes are not available online. If I can find my copy of the magazine, I'll add more details later.

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RPerlow, okay. A gentle simmer then. The main thing is not to bring up and mix the impurities. Even if one is using a raft, steady bubbling will result in about a dozen more strainings to get a crystalline stock.

Let us please be gentle.

"I've caught you Richardson, stuffing spit-backs in your vile maw. 'Let tomorrow's omelets go empty,' is that your fucking attitude?" -E. B. Farnum

"Behold, I teach you the ubermunch. The ubermunch is the meaning of the earth. Let your will say: the ubermunch shall be the meaning of the earth!" -Fritzy N.

"It's okay to like celery more than yogurt, but it's not okay to think that batter is yogurt."

Serving fine and fresh gratuitous comments since Oct 5 2001, 09:53 PM

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I'm not trying to continue the argument, but I found the issue of CI that I was talking about. Sept/Oct 2001, Page 30: "Boiling and simmering are both descriptions of the rate at which a liquid bubbles and vaporizes - what cooks call reduce. Boiling and simmering liquids are often used to cook and poach foods, respectively. A boil refers to a rapidly bubbling and reducing liquid. Water, for example, boils at 212 degrees (at sea level). A simmer is a restrained version of a boil, in which the bubble clusters are small and the steam, by comparison, minimal.... [with] constant bursting and reforming bubble clusters along the inner circumference of the pot and a good deal of steam.... there are slow and brisk simmers, but any true simmer must demonstrate some degree of bubbling - otherwise no real reduction occurs."

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from Jinmyo on 8:42 pm on Jan. 19, 2002

RPerlow, okay. A gentle simmer then. The main thing is not to bring up and mix the impurities. Even if one is using a raft, steady bubbling will result in about a dozen more strainings to get a crystalline stock.

I have pretty good luck with the method of introducing egg white into the stock and straining through cheesecloth.  Is this considered a bad idea?

Cats

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Thanks RPerlow. So "some degree of bubbling", or a gentle simmer is my preference.

"I've caught you Richardson, stuffing spit-backs in your vile maw. 'Let tomorrow's omelets go empty,' is that your fucking attitude?" -E. B. Farnum

"Behold, I teach you the ubermunch. The ubermunch is the meaning of the earth. Let your will say: the ubermunch shall be the meaning of the earth!" -Fritzy N.

"It's okay to like celery more than yogurt, but it's not okay to think that batter is yogurt."

Serving fine and fresh gratuitous comments since Oct 5 2001, 09:53 PM

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  • 3 weeks later...

"Boiling", "simmering", can we be more

clear using a thermometer?

Or, at least for a given shape of pot,

nearly at sea level, with temperature

measured at the surface of the liquid, is

temperature sufficient to characterize

these conditions?

What would be the right food and wine to go with

R. Strauss's 'Ein Heldenleben'?

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Catseye, making a raft of egg white and ground meat to capture impurities is a standard, hallowed, and proven technique. I don't find cheesecloth as effective as a wet paper towl lining a double mesh strainer or a coffe filter lining a chinoise. And of course one never pours but instead decants with a ladle.

"I've caught you Richardson, stuffing spit-backs in your vile maw. 'Let tomorrow's omelets go empty,' is that your fucking attitude?" -E. B. Farnum

"Behold, I teach you the ubermunch. The ubermunch is the meaning of the earth. Let your will say: the ubermunch shall be the meaning of the earth!" -Fritzy N.

"It's okay to like celery more than yogurt, but it's not okay to think that batter is yogurt."

Serving fine and fresh gratuitous comments since Oct 5 2001, 09:53 PM

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  • 7 years later...

The more I read about it the more I'm convinced that making stock (Chicken, Veal etc.) in a pressure cooker is the way to go. Benefits seem to be better flavour, more clarity, and a much reduced cooking time.

Unfortunately I can't seem to find any actual recipe. Anybody have some? Preferably by professional chefs but the more the merrier really...

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Thanks Special K - interestingly most people there are pretty negative about Pressure Cooked Stocks (but 2001 was a more innocent time!) :biggrin: ...

Given that great, scientifically rigorous chefs such as Heston B are using the Pressure Cooked Stock method I've got to believe that there is some merit to the practice in terms of taste and quality, and not just speed.

I've seen Heston make reference to using the Pressure cooking method for stocks but I can't find good detailed recipes. I'd like to find a few recipes to get a broad idea of the technique.

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I've never done a side by side comparison but I'm really enjoying making stock in my pressure cooker. Mostly chicken since that is what I accumulate the most scraps from. I can get around 8 cups of stock from my 6qt cooker. I toss about 2 lbs of chicken part, onions, carrots and celery into the cooker and add about 2 qts of water. I usually pass the forbidden half way mark on the cooker but I've never had a problem. Cook at pressure for 1 hr then let it do a natural cool down. The stock comes out relatively clear. Not consomme clear but pretty clear. The bones are brittle and the gel factor is high. I find the taste very deep and rich compared to my non pressurized attempts at stock. Maybe that says more about my other technique but I'm happy with the PC results.

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Hi,

The recipe is not really important. Pressure cooker stock would be made using normal ingredients or recipe with one exception. Since you will minimize evaporation, you are probably best off using the minimum amount of water.

Techniques would also be the same, including any roasting or browning steps. It is very important to utilize a slow cool down. If you quickly depressurize the pot, the very hot stock (well above the boiling point) will immediately boil furiously incorporating all of the fats and impurities. This results in a cloudy, muddy stock.

Tim

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I do all my stocks in a pressure cooker... typically, I'll put in the bones and fill with cold water up to about 2 inches from the top of the pressure cooker - I know you're not supposed to pass the 2/3 point or something, but it works fine... bring to a simmer, and as it heats, the bones will release impurities - so skim as they accumulate...

After about 15-20 minutes of simmering, the release of impurities will noticeably slow down, at which point I add mirepoix and sachet... then cover, raise heat to high and bring to full pressure. Once full pressure is reached, reduce heat immediately to the point where it's just maintaining pressure - you want a slow simmer - just at an elevated temperature... depending on the type and size of bones will dictate how long... chicken stock is fine after about 45 minutes... veal stock can go for a 1.5 hours to really get all of the gelatin out...

Once it has cooked sufficiently long enough, turn off the heat, and let the pot cool down naturally until the pressure is reduced... removing the lid should show perfectly clear stock - like a consomme... but the trick is how to get the liquid out without disturbing the bones - disturbing them will add impurities to your liquid... if you remove the liquid carefully and put through a chinois lined with a couple layers of cheesecloth, that should keep your stock clear. Otherwise, you can always run it through a superbag to remove anything that may have mixed in....

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interesting idea. But is the stock better, or just faster to make? I don't care about the time it takes, but if it's "better" I'd be inclined to add yet an other gadget to the kitchen...

"And don't forget music - music in the kitchen is an essential ingredient!"

- Thomas Keller

Diablo Kitchen, my food blog

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Thanks guys. That's very useful detail.

I don't yet have a pressure Cooker but am contemplating getting one as I see a resurgence in people using them with modern techniques. I had read that the stock produced as indeed clearer. Does everyone think that the flavour is deeper in the pressure cooked method? I read that some feel that the flavours are "brighter", probably because the cooking time is so much shorter.

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KennethT, I've noticed that all of my scum accumulates and sticks to the bottom of my pan. None floating in the stock. I also strain thru a strainer lined with cheese cloth or paper towels.

That's interesting... I do find some impurities stuck to the bottom of the pot, but I get quite a bit floating to the surface during the heat-up phase. Do you heat it with the cover on or the cover off? I know the instruction manual for the pc said to add all ingredients, put the cover on and put on high heat until full pressure, but I'm always afraid of getting a cloudy stock, so my method is kind of a hybrid between traditional and pc stocks...

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interesting idea. But is the stock better, or just faster to make? I don't care about the time it takes, but if it's "better" I'd be inclined to add yet an other gadget to the kitchen...

I think the stock is better, as well as being faster to make. When I cook a stock conventionally, I never get all the gelatin out of the bones... with the pc, when I'm finished I can snap the chicken bones with one finger - there's nothing left holding it together. Plus, I find it clearer as well... with the traditional stock, I always have the tendency to want to stir a bit as it's going, which is a no-no, but with the pc that's not an option, so it stays crystal clear.

Personally, I am not usually looking for flavorful stocks - I like my stocks to be pretty neutral so I have lots of options when it comes to saucing later. I'm looking for mouthfeel - and the pc stocks have about as much gelatin as possible... it sets up in the refrig so well, you could cut it with a knife - with no reducing...

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