Curious About Pressure Cookers? What You Need to Know
Inspired by conversations on the Food52 Hotline, we’re sharing tips and tricks that make navigating all of our kitchens easier and more fun.
Today: Give fast food a try — pressure cooker expert and author of Cooking Under Pressure, Lorna Sass, walks us through this magical, misunderstood machine.
Photos by Alpha Smoot
When we first decided to look into pressure cookers, based on the interest from our community on the hotline, we hesitated. We recalled the machines of our childhood that seized and emitted a chugging noise at high pressure, with the ever-present risk of a grand finalé that involved scraping tomato sauce off of the ceiling. Then we received Lorna Sass’ cookbook, Cooking Under Pressure, which reassured us (“For those worriers among you… you can’t do any injury to yourself or your loved ones.”) and piqued our interest with recipes for risotto cooked in 4 minutes, spareribs in 14 minutes, and beans in a fraction of their regular cooking time — without presoaking. How is this possible, you might ask?
More: Already a pressure cooking master? Here are some dishes you can try out.
Pressure cookers reduce cooking time to a third of the normal time by sealing the food within an airtight container, then increasing the internal temperature to produce steam and cook the food above a normal boiling point temperature. To be specific, the boiling point of water at sea level is 212º F, while the boiling point in a pressure cooker is 250º F. In short, food cooks much faster, while maintaining the integrity of their flavors. After flipping through Lorna’s recipes, the majority of which take well under 20 minutes, we had to try one out for ourselves:
More: How to get more out of your slow cooker
Photos by Alpha Smoot
Finding a pressure cooker:
If you don’t already own a pressure cooker, or if you own one made in the mid-twentieth century, there are several “Second Generation” pressure cookers on the market today that have updated safety systems and electric cooking mechanisms. We used a 6-quart Cuisinart Electric Pressure Cooker (EPC-1200PC), but Lorna recommends buying any pressure cooker with the following qualifications: a heavy bottom and even weight distribution, at least one safety-backup mechanism like a steam release valve, and the ability to cook at 15 to 16 pounds per square inch at high pressure.
More: 12 slow-cooking recipes you’ll want to make this weekend
Many pressure cookers, like ours, are electric and can be left unattended while cooking, but many manual versions require a stovetop and more attention. If using a manual pressure cooker, you should consult your instruction manual before operating, as we used an electric version here.
Photos by Alpha Smoot
Getting started:
Once you’ve scoped out, purchased, and carted home your ideal pressure cooker, it’s time to get intimate with your new machine and take out the instruction booklet. While many things can be put together without a manual (Ikea furniture, coffee machines, iPads), pressure cookers are not one of these things — especially if you lack experience with them.
Before your first use, follow your instruction manual’s guide to connecting gadgets to your pressure cooker like condensation collectors, pressure limit valves, cooking pots, and power cords. Many of these items, like the pressure valve, are safety precautions, so take care when setting them up — our instruction booklet featured several bolded, capitalized warnings, lest we turn our pressure valve clockwise, rather than counter-clockwise.
Photos by Alpha Smoot
Get cooking:
One of the most impressive features of a pressure cooker, besides it’s ability to cook foods in record speed, is that it is truly an all-in-one machine. Using a stovetop or electrical preset, you can sauté, brown, or simmer your food. We sautéd chopped onions and mushrooms for a risotto in our pressure cooker before setting it up for high pressure cooking — which is where things get tricky. To cook at high pressure, you must ensure that the lid is locked, the pressure valve is at the correct position, and that there is enough liquid in the machine — many cookers require a minimum of 1/2 to 2 cups of liquid. And while you can cook a wide variety of foods in a pressure cooker, you should avoid cooking dishes that have foaming ingredients, such as cranberries and rhubarb. Once the lid on our pressure cooker was locked and turned on, the machine took about one minute to preheat, then indicated a countdown with an LED screen.
Photos by Alpha Smoot
Releasing pressure:
Once your food is cooked, according to the time indicated on whichever recipe you are using, there are two methods to release pressure: natural and quick pressure release. For a natural release, turn the heat off and allow the cooker to sit until the pressure drops, for as long as 20 minutes. To use the quick-release method, either place your manual cooker under cold running water, or use a tong to pull the pressure valve forward to release steam.
Whichever method you choose depends on the recipe and the amount of time you have to cook. If opting for a natural release method, simply decrease the high pressure cooking time by 2 minutes, unless otherwise instructed. Once the pressure has dropped, which will be indicated by a released pressure float or a release of tension when opening the pot, tilt the lid away from your face to protect yourself from risidual steam. Once you’ve opened your cooker and admired the wonder of fully formed risotto or fall-off-the-bone ribs, you may have to simmer the mixture to release excess moisture.
Photos by Alpha Smoot
Our favorite things to cook:
Now that we’re all pressure cooking professionals, there’s a world of quick and easy recipes to be had — here are some of our favorite dishes that transform under pressure into fully-formed weeknight meals.
Rice and grains. Pressure cookers were made for one-pot meals, but can also cook brown rice in a fraction of the time.
Tender meats. The extreme pressure tenderizes meet within minutes, so it’s possible to make a coq au vin or chili in under 20 minutes.
Soups and broth. Chicken stock and vegetable broth can skip the stovetop simmering time; in a pressure cooker, they take as little as 35 minutes to make.
Beans. Skip the pre-soaking stage and throw your beans straight into a cooker.
Serves 6-8
for the chili
1/2 pound dried small red beans
2.5 cups water
1 bay leaf
1 small onion, halved, unpeeled
2 dried ancho chiles
2 dried guajillo chiles
2 cups boiling water
1 tablespoon whole coriander seeds
1 tablespoon whole cumin seeds
1 teaspoon coarse salt
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon chipotle powder
1 tablespoon cocoa powder (I used Valrhona)
1 whole fire-roasted red bell pepper
Kosher or sea salt
1.5 pounds boneless beef short ribs, trimmed
Grapeseed or other neutral oil
2 cups diced yellow onion
2 large cloves garlic, peeled and smashed
1 tablespoon dried marjoram or Mexican oregano
1 tablespoon double-concentrated tomato paste
1 28 oz. can fire roasted tomatoes with juice, gently crushed
1 cup chocolate stout (I used Brooklyn Brewery’s Black Chocolate Stout)
1/2 cup crushed tortilla chips
Juice of one lime
to garnish:
Grated sharp cheddar or jack cheese
Sour cream
Fresh cilantro leaves
Quick pickled red onion
Fresh or pickled jalapeno peppers
Diced fresh avocado
Thinly sliced radishes
Tortilla chips or warm tortillas
Your favorite hot pepper sauce
Pick over the beans to remove any stones or debris, and place them in a large pot. Add the water, bay leaf and onion, cover the pot, and bring it to a boil. Let boil for 2 minutes, then turn off the heat and let the beans stand, undrained, for an hour. Discard the onion and bay leaf. (Note: the beans should be fairly tender at this point, though older beans may need more soaking time.)
Put on a pair of latex gloves. (No, seriously. Trust me on this.) Using kitchen shears, snip off the stems of the dried peppers and shake out most of the seeds (unless you like a fierier chili, in which case leave in as many as you like). Toast the peppers in a dry skillet until they are fragrant and beginning to soften, then place them in a bowl and cover them with the 2 cups of boiling water. Let soak until they are very soft.
Toast the coriander and cumin seeds in the same dry skillet until fragrant. Transfer to a mortar and pestle, add the coarse salt, and grind. Place the softened peppers with their soaking liquid in a blender, adding the ground coriander/cumin mixture, the cinnamon, the chipotle powder, the cocoa powder, and the roasted bell pepper. Puree until smooth and set aside.
Cut the short ribs into bite-sized chunks, season well with salt, and set aside. Place a small amount of oil in a deep, heavy-bottomed pot and warm until shimmering. Brown the short rib pieces in batches, removing them to a plate or platter as you finish browning.
Add the chopped onion and a pinch of salt and cook until translucent. Add the garlic and marjoram or Mexican oregano and cook until fragrant. Clear a space in the bottom of the pot, add the tomato paste, and cook for a minute until it gets a little caramelized before stirring it through the onion mixture.
Return the short ribs to the pot with any juices that have accumulated on the plate or platter, then add the chile puree, the beans with their cooking liquid, and the fire-roasted tomatoes. Add the stout and stir to incorporate. Cover and simmer over low heat for at least 3-4 hours, until the beans and beef are fully tender (this is actually best if you cook it low and slow ahead of time, even one or two days in advance of when you’re actually going to serve it).
Add the crushed tortilla chips about an hour before serving, stirring them in so they break down and thicken the chili (and add a lovely toasty corn flavor). Taste for salt and add a bit more if necessary, stir in the fresh lime juice off the heat, then serve with garnishes and plenty of cold beer.
