If you have ever had a really good beef stew in which the flavors were supercharged and the meat was juicy and the root vegetables tender, chances are it was made quickly in a pressure cooker.
I’ve made stews for decades, but I have yet been able to duplicate the tenderness that comes when you take a less desirable cut of game or grass-fed beef and put it in a pressure cooker, rather than a Dutch oven or slow cooker. Less-marbled red meat dries out in a Crock-Pot. In a pressure cooker, it gets infused with moisture and flavor.
Not everyone has the space for an outdoor grill – or the desire to eat grilled food every night in the summer. But in keeping with Durango’s busy lifestyle, in which time is set aside for recreation, the pressure cooker is the answer. Food cooks quickly. Stew is ready in minutes, not hours. Chicken or beef stock taste like it has simmered for days.
Modern models are safe, so there will not be soup on the ceiling or worse, in your face.
I’m old enough to remember when releasing the rattler was a big deal that called for caution. Things have changed. You follow the directions, and these one-pot meals are actually easy. You can even cook pasta and sauce together, but being the traditionalist that I am, I have not tried it. I have heard from several reliable sources, though, that the risotto you can create in a pressure cooker is tops.
The big reason for having a pressure cooker – especially in the summer – is that your kitchen stays cool.
If you’ve followed this blog for any length of time, you know that I seldom recommend cook books. It’s so easy now to find good recipes online. I’ll make an exception when one is written by America’s Test Kitchen because these publications explain the why and how. These are the books you want among your cooking reference library.
Pressure Cooker Perfection offers 100 tested recipes from baby back ribs to risotto. America’s Test Kitchen produced and is offering a 25 percent discount right now off the $19.95 cover price. You can find this offer by Googling “America’s Test Kitchen.”
Maria’s Bookshop at 960 Main Ave. also can order this cookbook for you. Online address is www.mariasbookshop.com
