Okay I have a new kitchen toy I'm itching to buy and that's a pressure cooker. I would ask if they're worth it but regardless of your answers I'd probably still end up buying one lol. When we use a crock pot the stew meat always seems dry to me and sometimes doesn't seem to hold a bunch of flavor. I was hoping with learning to use a pressure cooker I could avoid both of these issues AND get it done way faster since I always seem to be scrambling for dinner ideas at the last minute. At first I was going to order an electric off of QVC that seemed really nice but the more I read it seemed like a good old fashioned stove top was the way to go. I mean there's a lot less to actually break so there is that aspect and I've heard you really can't use an electric to can items although manufactures say you can. Any advice or recommendations? Please share any thoughts on the subject I searched 4 different stores today hoping to find one I'd like but came up empty which is good....more time to read and make less of an impulse buy.
I have a stove top style and an Power Pro XL plus. The stove top one doesn't get used much anymore. The Power Pro gets used a lot. Check them out.
I have the 8qt Fagor stove top and am very happy with it. I made some great carnitas with it last weekend. http://www.fagoramerica.com/cookware/pressure_cookers/duo_line/duo
Fagor and Presto were the two brands I was looking at. I'd electric just doesn't seem to be as versatile to me. On top of that there is the clunkness of it as well which we're already way over cabinet capacity lol
Am I over hyping this in my head though? I mean I think I could make some really delicious meals out of one but I thought that about a crock pot and was disappointed with that
I have a very nice and very dusty slow cooker. I like what I get out of my pressure cooker better. And it's faster.
I have this electric, and use it nearly every day. I'm actually looking at getting a second pot (stainless steel) for it. So I can be even lazier about cooking. I like the electric as it frees up stovetop if I need it, which I usually do. And all my crockpots have been delegated to the basement.
I just got the same Insant Pot that JoAnna has. It is incredible. It works as a slow cooker also..............
The Pot Roast is great. This was the first thing I tried. The Instant Pot is pretty much "Bob Proof"!
I have a Russell Hobbs 8qt Oval electric pressure cooker. Current one is the 2nd one as I burned out the first one with so much use. I like the oval as I can place a chicken on its back instead of up like some of the other ones out there. Have used it to make stews, pot roast, chili beans, menudo, pozole. Probably the most used appliance in my kitchen.
I made some beef stew yesterday. It turned out great. I vacuum sealed and froze some for hunting later in the year.
Does a pressure cooker really make a difference in taste versus a crock pot? My wife won't cook a roast any other way than a crock pot. I've got my mother'so old cast iron Dutch oven, but she won't use it either. I did cook a whole chicken in the Dutch oven and it was way better than a crock pot.
Oh my gosh, yes! With my crock pot I was making a lot of dishes using soup. Some of those canned soups have a lot of junk in them. With my pressure cooker, I never use soup. Just seasonings, spices, bouillon with water or broth. I think my favorite thing about my pressure cooker is being able to cook frozen meat to perfection in an hour. Yep, even roasts. I actually prefer my chicken/beef/pork to be frozen when using the pressure cooker. It seems to come out better. Just have to make sure the meat freezes in a shape that fits into the cooker.
We wife mentioned several years ago maybe getting a pressure cooker like the one my mother used to use for canning vegetables. So I got her one just like it, a stove top model just like the one my mother had. It's still in the box unopened. Are the stove top models just as good? We really don't have any more space on our counter, unless we get rid of something else first.
