mguerra Posted October 12, 2015 Report Share Posted October 12, 2015 In a previous thread I extolled the virtues of using an electric pressure cooker, it will change your cooking life. I pressure cook a whole split chicken with 2-1/2 cups of water for 20 minutes, and let the cooker naturally depressurize. Remove all the meat from the chicken, reserve it for future use and throw everything left, skin, fat, bones back in to the pot with the cooking water. Pressure cook 20 minutes. You have now cooked the water twice, sealed and under pressure, with the chicken. Strain the stock through a colander and discard all the chicken remnants. You don't heat up the kitchen, don't steam up the house, don't have to ever stir it or check it, just push a button and walk away. This double pressure stock is richer and more flavorful than stove top. Check out my previous threads on pressure cooking, and pressure cooking ribs for a few minutes before smoking them! I just cooked a pot of basmati in three minutes sitting in my recliner, pushed one button and that's it. If you don't use a pressure cooker, you are seriously missing out on a whole new world of speed, convenience and taste. There's a little learning curve, and plenty of tips and recipes on line and youtube. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ckreef Posted October 12, 2015 Report Share Posted October 12, 2015 Never used a pressure cooker. Back in the day my mom use to use one (stove top version) all the time. When I was a wee child she had one blow up in her face. No permanent scars but it did make a complete mess out of the entire kitchen. I've wanted to get a pressure cooker canner for some time now. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mguerra Posted October 12, 2015 Author Report Share Posted October 12, 2015 The new pressure cookers, stovetop and electric, are much safer than the old ones. This little gem will take your foodie journey to another level: http://www.amazon.com/Secura-Electric-Pressure-Stainless-Browning/dp/B008A852ZW/ref=sr_1_1?s=home-garden&ie=UTF8&qid=1444616125&sr=1-1&keywords=secura+6-in-1+electric+pressure+cooker Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bryan Posted October 12, 2015 Report Share Posted October 12, 2015 Great post Doc. Wife would not touch the old ones but she loves the new. uses it 2-3 times a month. Every home should have one. Am planing to again call all my grands for a week end. Those that come and go to class will take a cooker home with them. Just won't tell them until class is over. Thanks for the thought. Going down hill is fun. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ckreef Posted October 12, 2015 Report Share Posted October 12, 2015 Great post Doc. Wife would not touch the old ones but she loves the new. uses it 2-3 times a month. Every home should have one. Am planing to again call all my grands for a week end. Those that come and go to class will take a cooker home with them. Just won't tell them until class is over. Thanks for the thought. Going down hill is fun. Can I pretend to be a grandkid? I promise to be a good student. - LOL Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Syzygies Posted October 12, 2015 Report Share Posted October 12, 2015 The now-classic idea of a concentrated stock is French demi-glace, where one drives all the aromatics out by fierce reduction. Several centuries ago, the true classic approach was to use one stock to make another, always at a gentle simmer. I've adopted triple stocks for gumbo, where a chicken stock leads to a crab stock leads to a lobster stock. (I then cook the reserved lobster meat sous vide in butter to serve on top, rather than destroying it in the gumbo itself.) A Chinese "supreme" stock also simmers ground chicken in an existing chicken stock. The Chinese also pioneered parboiling meats before making stock. This is vastly superior to simply skimming, and is an idea that cannot be rejected by pure thought. The spectacular, recently released Phoenix Claws and Jade Trees: Essential Techniques of Authentic Chinese Cooking devotes a chapter to stocks, with these instructions: In order to keep the stock clear, the bones should be parboiled. Be sure to diligently skim off any scum from the surface of the parboiling liquid and to wash off any particles clinging to the bones before making the stock I learned this first from Tom Colicchio. He applies this advice to protein and bones, for flavor not appearance. This proved to be such a great idea, that I then assumed it came from Thomas Keller. To my great surprise, Keller's books did not specify this step. He later came clean that of course his kitchens do this. My guess is that all great contemporary restaurants have come around to this ancient Chinese view of stock-making, they just don't believe that we want to read it from them, because we'll never take this advice. But anyone with a fraction of Thomas Keller's taste perception can discern a dramatic difference. These places stay in business by developing superior flavors in their food; these techniques are crucial. This is appropriate, even using a pressure cooker. Heston Blumenthal at Home has a chapter dedicated to pressure-cooker stocks of all kinds. He advocates double and triple stocks, and parboiling first. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gnomatic Posted October 13, 2015 Report Share Posted October 13, 2015 I have to agree, pressure cookers are GREAT for making stock. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
