Donate to Remove ads

Got a credit card? use our Credit Card & Finance Calculators

Thanks to johnstevens77,Bhoddhisatva,scotia,Anonymous,Cornytiv34, for Donating to support the site

Duck under pressure

incorporating Recipes and Cooking
88V8
Lemon Half
Posts: 5769
Joined: November 4th, 2016, 11:22 am
Has thanked: 4098 times
Been thanked: 2560 times

Duck under pressure

#446693

Postby 88V8 » September 30th, 2021, 5:38 pm

One hears little about the pressure cooker nowadays, despite it being so enviromenkally friendly.
OH has had one since 1975... on our third now... as I write, she is cooking the pickings from a duck, a common or garden supermarket duck, from which she will have gleaned ten decent servings.
It says on the packet - serves 2-3.... which I can imagine if it were my sister-in-law who doesn't 'do' what she refers to as left-overs and has a waste disposal unit....

Can't remember what became of the first cooker, although I do recall using the base in about 1982 to melt lead to make sash weights, the second lasted until we bought an induction hob in 2013, the third is going strong.
Its place has somewhat been usurped by the microwave, but by no means entirely.

Do Fools still use pressure cookers?

V8

bungeejumper
Lemon Half
Posts: 8064
Joined: November 8th, 2016, 2:30 pm
Has thanked: 2846 times
Been thanked: 3939 times

Re: Duck under pressure

#446717

Postby bungeejumper » September 30th, 2021, 7:15 pm

I'd have to admit that I was never brave enough to try one. A favourite auntie had destroyed a fair part of her kitchen when hers exploded, and it was a mercy that she wasn't anywhere near when the superheated steam made its violent escape. ;)

Of course, there must have been something wrong with the cooker when this fearsome beast misbehaved - a faulty seal, a stuck valve, or whatever. But there aren't many kitchen items that can make quite such a show of reminding you that they're in need of an overhaul. Generally, my parents conveyed the message to me that they'd rather I didn't have one, and just for once, I took their advice, for better or worse. My loss, I suppose?

As you say, microwaves have largely supplanted the functions of the pressure cooker, but I suppose they'll never be as good at some things?

[Edit:] Yes, I made lead weights too as a teenager, but for fishing. Don't suppose the fumes would have done me much good, but it was fun at the time. :D

BJ

6Tricia
2 Lemon pips
Posts: 243
Joined: November 4th, 2016, 11:00 am
Has thanked: 721 times
Been thanked: 103 times

Re: Duck under pressure

#446736

Postby 6Tricia » September 30th, 2021, 8:14 pm

Here is one who does, also since 1975 when I invested in a 6 1/2 litre Silit Sicomatic(I was living in Germany at the time.) It was in constant use until about 4 years ago when I decided I wanted a newer model and was lucky enough to find the Sicomatic Econtrol model in the Amazon warehouse for just £71.25 which works on all hobs including my AEG induction hob.

It is used for soups, stews, pulses, any dish that requires meat to be tenderized which would otherwise need long slow cooking, jam and chutney making (not as a pressure cooker but the high sides prevent splashing) and extracting juice from such fruits as blackcurrants and raspberries for jelly.

Used in conjunction with my newest appliance, the latest Panasonic combination oven which has all the bells and whistles, I only use my main oven for baking sourdough bread - the cast iron Dutch oven is too large for the Panasonic.

I've always been in favour of saving time and money in the kitchen :)

Tricia

Mike4
Lemon Half
Posts: 7085
Joined: November 24th, 2016, 3:29 am
Has thanked: 1637 times
Been thanked: 3793 times

Re: Duck under pressure

#446775

Postby Mike4 » September 30th, 2021, 10:32 pm

88V8 wrote:
Do Fools still use pressure cookers?

V8


I never use one, never have.

What I use constantly is the oven. I can barely manage any meal without it. It amazes me how few people use their ovens though, which I get to find out when I do the landlord gas safety tickets.

vrdiver
Lemon Quarter
Posts: 2574
Joined: November 5th, 2016, 2:22 am
Has thanked: 552 times
Been thanked: 1212 times

Re: Duck under pressure

#446783

Postby vrdiver » September 30th, 2021, 10:46 pm

bungeejumper wrote:A favourite auntie had destroyed a fair part of her kitchen when hers exploded, and it was a mercy that she wasn't anywhere near when the superheated steam made its violent escape.

It was probably because she was nowhere near it that it exploded! I never leave mine unattended; once up to pressure, the gentle hiss of steam is proof that all is well. If the steam stops, either it's boiled dry, or the valve is bunged up; neither of which is a good thing and need to be dealt with immediately!

I use ours for reducing cooking times of dried beans, or for any dish where a bit of pressure will reduce the cooking time. It also serves as an oversize saucepan when needed, or a steamer (not pressurised).

Pressure cooker, slow cooker, microwave, oven, all get used as and when.

VRD

James
Lemon Slice
Posts: 295
Joined: November 4th, 2016, 3:12 pm
Has thanked: 69 times
Been thanked: 111 times

Re: Duck under pressure

#446873

Postby James » October 1st, 2021, 9:43 am

88V8 wrote:One hears little about the pressure cooker nowadays, despite it being so enviromenkally friendly.

Do Fools still use pressure cookers?

V8

Frequently. Brilliant for dry beans, whole grain rice, super-quick soups etc. Was given a new Prestige oven-top one about 6 years ago and it probably gets dragged out once a week. It has something like four fail-safes built in to prevent explosions.

UncleEbenezer
The full Lemon
Posts: 10690
Joined: November 4th, 2016, 8:17 pm
Has thanked: 1459 times
Been thanked: 2965 times

Re: Duck under pressure

#446912

Postby UncleEbenezer » October 1st, 2021, 11:49 am

Mike4 wrote:
88V8 wrote:
Do Fools still use pressure cookers?

V8


I never use one, never have.

What I use constantly is the oven. I can barely manage any meal without it. It amazes me how few people use their ovens though, which I get to find out when I do the landlord gas safety tickets.


I use the hob far more than anything else for cooking.

Some ovens are better than others. I never use the one here: it's just too awful (until I get a new kitchen), but I have an appliance called a "ninja foodi" that serves as an excellent oven for smaller meals.

The ninja also serves (albeit rarely) as pressure cooker, the first I've had since my mum's old heavy metal one that went on the hob and whistled through the pressure relief valve, and turned old boots into something edible. That was sometime last century.

BTW, I'd thoroughly recommend the ninja as a relatively-complete substitute kitchen for anyone in bedsit-land with less-than-satisfactory facilities available. If I'd had one in my youth it would've got used something close to daily.

UncleEbenezer
The full Lemon
Posts: 10690
Joined: November 4th, 2016, 8:17 pm
Has thanked: 1459 times
Been thanked: 2965 times

Re: Duck under pressure

#446914

Postby UncleEbenezer » October 1st, 2021, 11:57 am

bungeejumper wrote:As you say, microwaves have largely supplanted the functions of the pressure cooker, but I suppose they'll never be as good at some things?

Microwaves are good, but the kind of things that work well in a microwave could scarcely be more different to what you'd use a pressure cooker for.

Though when you've made a big batch of something in the pressure cooker, the microwave serves nicely to re-heat portions of it the day after, or after freezing.

voelkels
Posts: 43
Joined: December 5th, 2016, 12:41 pm
Has thanked: 1 time
Been thanked: 29 times

Re: Duck under pressure

#446942

Postby voelkels » October 1st, 2021, 1:07 pm

FWIW, although I own two pressure cookers, a huge pressure canner from my late MIL, which is in the shed out back, and a little 3 quart one I bought 6 or 5 years ago, I use neither ones now-a-daze. In the past I used the pressure canner in canning and I used the little one for making/canning flavored oils.

While the pressure cooker can be used to make stock in minutes instead of hours, I prefer to simmer my stocks for hours as I prefers their taste. I’m retired and prefers “Slow Food” to that made in a microwave oven or pressure cooker.

FWIW, yesterday I slow roasted an approximately 1 Kg I-round beef roast for a little over 10 hours to an internal temperature of 122 degrees F (50 degrees C.) to be sliced for rare roast beef for sandwiches.
;-)

C.J.V. - prefers taste to speed, me

pje16
Lemon Half
Posts: 6050
Joined: May 30th, 2021, 6:01 pm
Has thanked: 1843 times
Been thanked: 2066 times

Re: Duck under pressure

#446954

Postby pje16 » October 1st, 2021, 1:55 pm

88V8 wrote:Do Fools still use pressure cookers?
V8

Have never used one but I'm a guy with limited cooking skills !
A microwave combo oven does it all
Why heat up a much bigger oven space to heat up most of what you cook
and a 1000w Micowave does the job so much quicker than a lower powered one
Grilling is also much faster than a traditional oven grill
I have had one for over 20 years and couldn't live without it

TonyB
Posts: 44
Joined: November 8th, 2016, 10:38 am
Has thanked: 1 time
Been thanked: 9 times

Re: Duck under pressure

#447438

Postby TonyB » October 3rd, 2021, 11:42 am

I have 2, a Kuhn Rikon and an InstantPot, both a far cry from hiss hiss hiss old fashioned weight type I remember as a child. I tend to use the InstantPot these days, mostly for stews and stocks. Horses for courses in the kitchen cookware department these days, pressure cooker, air fryer, microwave, sous vide, steam oven etc. Unfortunately I haven't come across any single 'best' cooker yet.

Wow 10 decent servings from a duck! I remember as a young aspiring home cook, roasting a duck for the centre piece of a meal for 4, I think we all went to bed hungry that night.

stockton
Lemon Slice
Posts: 326
Joined: November 30th, 2016, 7:19 pm
Has thanked: 6 times
Been thanked: 58 times

Re: Duck under pressure

#448390

Postby stockton » October 6th, 2021, 8:05 pm

Inspired by the possibility of making curried goat I tried a pressure cooker for a short time. Decided that most things came out with an inferior taste.

stewamax
Lemon Quarter
Posts: 2417
Joined: November 7th, 2016, 2:40 pm
Has thanked: 83 times
Been thanked: 782 times

Re: Duck under pressure

#448415

Postby stewamax » October 6th, 2021, 11:11 pm

Needing to buy a replacement 'built-under'* double oven a couple of years ago, I checked the dimensions of the largest (lower) oven in all the candidate ovens. Their heights were all too small to fit a large (16-18lb) turkey. They were narrower too. I mentioned this to the more knowledgeable of the assistants who said this was due to EU heat insulation regulations.
So I bought a good second-hand version of my old one. I am all for saving the planet but not at the expense of my Xmas family turkey...

* which need to be 70cm maximum height to fit under a standard worktop

johnstevens77
Lemon Slice
Posts: 440
Joined: November 9th, 2016, 6:14 pm
Has thanked: 421 times
Been thanked: 147 times

Re: Duck under pressure

#448848

Postby johnstevens77 » October 8th, 2021, 10:58 pm

I have 2, Prestige alu models, one high dome and one regular size and they are used frequently for all the reasons in previous posts. Just this evening I used the high dome one to sterilize some one kilo jars of apples from the garden. Blanch the prepared apples, pack into warm jars, top up with boiling syrup, put into the cooker containing half a litre water, ( using the trivet) put on the discs and lids, but don't screw down tight and using the 5lbs weight put on the lid. Take 3 mins to reach pressure then steam for one minute. Wait for the pressure to reduce before removing the jars and screwing down the lids. This morning, I used the regular one to cook haricot beans to add to a stew for lunch tomorrow. The slow cooker is used less frequently and microwave mainly for reheating. I made a quiche for lunch today in the main oven and also yoghurt to make spinach and potato curry on Sunday. All our kitchen equipment gets used.

john

88V8
Lemon Half
Posts: 5769
Joined: November 4th, 2016, 11:22 am
Has thanked: 4098 times
Been thanked: 2560 times

Re: Duck under pressure

#576951

Postby 88V8 » March 19th, 2023, 8:07 pm

Tonight, hare legs, cooked for 40 minutes, came out just falling off the bone.
Potatoes, lentils, herbs, carrots all in the pressure cooker, and beef gravy.
Bottle of Rioja.

Never eaten hare before, much more gamey than rabbit, even wild rabbit.

Altogether yum.

V8

Mike4
Lemon Half
Posts: 7085
Joined: November 24th, 2016, 3:29 am
Has thanked: 1637 times
Been thanked: 3793 times

Re: Duck under pressure

#576954

Postby Mike4 » March 19th, 2023, 8:30 pm

88V8 wrote:Tonight, hare legs, cooked for 40 minutes, came out just falling off the bone.
Potatoes, lentils, herbs, carrots all in the pressure cooker, and beef gravy.
Bottle of Rioja.

Never eaten hare before, much more gamey than rabbit, even wild rabbit.

Altogether yum.

V8


Funny you should mention hares. I saw my first leveret around midday today on my way to Dunstable to fix a boiler. It was still mucking about in the lane when I got home at about 6pm. I wondered about how I could perhaps catch it and eat it....

Still a bit puzzled about why you said they are environmentally friendly though. pressure cookers not hares.

88V8
Lemon Half
Posts: 5769
Joined: November 4th, 2016, 11:22 am
Has thanked: 4098 times
Been thanked: 2560 times

Re: Duck under pressure

#577041

Postby 88V8 » March 20th, 2023, 9:56 am

Mike4 wrote:
88V8 wrote:Tonight, hare legs, cooked for 40 minutes, came out just falling off the bone.
Potatoes, lentils, herbs, carrots all in the pressure cooker, and beef gravy.

Still a bit puzzled about why you said they are environmentally friendly though. pressure cookers not hares.

I am a bit of a walking contradiction when it comes to food, as I would certainly not condone shooting them, indeed currently we have two large rabbits sussing out the potential real estate in our garden and I haven't shot them, yet, but if someone else has shot them I'm happy to eat them...

Anyway, the environment, just that they use much less energy than conventional cooking because the cooking time is so short, and unlike microwaves they don't dry the food.
The pressure cooker and the induction hob are a marriage made in heaven.

V8

Dod101
The full Lemon
Posts: 16629
Joined: October 10th, 2017, 11:33 am
Has thanked: 4343 times
Been thanked: 7534 times

Re: Duck under pressure

#577043

Postby Dod101 » March 20th, 2023, 10:03 am

88V8 wrote:
Mike4 wrote:Still a bit puzzled about why you said they are environmentally friendly though. pressure cookers not hares.

I am a bit of a walking contradiction when it comes to food, as I would certainly not condone shooting them, indeed currently we have two large rabbits sussing out the potential real estate in our garden and I haven't shot them, yet, but if someone else has shot them I'm happy to eat them...

Anyway, the environment, just that they use much less energy than conventional cooking because the cooking time is so short, and unlike microwaves they don't dry the food.
The pressure cooker and the induction hob are a marriage made in heaven.

V8


You are getting your pronouns very mixed up, Not sure if you are considering shooting the pressure cooker or if the rabbits use much less energy because the cooking time is so short.........or what?

Dod

johnstevens77
Lemon Slice
Posts: 440
Joined: November 9th, 2016, 6:14 pm
Has thanked: 421 times
Been thanked: 147 times

Re: Duck under pressure

#577772

Postby johnstevens77 » March 22nd, 2023, 6:16 pm

I thought someone was going to post about Canard a la Press!

Last did that at Gleneagles Hotel in 1967.

john

88V8
Lemon Half
Posts: 5769
Joined: November 4th, 2016, 11:22 am
Has thanked: 4098 times
Been thanked: 2560 times

Re: Duck under pressure

#577802

Postby 88V8 » March 22nd, 2023, 7:38 pm

johnstevens77 wrote:I thought someone was going to post about Canard a la Press!
Last did that at Gleneagles Hotel in 1967.

I hope the diners appreciated the effort.

We eat the bird on the bone, we have an empty plate between us on the table on which we deposit the bones so they don't scull around on the plate. We also eat the heart and the liver; usually when preparing the bird I cannot find the kidneys, apparently they are not very important in the duck's clockwork.

V8


Return to “Food”

Who is online

Users browsing this forum: No registered users and 6 guests