aem wrote:
> Katra wrote:
> [snip]
>
>>If you know what you are doing with any recipe and add all the right
>>ingredients and flavorings/spices in the first place, there is no
>
> need
>
>>to keep lifting the lid and "adjusting" it! [more snips]
>
>
> Well, I might not have said "crap shoot" but he's raising pretty much
> the same question I've always had with regard to a lot of
> slow-cooker/crockpot recipes I've seen, which is that they want you to
> put all the ingredients in at once and then go away till it's done.
> But when I make stew, for example, there's browning, and there's
> caramelization, and some of the vegetables go in early and some go in
> late and some later yet--you get the idea. If the pressure cooker
> similarly makes you cook everything for the same length of time, then
> the number of things that will come out well seems pretty limited.
>
> That said, the responses have given me more to think about than I knew
> before, thanks.
>
> -aem
>

He just doesn't know what he's talking about but felt compelled to shoot
his mouth off anyway. (at least he's been fairly civil lately)

Yesterday, I pressure cooked the ham hocks by themselves for about 45
minutes to maybe an hour -- I wanted them to pretty much dissolve into a
mass of gelatin. I picked the little bit of meat out of them and added
it back to the broth, added the partially soaked beans, 2 bay leaves, a
few grinds of black pepper, a pinch of summer savory, and some crumpled
dried hot peppers. I pressure cooked it for 10 minutes and let the
pressure drop slowly without quenching it. Meanwhile, I chopped up the
fat and skin and bones from the hocks and boiled them in a little fresh
water to extract the rest of the flavor. When I opened the cooker, I
strained the ham-water into the beans and stirred it up and tasted it
for seasoning. (it was pretty good and didn't *really* need anything)

I sauteed a half an onion and a little bit of celery in some vegetable
oil. Added it to the beans, along with a little garlic powder and a
little more black pepper. Simmered, uncovered, for just a few minutes
and it was done.

What part of this would you consider to be a crap shoot? The same thing
could have been done without a pressure cooker, but it would have taken
all day and not have turned out any better.

I ate a big bowl of 'em last night, with some french bread and some
bread 'n' butter pickles. Today I took some to work for lunch with some
leftover rice and some hot sauce.

Best regards,
Bob