Pressure cooking.

Nigeldownes

Nigeldownes

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I love good food and sailing but as a novice I have noticed the food can be a bit below par especially if its force 6.
I actually think this is no reason to sod the quality and so I say to you all pressure cooking!

Its quick easy and you can get all the ingredients in.

Whadya think, is there a reason I have never seen one a yacht, apart form they scare the uninitiated s##tless
 
Are you a pressure cooker salesman? bloody disgracefull abusing this forum like this /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif

Seriously though I know a few people who use them on boats.
 
Trouble is the horny handed types start thinking about low pressure, high pressure, pressure gradients, barometric pressure, etc and drift off into some Bracknell-inspired reverie involving Bert Ford and assorted weather girls, only to be brought back to reality when the pressure cooker has boiled dry, exploded and covered the whole shooting match in superheated Irish Stew.
 
One on my boat and you see them recommended (and recipes) in a lot of the cruising/liveaboard type books - especially for "one pot meals".

Suggest you change your company if you are not eating properly or the boat isn't being properly provisioned.
 
Use one at home (straight forward Lagostina without weights + other complicated bits, just an up /down valve when pressure achieved). Only use it for things I'm used to, maybe could do better with a recipe book, but books, blokes, pressure cookers and a heeling boat don't maybe make for haute cuisine. Popeye thinks they're a must have on a boat, for cooking everything, 'cos the lid stays on, but has not yet explained how you're supposed to know when the pasta is "al dente"
 
You don't need to buy a pressure cooker for decent food on board; just buy a catamaran !
/forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif
 
I have a little one, so to speak. Bought it at a car boot sale years ago. Works OK but I never actually use it as a pressure cooker, just a large pan. I find that my pressure cooked meals all taste the same; a sort of army surplus grey flavour.
 
Scotts of Stow also used to do a small pressure cooker - they are good devices even if you do not use the pressure bit. I also use a flame disperser to ensure that nothing at the bottom burns.
 
I have one onboard and use it quite a lot, saves gas and time, if your stuff comes out mush, then you've overcooked it, simple as that!
No, it's not good for pasta, but great for tatties, veggies, stews, soups (especially ones with pulses) good for cooking crabs and lobsters.
Leave the seal out and great for mussels (Biiiiig, lots of mussels!) You can use them for all kinds of things, including steaming dim sum. If you are a scaredy cat, try things at home first, then gaduate to cooking stuff aboard.
 
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I have a little one, so to speak. Bought it at a car boot sale years ago. Works OK but I never actually use it as a pressure cooker, just a large pan. I find that my pressure cooked meals all taste the same; a sort of army surplus grey flavour.

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You are overcooking stuff then! Only need 5 mins or so at pressure for most stuff. We do a wicked chicken broth on a regular basis using the carcase of a supermarket ready cooked chicken. Give it a few minutes in a couple of pints of water to get the flavour out of carcase, remove & separate bones/ skin, keep meat to one side. Put in spuds, carrots, celery, onion, any other tasty stuff & give it anothe 5 mins. Add a stock cube, dash of Worcestershire sauce & put the meat back in and bring to boil. Serve with granary bread or crispy rolls.

Final benefit is that cooking the bones initially extracts natural vitamins(?) that help fight colds! Best cold cure I know!
 
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....We do a wicked chicken broth on a regular basis using the carcase......Final benefit is that cooking the bones initially extracts natural vitamins(?) that help fight colds! Best cold cure I know!

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One of my favourites, my Mother used to do it when I was a kid and I still do it now - see you got the Worcester, but don't forget a slack handful of pearl barley as well.
 
I have a french SEB pressure cooker which does not have a sticky out handle and has a simple pop-on weight. Can't recommend it enough! All the UK available ones seemed to have complicated pressure control systems and a bloody great handle instead of two wee lugs.
 
I gott BIG one!
2 litre from Lidl for just under £30, but before Christmas they had them on offer at under a tenner. Keep an eye on their "specials".
Used mainly on-board for tatties, neeps etc. but also good for heating up stuff in tupperware pots... just take the lid off and put it on the rack over water. Heats up a lot quicker than decanting into a saucepan.
I also use it for storing dry goods. The seal makes an effective airtight store for salt, coffee etc.
 
We bought a really big one in the USA as well as loads of quart and pint jars + seals, and used it to bottle our own meat. We did "pure" meat - turkey, beef, pork as well as lots of "ready" meals - e.g bol. sauce, stew etc. - even sausages!!


It was brilliant - meant we didn't have provisoning problems across the Pacific, and also cooking on passage was relatively easy.
 
Very good idea, especially for the pacific, most peeps end up vegetarians for a pacific crossing, most dont stay that way!!!
 
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