Pressure cooker help

I bought a pressure cooker a couple of weeks ago from carboot ...

it's a Tower Rapide chef 6 litre .... as good as new, and was only £2 ... but has no instructions

so, today, I bought a kilo of beef skirt, and am attempting to cook a stew (shallots, meat, garlic, 2 packs of beef caserole powder, 2 packs of green beans and a bit of new potato cut in rings, salt, pepper and a bit of aromat spice)

I browned the meat and onions, then added the rest of the ingredients, plus approx 2 cups of water

the pressure cooker has 2 attachments that fit ontop of the lid ... one is green and one is red

the red one feels heavier, so I used that ... there is a selector that seems to pop the weight open ... I have it closed at present and have it on simmer

question: will the staem automatically escape from the lid weight or do I have to leave it open?

last time I used a pressure cooker (20 years ago), I made soup, and thought all the pressure was out the pot (had taken it off the heat for approx 30 minutes), opened the lid, and the walls and roof were covered in minestrone soup .... the lid had a different weight thingy that automatically let off steam if the pressure was too high

my wife threw the pressure cooker away after that, so this is my 1st attemp since then ... my wife refuses to enter the kitchen while it is on the hob

 

I can`t really help you on this model Dim. I use one frequently and are great pieces of kit.

Can you believe I`ve spent the last 10 minutes trying to find instructions on line and can`t find a thing. Can`t even find a UK website.

I would guess that the heavier weight is for higher pressure, like cooking meats. The lighter one for veg` and soups etc.

The steam should be released automatically and when finished cooking, run the pot under the cold tap gently, until you hear the vent closing.

 

thanks ... it's on simmer at the moment ... I will let it cook for a couple of hours, then switch off the heat and let it rest until tonight so as to go completely cold before opening the lid

if there is too much liquid, I will finish it off by removing the lid and cooking till most of the water boils off

(I will be very careful when opening the lid .... the last time I was lucky as I jumped back just as the soup flew out the pot) .... the kitchen roof needed a total repaint

 

steam is now coming out the top ....

I have turned the heat slightly down and will watch until the steam stops coming out, then switch off (I don't want to burn the food and have to buy takeaways tonight)

 

Yikes...... a couple of hours

Have you got a side of beef in there?
10-12 minutes per pound is about the norm' buddy. Hours will turn your veg` into stock. They`ll disintegrate.

When I make veg broth using the proprietary dry broth mix of barley, marrowfat peas etc, it takes 10 minutes at high pressure for a full pot. 7 minutes for lentil soup.

Hope this helps ya.

 

haha...this reminds me of an old pal of mine who when he was a student, had one without the weight. He decided to make a pot of soup using a nail to block the vent and get the pressure up When checking the pressure, ready to turn the heat down he just got his head back in time before this nail shot like a bullet into the ceiling. This was a guy that was at University as well.

 

steam is still coming out .... I will leave it another 20 minutes and hope for the best

 

LOL ... just told the wife that it may be overcooked .... she said she's happy as she wants a takeaway curry tonight

 

Your wifes seems like a very sensible lady

 

Sounds like it could be the one we have, or possibly an earlier version - does it look like this?



And viewed from the underside:




Or is it some ancient thing that looks more like this

 

mine looks different: (I don't have a good camera .... this is a new cheapo camera I bought from carboot yesterday ... still have to figure out how to set the date/time)



and the top weights look like this:

 

lid's off ... it's not too bad ...

I used a bit too much water, but will boil it off .... meat is tender, needs a bit more salt and pepper and perhaps a dash of worchestershire sauce

it's quicker than using a slow cooker and cooks similar

 

That made I laugh

 

was no joke at the time .... it was like a bomb ... I could have been injured and had to repaint the whole kitchen ceiling ... thats why my wife binned the pressure cooker (someone gave it to us as a wedding present)

a few years later, we attended a wedding of someone who my wife never got on with (a work collegue) ... she bought her a pressure cooker as a wedding gift

 

Yeah, I'm sorry, I just had to laugh. It must be the way you tell 'em

Nice that your wife was considerate, to buy one as a gift