Not my Grandma’s pressure cooker
I’m not sure how accurate my memory is regarding my Grandmother Ruthie’s pressure cooker, but I do think I remember correctly the Swiss Steak she made with it. I’ve been thinking about that Swiss Steak … and I have no idea why it’s called Swiss Steak – it is an inexpensive cut of “steak” that is cooked low and slow with a tomato-mushroom-beef broth. The result is a fork tender dish of meat and sauce typically served over mashed potatoes or egg noodles. Mashers is my preference!
I bought a pressure cooker cookbook some time ago on a hunt for a recipe. I have gone back and forth about getting a pressure cooker as they were somewhat out of favor for a time due do their tendency to explode if not operated correctly.
Recently, more attention has been given pressure cooking with newer and safer stovetop cookers as well as electric pressure cookers. Enter the InstantPot with the current model being a 7 in 1 multi-cooker. It pressure cooks, slow cooks, sautes, steams and makes yogurt. It has automatic buttons for rice, beans and porridge. Is that 7? Anyway, it does a lot and after my food blogging hero, Mel of Mel’s Kitchen Cafe, wrote an extensive post on pressure cooking stovetop vs electric…I succumbed.
And then I made Swiss Steak.
I started with a quick saute of onions and mushrooms and browning of the beef. My first go so I went with a small test amount.
Next I dumped in some tomatoes, water and then set the cooker to pressure for 18 minutes.
Set the Vent to Pressure vs Steam.
The InstantPot takes about 8 minutes to come up to pressure and then starts counting down…
13 minutes to go.
After the 13 minutes (18 minutes total), it automatically changes to “keep warm” mode and starts counting up so you know how long it has been in “keep warm”.
Fork tender meat – yea!
Swiss steak that fit my memory, a rough mash of red potatoes and kale with a side of local made sauerkraut.
I call that a good supper! It might not be my grandmother’s pressure cooker, but I think I came pretty close with the Swiss Steak. From the first chop on an onion until I sat down to eat was 40 minutes and 30 of that was hands off, sitting in my chair and relaxing with Auggie.
I’ve used the Instant Pot for beans, rice, yogurt, hard boiled eggs, soft boiled eggs and now the Swiss Steak. I’m still learning, but have no regrets about this addition to my kitchen tools.
Meanwhile… Cat on a cold front porch.