Evergreen State Sue Posted November 18, 2014 Share Posted November 18, 2014 My dh has always wanted a pressure cooker. He has fond memories of his mom making a pot roast in one and it came out melt in your mouth tender. We were given a nice electric one used for free. We've tried it twice with a pot roast about 3 lbs. each time. Both times we browned it in oil, seasoned, then used the pressure cooker setting at 15 psi. The first time we cooked it for 40 mins.with 2 cups of broth, added veggies and cooked for another 20 minutes. The second time we cooked it with 1 cup of broth, no veggies, for 70 mins. Both times I thought the pot roasts came out too tough. What are we doing wrong? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Patches Posted November 18, 2014 Share Posted November 18, 2014 Learned this from my sister: Use a meat tenderizer and poke LOTS of holes in it before cooking. It seems to make it much more tender. http://www.amazon.com/Jaccard-200348-Supertendermatic-48-Blade-Tenderizer/dp/B001347JK6/ref=sr_1_1?s=kitchen&ie=UTF8&qid=1416279715&sr=1-1&keywords=meat+tenderizer Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jenrae Posted November 18, 2014 Share Posted November 18, 2014 Hmmmm....interesting thread. I was just thinking about starting a thread to enquire if anyone uses a Power Pressure Cooker XL. I saw it advertised on an info commercial and thought it might be a quick way to cook. They CLAIM the roast is cooked in 25 minutes and tender! What brand of pressure cooker do you have? I'll be following the thread to see what everyone has to say! Hope you get several responses! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Evergreen State Sue Posted November 18, 2014 Author Share Posted November 18, 2014 Hmmmm....interesting thread. I was just thinking about starting a thread to enquire if anyone uses a Power Pressure Cooker XL. I saw it advertised on an info commercial and thought it might be a quick way to cook. They CLAIM the roast is cooked in 25 minutes and tender! What brand of pressure cooker do you have? I'll be following the thread to see what everyone has to say! Hope you get several responses! The used pressure cooker we were given is called a Technique. I wouldn't be surprised if it was purchased on QVC. Does anyone use a pressure cooker any more? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Evergreen State Sue Posted November 18, 2014 Author Share Posted November 18, 2014 Learned this from my sister: Use a meat tenderizer and poke LOTS of holes in it before cooking. It seems to make it much more tender. http://www.amazon.com/Jaccard-200348-Supertendermatic-48-Blade-Tenderizer/dp/B001347JK6/ref=sr_1_1?s=kitchen&ie=UTF8&qid=1416279715&sr=1-1&keywords=meat+tenderizer We'll have to try this. Thanks. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Seasider Posted November 18, 2014 Share Posted November 18, 2014 Add some liquid with acid - wine, apple cider, balsamic vinegar. Yum. I have a big jug of apple cider. I might have to pick up a roast today! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Acadie Posted November 18, 2014 Share Posted November 18, 2014 Usually when my meat has come out too tough it has either cooked too long, or the pressure has come down too fast at the end. Lorna Sass' cookbook Pressure Perfect has great recipes and cooking tips, plus a chart of cooking times for various foods (meat, poultry, veg, grain, legumes) in back. The charts are invaluable to improvise your own meals, or work with whatever cut of meat you have. For a round/rump roast, she says 2 1/4-3 lbs should cook 35-45 min, then release the pressure naturally (i.e., don't use quick-release methods). For 3-4 lb roasts she gives a cooking time of 45-55 min, also followed by the slow natural pressure release. Your cooking times of 60-70 min exceed both intervals. You can always start with a shorter cooking time, do a natural pressure release to check the meat, then bring it back up to pressure if it needs more time. Have fun! We love our pressure cooker and use it all the time. Lorna Sass' cookbooks are the best I've found--she's really approached pressure cooking scientifically. Amy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fairfarmhand Posted November 18, 2014 Share Posted November 18, 2014 What cut of meat did you use? I've found chuck roasts make the most tender roasts. Sirloin tip have to be roasted carefully or they tend to toughen up. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Evergreen State Sue Posted November 18, 2014 Author Share Posted November 18, 2014 Add some liquid with acid - wine, apple cider, balsamic vinegar. Yum. I have a big jug of apple cider. I might have to pick up a roast today! Good to know. I'll try that next time. Thanks. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Evergreen State Sue Posted November 18, 2014 Author Share Posted November 18, 2014 Usually when my meat has come out too tough it has either cooked too long, or the pressure has come down too fast at the end. Lorna Sass' cookbook Pressure Perfect has great recipes and cooking tips, plus a chart of cooking times for various foods (meat, poultry, veg, grain, legumes) in back. The charts are invaluable to improvise your own meals, or work with whatever cut of meat you have. For a round/rump roast, she says 2 1/4-3 lbs should cook 35-45 min, then release the pressure naturally (i.e., don't use quick-release methods). For 3-4 lb roasts she gives a cooking time of 45-55 min, also followed by the slow natural pressure release. Your cooking times of 60-70 min exceed both intervals. You can always start with a shorter cooking time, do a natural pressure release to check the meat, then bring it back up to pressure if it needs more time. Have fun! We love our pressure cooker and use it all the time. Lorna Sass' cookbooks are the best I've found--she's really approached pressure cooking scientifically. Amy Thanks for the book recommendation. I just put a hold on it at the library, but I'm 4th on the list. We were in a hurry and used the quick-release method both times. That's good to know it makes a difference. Thanks for the tips. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Evergreen State Sue Posted November 18, 2014 Author Share Posted November 18, 2014 What cut of meat did you use? I've found chuck roasts make the most tender roasts. Sirloin tip have to be roasted carefully or they tend to toughen up. I don't remember now the cut of meat. I got it at Costco and it said pot roast on it. It was flat vs. a round cut. I'll look for "chuck roast" next time. Thanks. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sun Posted November 18, 2014 Share Posted November 18, 2014 Hmmmm....interesting thread. I was just thinking about starting a thread to enquire if anyone uses a Power Pressure Cooker XL. I saw it advertised on an info commercial and thought it might be a quick way to cook. They CLAIM the roast is cooked in 25 minutes and tender! What brand of pressure cooker do you have? I'll be following the thread to see what everyone has to say! Hope you get several responses! I don't have that, but I do have the Instant Pot, which I love to a surprising extent. I love being able to set something up to pressure cook and then leave the house. It's like having a pressure-cooking crock pot. The Power Pressure Cooker XL looks similar in the picture, but I didn't check the features. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
VeteranMom Posted November 18, 2014 Share Posted November 18, 2014 A wonderful pot roast eluded me for the first 15 years of my marriage. I tried everything- pressure cookers, crockpots, certain special mixes. I finally found the answer. 3-5 pound pot rump roast, 1 packet of hidden valley ranch dry seasoning, 1 packet of italian dressing dry seasoning, one pack of brown gravy dry seasoning, and 1 to 1 1/2 cups of water (depending on how thick you want the mixture). I add in potatoes and onions and cook it in my crockpot. It makes a great roast. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Evergreen State Sue Posted November 18, 2014 Author Share Posted November 18, 2014 A wonderful pot roast eluded me for the first 15 years of my marriage. I tried everything- pressure cookers, crockpots, certain special mixes. I finally found the answer. 3-5 pound pot rump roast, 1 packet of hidden valley ranch dry seasoning, 1 packet of italian dressing dry seasoning, one pack of brown gravy dry seasoning, and 1 to 1 1/2 cups of water (depending on how thick you want the mixture). I add in potatoes and onions and cook it in my crockpot. It makes a great roast. This does sound absolutely wonderful. Oh how I long to eat a good roast like this! Unfortunately, my dh needs to stay away from wheat, sugar, and carbs like potatoes. I always thought slow was the way to go too, but I'm trying to figure out this pressure cooker method. Wish I could have a taste of your yummy pot roast! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Heidi Posted November 18, 2014 Share Posted November 18, 2014 If it comes out too tough you've over cooked it. To solve that, over cook it somei more. Seriously. Put it back in for another 30 minutes and check again. It will get tender again. I've way over cooked my roasts in a pressure cooker many times. They turn out pretty yummy, though I've heard they taste better not over cooked in the first place, but I haven't figured out how to do that yet. I'm cooking one again Sunday. I'll let you know. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wapiti Posted November 18, 2014 Share Posted November 18, 2014 I made pot roast yesterday and it came out more tender than usual. My crockpot tends to run too hot (I guess I don't fill it up high enough) so this time I used an enameled dutch oven, covered it with red wine/fresh garlic/pepper and cooked all day, about 8 hrs, at 190. (The smell alone made me hungry the whole day!) IIRC, certain connective tissues need to cook long on a low temp in order to dissolve. (I have no clue how a pressure cooker works. Maybe it can do this too?) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
xixstar Posted November 18, 2014 Share Posted November 18, 2014 You have good advice. It was cooked too long. If you want to add the veg to cook subtract their cooking time from the meat time, don't add it on. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Evergreen State Sue Posted November 19, 2014 Author Share Posted November 19, 2014 Thanks for all the advice, ladies. I knew you women of wisdom in the kitchen would have some answers for me. Now I need to get some more meat to try the suggestions. Yes, Heidi, do let me know how it goes on Sunday. --Sue Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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