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Pressure cookers have been a staple kitchen utensil for a considerable amount of time. Praised for its speedy way to tenderize certain meats, pressure cookers are an amazing addition to the growing roster of kitchen must-haves.

In this article, we are going to tackle some of the more popular pressure cooker hacks as well as other procedures that make cooking efficiently. 

But before we get into that, here are the best pressure cookers to buy!

1. Instant Pot Duo Evo Plus – Best Overall Pressure Cooker

2. Breville: the Fast Slow Pro Multi Function Cooker – Best Foodie Buy

3. Fissler Vitaquick Pressure Cooker with Glass Lid Set – Best Quality Pressure Cooker

4. PressurePro 4 Qt Pressure Cooker – Best Small Pressure Cooker

Plan ahead

What separates a good cook from an amazing cook is the ability or interest in preparing and understanding the procedures as well as the time you need in cooking a certain dish. Having ingredients on hand also makes the process more efficient.

By learning the time it takes for produce to be fully cooked and tender you will surely save a whole lot of time.

Being prepared is not a pressure cooker hack, it narrowly falls into the category of common sense. Learning the strengths and weaknesses of a certain pot increases your chances of bringing out the best dish.

Create the best combinations

Pressure cookers can be a nice wingman to dishes that don’t usually require them. You can utilize the time-saving perks of the pressure cooker into your everyday dishes. Here are some examples:

Using a decent sized pressure cooker, you can season and broil your baby back ribs to fall-off-the-bone state and finish it off on the grill. This hastens the procedure as well as eliminates the hustle and bustle of your oven. 

You can also use a pressure cooker alongside a fryer for that quick and easy fried chicken. This ensures that there will be no undercooked chicken in your serving, saving you from embarrassment and salmonella.

Pressure cookers can help you bring out a lot of difficult and time-consuming dishes easily in half the time. Learning to integrate the pressure cooker will turn your hectic cooking sessions into a breeze.

Cook porridge

Lastly on our list of pressure cooker hacks is cooking porridge. Simply add chopped ginger and instead of water add broth of your choice. 

Then, put in the meat or dressed chicken portions and let it boil for a good 10 minutes. This will give you tender meat and hot rice porridge that can warm up any lazy day.

Try this chicken congee recipe:

Create delicious dips

For the true culinary connoisseur, a fine dip does not come in a bottle from your local grocery store. No, it is made with finely diced spice accompanied by a medley of fruits and vegetables. Cooked to perfection and blended into a fine. One of a kind sauce that knows no equal.

Using a pressure cooker, you can most definitely create the meanest and most delectable sauces your guests would love. 

You can pretty much list all the sauces, from salsa to barbecue sauce. And you can do them all using just only the pressure cooker. Adding a few fruits and/or vegetables on a pressure cooker really breaks them down to a level you can easily work with.

You can also create genuine fillings and fruit-based icings for cakes and cookies.  If you have that creative and curious drive, you will surely find comfort on the rewards you will reap from this expedition.

Cook pasta

Now, on to more minimal pressure cooker hacks that you will surely love. Spaghetti has been around for as long as people remember. And so does the preparation and cooking procedures for it.

But, did you know that you can cook spaghetti directly alongside the sauce?

Start with your sauce base, build around it, and use the pressure cooker to its fullest. After you can add the pasta and leave it there for 5 – 8 minutes depending on the pasta. Let the pressure cooker cool down. What awaits you at the other side of the lid is an astonishing, mouthwatering dish that is fit for a king.

Check out this video on cooking spaghetti in a pressure cooker:

Caramelize

One surefire way to wow your audience is bringing out a dish that has a depth of flavor as well as in color. Learning to caramelize vegetables as well as searing meat before letting the pressure do the heavy lifting can do wonders for your dish.

Searing meat gives you that appetizing color and caramelizing vegetables and spices help it break down easier which means more time for the flavor to spread and incorporate with one another. Other vegetables provide the dish with a darker, rich color that’s as pleasing to the eyes as it is to the tongue.

Cook bread

We have grown with the mentality that you cannot cook bread without a decent oven. For a considerable amount of time, the world seems to agree. As time passes and technology progresses. We finally got to the point where you can use a pressure cooker to fully cook bread. 

We are not joking! Go ahead and try it with any recipe you want. Be it sour bread or even your run off the mill loaf you. You will absolutely be surprised.

You can try this recipe below: 

Defrost 

We all, at some point in our lives, forgot to defrost produce. Whether that be beef, pork, or even fish. We can all agree that the most difficult meat to defrost is the chicken. 

A chicken would definitely take half a day to fully thaw and that is not efficient at all. Nevertheless, you can close your eyes, put it in the pressure cooker along with water and a few seasonings. And let all your problems *swish* *swish* *swish* away.

Of course, if you have the time, you would definitely do it the right way. But having this as one of the best pressure cooker hacks at the back of your mind might come in handy in times where desperation fills your kitchen.

Cook rice

Ever heard of cooking minute rice in just 58 seconds? Well, that might be loosely true with a pressure cooker. Simply add your rice with equal portions of water and rice and bring it to a boil. 

Let it cool down after and then put it in a low and slow fire. After a few minutes, you’d be surprised at how fast this process is compared to doing it using a different kind of pot.

Here’s how to do it:

And that’s it for our list of pressure cooker hacks. Which hacks have you tried and which ones do you want to try?

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