Premade simmer sauces in pressure cooker?

[slackerinabox]

So I really enjoy those bottled premade simmer sauces ("just add chicken!" - indian and thai ones in particular). For really tender chicken it takes about an hour of slow cooking, can you use store bought sauces in the pressure cooker? I don't know a thing about cookers, apologies if it's a dumb question

 

[lxskllr]

Is "simmer sauce" what they're calling smokeless powder now? Indian? That's close to Pakistan.

Reported

 

[Fern]

So I really enjoy those bottled premade simmer sauces ("just add chicken!" - indian and thai ones in particular). For really tender chicken it takes about an hour of slow cooking, can you use store bought sauces in the pressure cooker? I don't know a think about cookers, apologies if it's a dumb question

If it only takes an hour in a regular cooker I don't see much benefit in using a pressure cooker. It won't save that much time, which is the main point of a pressure cooker.

The increased pressure in a pressure cooker speeds up cooking time. But first you have to let it build up the heat and pressure. I've used one often and find if you try to build that pressure too fast, with higher heat of course, you may run the risk of burning the food on the bottom of the cooker.

The pressure is created by the steam from water in the food/cooker. If those sauces are already thick it may create a problem: Not enough water etc to create adequate steam or end up with too thick (or a burnt) sauce.

A pressure cooker by it's very nature will 'leak' water/moisture out of the cooker via the valve at top. This is maintain or limit the pressure build up. So, if you're hell bent on trying it you may need to add a little water.

Fern

 

[slackerinabox]

If it only takes an hour in a regular cooker I don't see much benefit in using a pressure cooker. It won't save that much time, which is the main point of a pressure cooker.

The increased pressure in a pressure cooker speeds up cooking time. But first you have to let it build up the heat and pressure. I've used one often and find if you try to build that pressure too fast, with higher heat of course, you may run the risk of burning the food on the bottom of the cooker.

The pressure is created by the steam from water in the food/cooker. If those sauces are already thick it may create a problem: Not enough water etc to create adequate steam or end up with too thick (or a burnt) sauce.

A pressure cooker by it's very nature will 'leak' water/moisture out of the cooker via the valve at top. This is maintain or limit the pressure build up. So, if you're hell bent on trying it you may need to add a little water.

Fern

Cool - thanks for the feedback. Yeah, I don't even own one yet but I saw a nifty electronic one on QVC that seems a lot less terrifying than the stovetop kind, and the demonstration made it seem like it would cut our dinner prep time in half. Though we may pick one up for fun, the lasagna looked pretty awesome

 

[jaedaliu]

yes. and it's quite possible that you can get more flavor into the chicken with the increased pressure.

 

[CPA]

pressure cooker, eh? Consider yourself reported, terrorist.

 

[Kadarin]

Surprised they haven't made pressure cookers illegal yet...

 

[infoiltrator]

The electronic set and forget (sorta) pressure cookers are convenient and useful.
IE
http://www.amazon.com/Cuisinart-CPC-...ressure+cooker
Catch it or similar one on sale though
Stove style take more effort, but are easier to do meat, then add vegetables.
Pressure cookers tenderize, so tougher cuts of meat can be used.