Sharing a family dinner at the end of a long day is a great way to unwind and reconnect with the people you love. Unfortunately, finding the time to prepare a home-cooked meal can be difficult and the hassle of all that prep work can negate the benefits of the meal itself. If you want to give your family nutritious meals with minimal prep work, consider buying a pressure cooker. You can use it to make pressure cooker beef stew and other hearty recipes in under an hour.

Pressure cookers are easy to use and they have the ability to cook even complex meals in a fraction of the time than cooking on the stovetop. Keep reading to learn more about pressure cooking and to receive a sample recipe for beef stew.

Recipe for Pressure Cooker Beef Stew

 

 

If you love a good beef stew but you don’t want to spend hours slaving over a hot stove, this pressure cooker recipe is just what you need. By using a pressure cooker, you can enjoy hot and hearty stew with minimal preparation. Just give it a try!

Ingredients

• 1 ½ pounds beef rump roast
• Salt and pepper
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 3 cloves minced garlic
• 1 large yellow onion, chopped coarsely
• 4 medium carrots, peeled and sliced
• 3 medium stalks celery, sliced
• 4 Yukon gold potatoes, chopped
• 1 teaspoon dried parsley
• 1 ¾ cups water
• 2 beef bouillon cubes

Instructions

1. Cut the beef into 1-inch chunks and season with salt and pepper.
2. Heat the oil in the bottom of a stovetop pressure cooker until it is very hot.
3. Add the beef and cook until browned then turn and brown on the other side.
4. Stir in the garlic, onions, carrots, celery, and potatoes then season with salt and pepper.
5. Add the parsley, water, and beef bullion then simmer for 2 minutes.
6. Place the lid on the pressure cooker and lock it in place.
7. Bring the cooker up to pressure over high heat and then cook for 15 minutes.
8. Let the pressure release and cool the pot then open it and serve the stew hot.

What is a Pressure Cooker?

When you put a pot of soup on the stove, the heat from the burner causes the liquid to boil which cooks the ingredients. With a pressure cooker, things are a little bit different.

A pressure cooker is a sealed vessel that you can fill with solid and liquid ingredients. When placed over heat, the pressure cooker causes some of the liquid to evaporate into steam. As that steam builds, so does the pressure inside the cooker. As the steam pressure increases, the boiling point of the liquid rises as well, cooking the food much faster than it normally would. This cooking method yields tender, flavorful recipes in record time.

Pressure cookers come in a number of shapes and forms. There are classic stovetop pressure cookers which are a little tricky to use and newer electric models which offer one-touch operation. If you want to give pressure cooking a try, do a little research to find the right pressure cooker to suit your needs.

What Are the Benefits of Pressure Cooking?

The biggest benefit of pressure cooking is that it cuts your preparation and cook time down to a minimum. Though you certainly have the option of browning ingredients first to improve their flavor, you can throw vegetables and meat into the cooker together without worrying about them being underdone. Pressure cooking works particularly well for hard vegetables and tougher cuts of meat because the ingredients become infused with moisture as they cook. This is certainly the case with pressure cooker beef stew.

Not only is pressure cooking quick and easy, but it can also save you money. Tougher cuts of meat tend to be a lot cheaper than the tenderer cuts. Plus, pressure cooking is a very efficient cooking method which may save energy as well as time. With pressure cooking, you can prepare an entire meal in one pot which cuts down on clutter and mess, plus the ingredients themselves retain more of their natural nutrients which results in a healthier and tastier meal.

One bite of this hearty pressure cooker beef stew is all it will take to turn you into a believer. In fact, it may become a family favorite and it might encourage you to try other recipes using your pressure cooker! Keep reading to learn more about the health benefits of pressure cooking.