Week One: Homemade broth in the Pressure Cooker

My Pressure Cooker has been living in my closet for a couple of years, but I have decided to liberate it.  I have recently re-discovered the amazing properties of pressure cooking, and am loving the meals that come out of it! 

Todays blog will be about homemade broth, but check back for more great ways to cook in the P.C.

Pressure Cookers:  Stove top model, and electric model.

A "P.C." is able to cook food much faster than conventional ways (oven, stovetop) without a loss of flavor, and without sacrificing texture or moistness. 

I love to have homemade broth on hand.  I make it in big batches, cooking it for hours on the stove top, and then freezing it in smaller amounts.  Homemade broth, as in most anything homemade, is so much richer in flavor that I prefer it enough to make broth whenever I need it.  I work hard at staying ahead of the game, but sometimes I just do not have hours available to devote to broth making. 

Homemade vegetable stock only takes 5 minutes.

It is fairly easy to make broth, but the P.C. makes it faster which can also mean easier to fit into your lifestyle. 

You can make your own broth at home, with or without a P.C. 
To make a meat broth in the P.C., you can follow this recipe:
2 pounds beef shanks or stewing meat, or
   6 chicken wings and/or a carcass (think rotiserrie chicken)
2 onions, quartered, with the skin
2 smashed cloves of garlic
3 carrots, cut into chunks
2-3 celery stalks, with leaves
2 bay leaves, fresh or dried
Parsley, cilantro or basil sprigs including the stems
Salt and pepper
Optional additional ingredients:

• Potatoes
• Sweet potatoes
• Squash
• Mushrooms, stems or whole
• Corn or corn cobs
• Scallions
• Shallots

Using food "scraps" for homemade broth.

Cover with water by an inch but remember not to fill your P.C. more than 2/3 full.  Lock the lid in place and bring your cooker to high pressure; cook for an hour if using beef, 30 minutes with chicken.  Allow the pressure to drop naturally, which means remove from heat (stovetop) or do nothing (electric) until you see (or hear) the pressure bob drop.  If using an electric model, the unit automatically keeps the broth warm for a set amount of time.  (Check your manual.) 

The next step is to strain your broth, and you can do by pouring your stock into a colander placed over another container to collect the delicious stock. 

Pour into a colander,

Be sure to place a container underneath to collect the delicious broth.

You can now chill this overnight to remove excess fat--which will float on the top and be easy to remove with a slotted spoon.  Pour into containers and store in your freezer.  If you generally use very small amounts, freeze in an ice cube tray; once frozen you can put these cubes into a plastic bag for easy access. 

If you want a clear broth, you will need to strain it further.

Pour through a kitchen towel for a clear broth. 

Clear broth.

Notice that the broth in the photo above has a lot more color than a canned broth.  It also has a lot more flavor!

Be sure to store your broth in clean containers with a label that states the type of broth and the date you made it.  I sometimes use ziploc bags which I can stack one on top of another.  It might be easier to put them on a flat sheet pan to freeze, and then stack them up in the freezer. 


Once you discover how easy and delicious this is, you may not ever buy store bought again!