I was wondering if cooking in a pressure cooker tenderizes meats enough that they go down easier. I'm still on full liquids (three weeks down, 1 to go) and am thinking the pressure cooker might be a good way to go. I bought the cooker a couple months back and have yet to open the box. Anybody use one and do you find it really makes meats tender?

I'm so ready for real foods!!:smile2:

A pressure cooker would probably be a good idea! You are required to be on liquids for 4 weeks - sounds like torture. I got on soft solids 7 days after my surgery. The mashed potatoes are great - the cottage cheese. I think if you want beef, that is probably what you will have to do. Hang in there with your liquids - have you tried the sugar free popsicles?

Now I just need to figure out how to use it without blowing myself up!

yep they are great for making meat tender I wish I had one. which gets me thinking my SIL has one she never uses. lol time to go borrow.

My parent cooked ALLOT in their pressure cooker. the best fried chicken in the world they pressure cooked then breaded and fried..OMG yum! lol

I use a pressure cooker all the time for Soups. Just read the label carefully when you take it out of the box so that you know what to do with it and how to bleed out the pressure carefully.

Wear gloves when you open it as well and make sure that you can see steam escaping from the appropriate spots as you are cooking.

This is great for chicken, beef, lamb, etc. I also make my favorite Soup in it as well. It is a turkish recipe and is called mercimek corba or red lentil soup, but it is absolutely wonderful and my band loves it.

Red Lentil Soup (Mercimek Corba)

Take 1 cup of red lentils (I rinse them first), a tablespoon of butter, 1-2 cups of chicken broth, enough Water to bring total liquids up to 5 cups in total, 1 onion peeled (you dont even have to cut it), 1 small potato peeled (you don't have to cut that either). I then season it with salt, ground red pepper and a dash or two of cinnamon.

All of this is thrown in the pressure cooker and the lid is placed appropriately. It is then put on medium high until the steam starts and I shift it to medium heat and cook for about 25 minutes. I let it cool for a little while, open it up and use a mixer to blend the onion and potato in with the soup (very easy because the pressure cooker cooks these so well it takes no effort to blend them).

I finally serve the soup with a little freshly squeezed lemon on top. This is my all time favorite soup in the world, which is very healthy and has decent Protein.

I love mine and my crock pot, for meats. I put them in and even some of the toughest meats come out tender.

Be careful with the pressure cooker w ith the steam and letting the pressure out before you open it. My DH nearly blew off the lid when he blocked the pressure gauge once. A loud pop and boiling hot liquid everywhere. Luckily no one was hurt. He stays clear of it now.

As for the crock pot put it in add liquid and leave it. the longer it cooks the more tender it becomes.