Our "brand new" pressure cooker, is not so brand new anymore and has been sitting around since December. Every time I’ve thought to use it, my exploding pressure cooker phobia takes over. But it had gotten to the point where the Missus finally told me "use it or get rid of it since it’s just taking up space!" It just so happened that She was craving Lamb Stew, so seizing upon the opportunity to justify keeping the beast, we thought that we should give the pressure cooker a shot. After all, Lamb Stew in a half-hour? No way!
Since this was an experiment, I decided to go the budget route, and ran to Costco and found the smallest boneless leg of lamb, about 3 1/2 pounds, trimmed off most of the fat, and cut it into cubes. For those interested, here’s our "recipe":
The Pressure Cooker Lamb Stew Experiment
3 1/2lbs Boneless Leg of Lamb cut into 1 1/2" cubes
2/3 cup Red Wine
2 Tb Tomato Paste
4 cloves Garlic
1 1/2 Onion Quartered
1/2 onion sliced
2 Bay Leaves
1 Bottle Guinness
3 large Carrots chopped into large pieces
4 Russet Potatoes
1 cup Celery chopped
2 Tb Balsamic Vinegar
2 Tsp Dried Thyme
1 Tsp Salt
Black Pepper to taste
Cilantro for garnish
1 Tb Canola Oil
1 – Heat oil and stir in sliced onions and garlic, and stir over medium heat until translucent.
2 – Add Red Wine, Balsamic Vinegar, Bay Leaves, and Tomato Paste, stirring to combine, until liquid is reduced .
3 – Add beer, thyme, salt, and pepper.
4 – When liquid returns to a boil add lamb and mix.
5 – When lamb is browned, add vegetables, and lock pressure cooker lid into place. Bring cooker to high pressure over high heat, then reduce heat to maintain high pressure. A quick observation here; for all of the ridicule the Missus gives me regarding my "Pressure Cooker Phobia", as soon as I locked that lid into place, She (and the Boyz) were no where to be found.
6 – Cook for 15 minutes, then remove from heat, and let sit for 10 minutes. Release pressure and open lid. Adjust salt and pepper if necessary.
7 – Serve with Cilantro for garnish.
The result? Very tender, though not as "gamy" as the Missus would’ve liked, also too much 
Thyme. Next time I’ll cook the lamb under pressure first(for a shorter amount of time), then after using the pressure cooker I’ll move the meat and broth to another pot and combine with the vegetables – all of the onion and celery had disintegrated, and the potato and carrot were too soft, but the flavor of the broth was excellent. I’m also getting the book "Pressure Perfect" by Lorna Sass to use as a guide.
Here’s Sammy and Frankie waiting to see if "Daddy" was going to "blow-up":
Sorry Boyz, maybe next time……