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……
a pressure cooker was just the pot I was planning to purchase myself next week. Defrost in the micro….toss into the pressure cooker. That’s a handy tip about the spices, even a bouquet garnie, infusing too strongly of itself because of the higher pressure in the pressure cooker. If I read that right. Oh BTW….kaboom.
WHOO-HOO!! You did it, you really did it! Congratulations Kirk, I am proud of you! See, using the pressure cooker wasn’t that bad! Also, given the way that the food turned out (and the way the Boyz are eagerly looking at the hot meaty stew), it seems like it was a clear success!
My congrats too on braving your pressure cooker at last. And lamb stew is certainly an excellent dish to do under pressure.
Another way to avoid mushy vegetables is to add them to the cooker towards the end of the cooking period–you do have to depressurize and then re-pressurize the cooker to do the addition, but it can be done. I must admit I’m usually too lazy to be bothered and just put everything in at the beginning, compensating by cutting the vegetables into larger chunks than I would have otherwise. The veggies do get very soft, but if they’re big enough they stay reasonably intact rather than dissolving into nothing.
Question about your recipe: you wrote that you put the liquid ingredients in first, and then put in the meat to brown. Does it really brown that way? I always put any liquids in after I’ve browned or sauteed or sweated whatever needs those steps. Just wondering … π
Ohhh I really want a pressure cooker now!! You did not reveal to us if you were getting less afraid of the cooking time bomb!
I looove the picture of the doggies!!! I think it is the cutest one I’ve seen of them to date. My mum used to do “pure meat” stews and have veggies on the side. Mmmm That sounded like such a great recipe kirk!! I might try that in the slow cooker even!
Kirk,
Nice lookin’ stew ya’ got there. I did not realize a pressure cooker could mimic a long-simmered broth. As for the vegetables, perhaps you can add some at the beginning to add flavor to the broth and meat, but then strain them out. If you then add fresh ones and cook it all on the stovetop for a few minutes, both the vegetables and meat would be nicely done.
Hi RONW – I was impressed at how quickly everything cooked.
Hi PE – The dish did turn out pretty well, so I’ll be using it more in the future.
Hi mizducky – The meat was so tender and flavorful, I don’t think the usual browning that I will do for most of my stews will make much difference – I just got my pressure cooker cookbook, and in Her Beef Stew recipe Lorna Sass doesn’t brown her meat. I’m thinking of a two-step cooking process as well – meat first in pressure cooker along with veggies and other aromatics for flavor, then transferring to a stock pot for vegetables and such.
Hi Rachel – After starting I had no more “Fear of the bomb”
Hi Joseph E – That’s exactly what I’m thinking of doing next time. Somebody told me that the pressure cooker was like the microwave of the 60’s…..
Kirk,
YAY!! HUGZ I am glad you survived, and I will have to keep this post in mind. π I am still too afraid! ;P
Hi Mills – It was pretty easy, and amazingly fast!
I too was confused by your browning comment. Meat only browns when cooked dry or with a little oil. Cooking in liquid won’t give you the caramelized sugars that browning does. If I was making this recipe I’d brown the lamb cubes in a skillet (not non-stick, very important) with a little oil. Once browned, I’d add the lamb to the pressure cooker then deglaze the skillet with the Guinness.
Duh, forgot the important part, after adding the Guinness scrape up the browned bits on the bottom of the skillet, then add the lot to the pressure cooker. You should get a much richer lamb flavor that way.
Another thing you might want to consider is throwing in a shank. Bones add a lot of flavor.
Hi JS – I would usually cook in the manner described, brown and deglaze like my NRM:
http://mmm-yoso.typepad.com/mmmyoso/2005/10/niu_rou_mein.html#comments
– but since this was my first “crack” at using the pressure cooker, I went by what I read in other pressure cooker recipes. And since this was my first try, I didn’t want to do too much, nor waste any good materials – thus the costco lamb. Do you use a pressure cooker alot?
Well, no. Your story hit close to home – I too live with a woman who gripes about my infrequently-used kitchen equipment. I’ve been wanting to get a pressure cooker for a long time now, but I’m not allowed. π
However, I do cook a lot, and I know when I’m going to make any meat using a moist cooking method I always brown in a pan first and then deglaze. I actually like the Costco lamb. I will buy the boneless leg, trim it and butcher it into smaller grillable pieces. It’s not the best lamb in the world, but it’s a cut above what I can get at Vons.
Whole Foods is better, but too spendy. For just a little more than the pound price I can get 3x as much at Costco. For everyday meals, it’s totally passable.