Easy Pressure Cooker Beef and Broccoli Recipe (2024)

FAQs

How much liquid do I need to Pressure Cook beef? ›

Pour in at least two cups of water; use 1 to 2 cups more if the beef is a tough cut or to reach the minimum amount recommended by the pressure cooker's manufacturer. Seal the lid and bring the cooker up to full pressure over high heat. Reduce the heat to low, maintaining full pressure, and cook for 1 1/2 to 2 hours.

Chuck roast, brisket and short ribs are the best cut because they contain a lot of connective tissue. During both slow & pressure cooking, that connective tissue breaks down and turns into gelatin giving the beef a rich, meaty flavour and a tender, juicy texture.

Add the meat, juices and all to your pressure cooker . Pressure on high for 25 minutes and let the pressure come down naturally. When that's done remove the lid and simmer to preferred thickness. Serve over rice, polenta, mashed potatoes or grits.

Traditionally cheaper cuts of meat always slow cook better. Slow cooking breaks down the connective collagen in meat, which turns into unctuous gelatine. This creates that soft and tender mouth feel we all crave.

While you may cover meat almost completely for a conventional braise, use just enough liquid for the cooker to reach pressure – during pressure cooking the meat will release it's own juice and braise in that flavorful liquid, instead. DO use fresh herbs.

Overfilling your Instant Pot can affect the pressure that builds up inside, so you might end up with a mushy meal, or one that doesn't cook properly. Also, an overly-full Instant Pot can lead to a clogged pressure release knob, because food and liquid can get sucked up inside.

Steam penetrates food easily under pressure. So connective tissues in cubes of beef for soups or stews soften in 15 minutes or less, and a pot roast will be medium-rare in 30 minutes. Be sure to follow instructions carefully; at this speed, it's easy to overcook things in mere minutes.

If you find that it's still tough after cooking, you'll need to cook it for another 10 to 20 minutes at high pressure – it just needs a bit longer to continue to brine and break down the connective tissue.

Add in trivet and place frozen or fresh ground meat directly on trivet. Sprinkle with salt and pepper as desired. Put the lid on the Pressure Cooker and turn valve to seal. Set to High Pressure for 20 minutes if frozen, 6 minutes if fresh.

For example, cook a 2-pound pot roast at high pressure for 40 minutes and a 3-pound pot roast for 60 minutes. Frozen beef: I highly recommend thawing your beef for this recipe, since you cannot sear the frozen beef. If you must use frozen beef, assume 30 minutes per pound.

How do you keep meat moist in a pressure cooker? ›

The tightly sealed cooker creates a high-pressure environment that quickly and efficiently steams whatever is inside of it at an extra-high heat. This technique also forces moisture into the food quickly.

Best Cuts for Your Pressure Cooker/Instant Pot

You can cook any cut in a multi-cooker, but we recommend those from the chuck and round. These beef cuts typically take hours to prepare using braising and roasting methods.

Slow cookers are much better for cooking root vegetables and tough cuts of meat because the long, low-temperature cooking process is great for adding moisture and breaking down fat. Pressure cookers can get hot enough for meats and vegetables to brown in them when cooking, but slow cookers can't.

Is cooking in a pressure cooker healthy? Yes, cooking in a pressure cooker is healthy. Unlike a slow cooker, which cooks foods for a long time at a lower temperature, pressure cookers do use high heat when cooking - but not for a long time. This means that most of the nutrients won't be lost.

A pressure cooker shouldn't be more than 2/3rds full. With liquids, avoid filling more than half full. Overfilling leads to food being ejected from the pressure release valve – a messy business. If this does happen, you'll need to take apart and clean the parts thoroughly.

Follow this tip: While at least 1/2 to 1 cup of liquid is essential to well-cooked food in the pressure cooker, too much liquid will pull the flavor out of foods. Unless otherwise specified in the recipe, use just enough liquid to bring the cooker to pressure.

Beef. It takes approximately 1,847 gallons of water to produce 1 pound of beef — that's enough water to fill 39 bathtubs all the way to the top.

The first thing in pressure cooker safety is the addition of an appropriate amount of water to aid in the cooking process, create the steam that cooks your meal, and result in the pressure that gives the machine its name.