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Pressure cooked Bison Stew with
Cress Spring 'Expedition' bread. --Photo by Bill Lubing

I bought my first pressure cooker when I was 18 years old. It was one of the first kitchen assets I ever purchased when preparing to strike out on my own. I found it in a garage sale on Gilman Street in Madison for three dollars.

As I was packing to leave home my mother gave me her old, yellowed copy of the Presto Pressure Cooker Instruction and Recipe Booklet that had always been kept in the kitchen with her frequently used recipes. The cover was long gone and the pages were dog eared and loose. With its wooden handle and beehive shaped "jiggler" her well-used cooker had been instrument in preparing many memorable meals when I was growing up. I felt honored she would entrust me with one of her most important kitchen assets, that dog-eared recipe booklet.

Presto pressure cooker --Courtesy of Presto Industries

Presto pressure cooker --Courtesy of Presto Industries

There's a reason why our mothers and grandmothers used pressure cookers back in the 1940s and 1950s. These cookers are fast and convenient. Unfortunately the designs of the period were such that contents would sometimes escape the pressure cooker when it shouldn't have. It usually did so by throwing a noisy, steaming mess. While it's a myth that pressure cookers frequently "blew up" from over heating, the units of yesterday didn't have the safety features of the UL-listed models found today. Many of us seem to have forgotten the wonderful kitchen attributes of the pressure cooker, while clinging to the unfortunate myths about this dependable kitchen speedster. That's a real shame.

My modern pressure cooker is equipped with at least three safety features that prevent a dangerous overpressure situation. The cause of most of the mishaps with the old-style cooker, opening it while under pressure, is not possible with the contemporary cooker.

I love my pressure cooker. It's a modern, stainless steel appliance from Presto that was surprising inexpensive to purchase, yet beautifully made. Lest there is any confusion, what we're talking about here is a stove top appliance made for cooking in and not a pressure canner used to put up food.

The beauty of the pressure cooker is its speed. In many cases it's actually faster than the microwave. Another is retention of nutrients. Pressure cooking uses less liquid than many other methods and cooks for a shorter time.

Below is a recipe that was modified slightly from one found in the Presto Instructions and Recipes. Rather than using lamb we're using bison. For those of you fearful of cooking some of the leaner meats, such as bison, eum, or grass fed beef, the pressure cooker offers a cooking method that reliably delivers moist, tender meat. The one thing to keep in mind about pressure cooking is that because of shorter cooking times, adding or subtracting as little as a minute or two can made a huge difference in your results.

If you want to be amazed with the speed to prepare and delicious results, try this recipe for bison stew in your pressure cooker.

Pressure cooked bison stew
Makes four servings

1 pound bison stew meat, cut into 1-inch cubes;
1 cup water;
1 large onion, sliced;
1 tbsp Worcestershire sauce;
2 large cloves of garlic, minced;
4 small potatoes, quartered;
1 cup baby-cut carrots;
1 tsp salt;
1/4 tsp black pepper;
--------------
1/4 cup cold water;
1 tbsp flour.

Place bison, water, onion, Worchestershire sauce, and garlic in cooker. Close cover securely. Place pressure regular on vent pipe and cook 6 minutes with pressure regulator rocking slowly. Cool cooker at once.

Add potatoes, carrots, salt, and pepper. Close cover securely. Place pressure regulator on vent pipe and cook 3 minutes with pressure regulator rocking slowly. Cool cooker at once.

Mix water and flour thoroughly; stir into stew. Heat until stew thickens, stirring constantly.

Enjoy!

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