I love, love, love this pressure cooker!
If I had had this pressure cooker 12 years ago I would not have spent and wasted more dollars than I like to admit on various cookers trying to find the right one to cook 3 whole chickens at one time w/o risking a kitchen disasters. I have owned the large (12 qt) expensive electric cookers along with a variety of on-the-stove-top models. The teflon coated models wear out quickly and the replacement costs for a new insert is almost as much as the original unit! I cook 3 whole chickens each week to feed to my 2 dogs (1.5 hours and even the bones are eatible mixed with rice and veggies).
Advice: Read the instructions carefully! My first attempt with the cooker taught me several things.
1) you will need more Vaseline around the edges than the instructions call for or you will get steam leaking out a side.
2) bring all the screw clamps up to the top and tighten only until they start to take more effort. Once all the screws are in place then tighten opposite sides together just a bit and work your way around the lid, then do it again until all screws are tightened about the same - do not over tightened.
3) regardless of removing the pressure gauge, as instructed in the literature immediately when it reaches ZERO, you will still have to use a screw driver or a metal strong utility spoon between the lid and pot to snap the lid loose - just stick the handle into the space and pry or turn gently and the pressure will let go and release the lid from the pot.
4) if cooking food in the cooker then you will be using soap and water to clean up and therefore you will have to reapply the Vaseline every single time you use the cooker.
5) Put your cooker on the stove with all the ingredients and then add liquids last. This pot is very heavy and much heavier when full.
6) do not fill more than half full of liquid or solid foods because you do not want to run the risk of blowing grease, etc. out the vent! Good advice for ALL PRESSURE COOKERS!!
7) Cooker takes quite a while to cool down because this metal holds the heat much longer than most pans. It also takes a long time to come up to full pressure....lots of pan and lots of volume to heat when half full!
8) The instructions for how often the pressure weight should jiggle is really a factor of your stove and how well you can regulate it. I happen to have a Viking Range and it's almost impossible to get the exact jiggles/min that the instructions talk about. One millimeter up or down on my gas stove knobs will cause it to stop jiggling altogether or more frequently. Just get it so it does not exceed the 15 pounds of pressure on the gauge and it will work just fine. Mine sounds like it is jiggling faster but everything has worked out ok.
If you do a lot of large scale cooking or canning then you want a cooker that is reliable and this mother is the Queen of pressure cookers for the job. If you only cook small batches once in a while then you might find this tank to be more than you need. I absolutely love it, my chickens cook in about half the time as other cookers I've had and I do not think you'll be sorry with this purchase.
1 comments:
I purchased this canner in the fall to can some deer meat. This canner is so easy to use. I've helped mom can in the past ,but never with a pressure cooker. She was always afraid of them. After seeing me can with mine, she changed her mind on how safe they can be. I started to can my 2 deer, then had to can my dads and my brother-in-laws. The really nice thing is you can do other stuff while canning because you can hear the jiggles. I done alot of research on line before my purchase and I'm so glad I made the right purchase. Thanks so much Wisconsin Foundry for such as nice product.
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