A nitpick. Slow cooking is exchange cooking not roasting, you may make excellent dishes this way with large chunks of cheaper meat and slice them at the table and serve with gravy like a roast dinner but it isn’t roasting.
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Modern reputable brand name pressure cookers are much better designed than the old ones.
Don’t try this at home?
The old versions I know had a weighted cap that clipped loosely onto a nipple in the centre top of the lid. There was always a hazard in letting them boil dry, too little liquid, too full or too long on the stove. I’ve only ever seen one pop it’s weight and spray the ceiling. The weight could become stuck or temporarily jam and not vent. The secret was to not walk away once on the heat, but to nurture the device frequently using a long handled fork to raise the weight a little, thus ensuring it was not stuck, until a stead flow of steam developed. Any signs of overflowing contents through the nipple would usually cause a gum up. The wise turned the heat off and covered all with heavy towels and oven mit until cooled. The daring attempted to ease the jam with said protection while holding the cooker over the sink, or better sitting in some water. This hopefully released the pressure enough to pop the lid, clean all, and start again. If you have an older weighted vent type, all I’ve seen are aluminium pots. Perfect for conversion to a planter, or the scrap man.
We have a modern SS pressure cooker, and have zero problems. Fear factor varies with prior experience.
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Mum’s was like that, and the lid locked down as well. I found it terrifying.
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Pot roasting is still a form of roasting. It just includes the addition of a small quantity of stock. I know this because I am a qualified chef. “Normal” roasting using a conventional oven is a form of dry roasting.
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Thought that was called ‘braising’.
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Perhaps that was the usage you were taught. I just looked at the first five dictionaries that came up and all use it in the sense of dry roasting. No matter the topic is slow cooking not roasting.
There are many reports of ‘explosions’ which may not be the fault of the pressure cooker, but prematurely opening the lid before it has reached boiling point or below. The water in the pressure cooker is superheated and if the lid is opened before the temperature reduces to boiling or less than boiling temperature, the water/fluids can instantaneously boil very vigorously (explosive boiling) throwing hot fluids everywhere.
The other explosion could be the weight placed on the pressure cooker vent. This weight regulates the pressure within the pressure cooker and should be removed and thoroughly cleaned. It is isn’t removed and thoroughly cleaned, it can become glued/stuck closing off the vent. In such cases, the pressure will increase until such time it forces the stuck weight to release…which could cause the weight to be thrown off the pressure cooker and superheated fluids spurting from the vent. With old style pressure cookers, one should regularly check the weight is free when initially turned on and building up pressure by occasionally bumping the weight say with a wooden spoon or tongs to ensure that weight is free. It is it stuck before automatically releasing pressure, it should be turned off to prevent weight ejection.
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My late aunt used to regularly use a pressure cooker in Townsville in the 1960’s and had a least one event which left cabbage on the kitchen ceiling which is why I was very dubious of them until recently.
I don’t know the cause of that incident but a person who worked in a local bakery related the story of how her mother used to boil the cans of condensed milk in a pressure cooker, and one day, forgot about it until it had boiled dry and the can of condensed milk exploded.
Her father had walked through the kitchen and exited throught the back door and had turned 90 degrees as it exploded.
When they could not get the stains off the farmhouse kitchen ceiling, they simply painted over them.
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Water has a property that when it heats up to boiling point, which is 100 degrees at sea level atmospheric pressure, almost all further heat put in goes into converting it to steam. You will not get any higher than 100 degrees no matter how hard you try.
If you have ever tried cooking in water up in the mountains where the pressure is lower, it takes longer because water can only get to say 90 degrees.
The whole point of pressure cookers is to trap in the pressure so water can reach a higher temperature in liquid form.
Take off the lid when the water temperature is way above 100 degrees and the pressure reverts instantly to normal pressure and you get explosive steam generation as it boils away.
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I cannot believe we are wasting our time on this issue.
It doesn’t matter what you call it. It is still delicious.
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I cook my stews and casseroles in a good old fashioned cast iron camp oven.
Can be used in the oven, or on the gas stove. Or of course, on a camp fire.
Very well seasoned so nothing sticks.
Because the lid is both heavy and close fitting, it holds in steam and acts like a mild pressure cooker, so meat and vegies cook faster than with other means.
I think mine cost about $20 years ago.
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Can we get back to the point of the first posst… which was about recipes for slow/pressure cookers, not whether some other form of cook pot is better or worse….
I bought some chuck steak yesterday… whats next?
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You can either slow cook it in a stock with vegetables for a casserole or you can pressure cook it with at least one cup of water/stock if you bought pieces. If it is in one large piece I would recommend slow cooking it for 4hours on high or 8 hours on low in one cup of stock which you can make into a gravy.
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I would have also purchased a small amount of kidney. Cut the beef into large bite sized chunks, the kidney a much smaller dice and lightly dusted all in a seasoned flour. Chefs choice of oil, lard or other fat to brown in heavy casserole or pot. Add chopped onion, chunky sliced carrots and vegetable stock to just cover. The waste water from boiling last nights mash works fine.
Bring to a simmer and cook for as long or as slow as you can, 2-4 hrs until the beef is soft and tender. Add more seasoning including pepper or a dash of Worcestershire or …… to finish. Like all similar recipes, it makes it’s own gravy. Cooking with the lid off at the end will help to reduce and thicken, or cheat by mixing a teaspoon or two of cornflower into a paste and stir through. Sides of fresh steamed winter veges, EG cauliflower, go great, as does strong black tea, dark beer or a red wine.
Also works well in the Rena Ware style pots, but best to brown the meat in a pan first, then deglaze and add all to the pot.
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Lol! Nice suggestion for those who dont mind kidney. I hate the stuff. And all other offal 
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Chuck steak is a much worked, tough muscle with a lot of collagen, but cooking it for a long time transforms it into a tender, tasty piece of meat.
Cut it into cubes and brown in oil or butter, on top of the stove.
Transfer to the slow-cooker and add all or some of the following veggies chopped in medium sized pieces: carrots, onions, celery, add leeks, tomatoes, peas, if you like.
Potatoes will have to be added at half-time.
Any herbs you like.
For liquid: beef stock or just plain water, it should cover the ingredients.
Season to taste.
Cover.
Slow cook for 6 hours.
Ladle the stew on top of plain rice.
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Unless you use kipfler potatoes which is what we use in stews and casseroles, as they stand up to long cooking times as well or better than carrots.
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Simmer mats are great.
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I first got my 8L tefal to help cook my dogs food faster and slowly got into making human dishes in it, my favourites being Stout Pork Roast using a slab of pork neck, and the filling for steak and kidney pies. I use it regularly to make bone broth as it is faster.
I ended up with a 5.5L sunbeam slow cooker which I use weekly in winter for bulk dinners, currently have chicken cacciatore simmering away. I don’t have a go to meal, as I like to try new things, currently making my way through the WW complete slow cooker recipe book.
Then I got a thermomix…promises of slow cooking…
, yeah nah. You need to purchase a blade cover to stop the meat being shredded by the blades and then that leaves nearly 600ml of liquid under the cover, max 2L capacity, and the power is excessive to run it for 6-8hrs!!! Waaay more economical in a slow cooker.
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An advertorial in Saturday’s Sydney Morning Herald talked about a Zega cooker. It is a double-lined (thermos type) 5 litre pan in which you bring the ingredients to heat then turn off the gas or whatever. It comes with an analogue or digital lid that tells you when the food is cooked. I have ordered the digital version at $199. zega.com.au I will report back on how it performs.
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