By Sheryl Shard, copyright 2014. All rights reserved
Try making "roast" chicken in a pressure cooker. It's so tender!
In the small settlements of the Out Islands of the Bahamas it is sometimes hard to find good meat but you can always get good quality frozen chicken both in pieces or as a whole chicken so I have been experimenting with lots of chicken recipes recently!
Good quality frozen chicken can even be found in small Bahamian settlements
On Sundays Paul and I maintain our family tradition of cooking up a nice roast for a relaxing midday meal and we enjoy a roast chicken with all the trimmings as much as roast beef, pork or lamb. But roasting a whole chicken for up to an hour in the oven in the tropics really heats up the boat. I'd heard that it was possible to roast a whole chicken using a pressure cooker but had never tried it. I thought it would be mushy but I did a little research, spoke to some cruising friends and came up with the following recipe that I think comes pretty close to the flavour and texture of a garlic herb rotisserie chicken which we often enjoyed when we were cruising in the Mediterranean. It's incredibly tender and tasty. Best thing - it cooks in 20 minutes on the stove top!
Whole Roasted Chicken in a Pressure CookerIngredients
1 whole chicken (choose a size that will fit snuggly in your pressure cooker)
3 Tablespoons of Italian Herbs or any mixture of herbs you like
2 Tablespoons of Olive Oil
1 teaspoon of salt
1/2 teaspoon of ground black pepper
3 cloves of garlic, peeled and cut in half
1/4 lemon cut in 2-3 segments, skin on
2 bay leaves
1 cup of waterMethod
Thaw chicken. I leave a whole frozen chicken in the fridge to thaw for about 24 hours. Remove any giblets. Rinse chicken inside and out and pat dry. Tuck the wing tips back behind the neck and place on a large plate or casserole breast up. Take one garlic clove half and rub raw edge all over chicken to flavour skin. Dispose of garlic clove you used on the chicken. Place the remaining garlic in the cavity with one bay leaf. Wash and dry hands.
In a bowl, mix the herbs, salt, pepper and olive oil. Squeeze the lemon slices over the bowl to add juice and then put them in the cavity of the chicken along with the garlic cloves and 1 bay leaf.
Using bare hands, smear the herb mixture all over the chicken. Wash and dry hands.
Brown the chicken on all sides for about 10 minutes in a separate pan, or in your pressure cooker if you have a large one. Browning the chicken gives it the roasted taste and texture. Place chicken in pressure cooker.
Add the one cup of water and the second bay leaf to the pressure cooker. Close and lock the lid.
Turn the heat up to high and when the cooker reaches pressure turn heat down to the lowest heat needed to maintain pressure. Cook for 20 minutes.Turn off heat and let pressure drop naturally rather than by releasing it with the valve.
When the pressure has dropped, remove the chicken from the pressure cooker and place on a serving platter. Tent with foil to keep hot while you make gravy from the juices and liquid left in the pressure cooker. Simmer the contents uncovered until reduced by half, about 5 minutes.
Strain the pan sauce and pour over chicken or place on the table in a gravy boat.
I serve with steamed vegetables and Pan Roasted Potatoes. You can dress this up further for special occasions by serving stuffing too as well as cranberry sauce.
Note: If you just want to cook up a chicken fast and use the meat for chicken salad or other dishes requiring cooked chicken you can skip the browning stage and cook up chicken pieces or a whole chicken with just water. My friend Hermione of S/V Arion (owner of Zigzag Bags who appeared in Distant Shores season 7 episode #79/7-1) does this often and by throwing in chopped onion, lemon and whatever herbs she has on hand also creates a lovely stock which she uses later in risottos or to make soup, etc. If this recipe appeals to you, email it to yourself or save it to your Facebook timeline. Thanks for sharing it with your friends too!
You might also enjoy these
other sailing recipes.
From January 9 to 18, 2015, Paul and I will be conducting seminars at the Toronto International Boat Show in Canada including "Provisioning for Cruising". Hope to meet you there!
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FAQs
chicken requires 18 minutes of high pressure cooking. Add 6 minutes of cooking time per additional pound. Note: You can submerge your chicken directly in the cooking liquid, especially if you want to make chicken stock. However, the steamer basket method ensures crispy skin and won't wash away the seasoning.
Why is my chicken tough after pressure cooking? ›
Overcooking or cooking at too high a temperature can result in tough, dry chicken. Undercooking can leave chicken undercooked and chewy.
Does chicken cook faster in pressure cooker? ›
Pressure cookers save you time by cooking foods TWO to TEN times faster than other cooking methods. They are the fastest way to cook delicious meals: beef roasts, chicken, rice, dry beans, you name it.
Does chicken need to be submerged in pressure cooker? ›
One is having the chicken submerged in the liquid and the other option is placing the chicken on top of the trivet. Submerging the chicken method is great for shredding in enchiladas, etc; while cooking the chicken on the trivet creates a firmer chicken that can be sliced for salads, etc.
How do you know when pressure cooked chicken is done? ›
If desired, test chicken with a thermometer; it should reach 165 degrees. (If it's just shy, place the lid back on and allow it to rest for 5 minutes. If the chicken is still not cooked to at least 160 degrees, secure the instant pot lid and cook for 1-3 minutes longer, on high pressure.)
Can you overcook chicken in a pressure cooker? ›
Because chicken breast is so lean, just a couple of extra minutes of cook time turns them from juicy to overcooked and dry. Thighs, on the other hand, are a fattier cut, and not prone to dry out as quickly even after an extra minute or two of cooking.
Does pressure cooking chicken longer make it more tender? ›
The 5 minutes did get them to the safe 165F after the resting period BUT they were far from fall-off the bone. Just like for the whole legs or just thighs and drumsticks longer cooking equals more tender and fall-off the bone meat.
Does pressure cooking chicken longer make meat more tender? ›
Cooking any meat on high heat (or high pressure) for an extended period will both: denature more the proteins / collagen making the meat more tender; "squeeze" more water out of the meat, making it drier / chalkier in texture.
Does chicken get tougher or more tender the longer you cook it? ›
Chicken becomes more tender the longer it cooks. ... Boiling a chicken produces very moist, tender and flavorful meat that can easily be removed from the bone for eating alone or using in salads, pasta dishes and stuffing. Most whole chickens become fully tender in about one hour on medium-low heat.
Does a pressure cooker dry out chicken? ›
Oddly enough, it can be really challenging to get the right texture when cooking boneless chicken breasts. They cook quickly in the Instant Pot, but if you don't cook them long enough they get a weird, rubber-like texture that's nearly impossible to chew, and if you cook them too long, their texture gets dry.
Add Liquid
“Jiggle top” cookers need a minimum of one cup of water, while valve cookers need at least half a cup. Put food in the cooker first, then add water. When learning how to use a pressure cooker, make sure the unit is never more than two-thirds full of liquid, so the steam has enough space to accumulate.
Should I slow cook or pressure cook chicken? ›
So can a Crock-Pot cook better chicken than an Instant Pot? Well, it really depends on what you're making. The Instant Pot cooks chicken much faster than its non-pressure counterparts, but the resulting texture isn't going to be the same as what you'd get with a slow cooker or Dutch oven.
Should roast be covered with liquid in pressure cooker? ›
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.
How long should I pressure can raw chicken? ›
Once you're getting 4 “jiggles” per minute, or your dial gauge has come up to pressure, start your timer and process the chicken. If you're canning pint jars, you will process them for 1 hour 15 minutes (75 minutes). If you're using quart jars, you will process for 1 hour 30 minutes (90 minutes).
Can you use stock instead of water in pressure cooker? ›
Sure you can. And you won't need to add salt. Personally I use chicken stock for for several things most people would use water.
How quickly does a pressure cooker cook meat? ›
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.
How long should you cook meat in a pressure cooker? ›
Season your meat as you normally would. Heat a little oil using the Sauté function and sear the meat. Add 1 1/2 cups of liquid (water, stock, etc.). Cook for 20 minutes (per pound of meat) at high pressure for large chunks and 15 minutes (per pound of meat) for small chunks.
