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.

Pressure cooking is particularly effective at tenderizing tough cuts of meat. As the pressurized steam penetrates the meat fibers, it breaks down collagen and connective tissues, transforming tough cuts into melt-in-your-mouth delicacies.

To thicken beef and broccoli, you can mix 1-2 tablespoons of cornstarch with a small amount of water to create a slurry. Add the slurry to the simmering sauce and stir until it thickens. Adjust the consistency as needed. Mix together a teaspoon of corn starch with enough water to dissolve it so it looks milky.

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.

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.

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.

The cooking time depends on how much beef you have. I like to assume 20 minutes for every pound of meat. So, for my 3-pound beef chuck, I will need to cook at high pressure for 1 hour. After the hour, I release the pressure and shred the tender beef.

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.

If you prepare meat in a pressure cooker and it turns out dry, this is usually because the meat has cooked too long & the natural juices have been squeezed out. The result is a tasty gravy but dry meat.

Beef and Broccoli Ingredients

Sauces and oils: This beef and broccoli recipe calls for oyster sauce, sesame oil, and soy sauce. Sherry: Cooking sherry adds a sweet, nutty flavor to the beef and broccoli. Sugar: White sugar lends a hint of sweetness. Cornstarch: A teaspoon of cornstarch thickens the sauce.

What can I use instead of beef broth in beef and broccoli? ›

Vegetable Broth

Add some bay leaves for a different flavor. Vegetable broth is made of vegetables and water. To use it as a beef broth substitute, use the 1:1 ratio. An article from Organic facts suggests vegetable broth is the best all-around substitute for beef broth.

Use cornstarch to thicken your stew towards the end of cooking, as cooking it for a long time can break down the starch and your stew will thin out again.

Broth, water, or juices are always added along with the meat. The moist heat they provide softens the connective tissue that binds the muscle fibers in the meat, helping it to fall apart more easily.

Brown it

Pressure cooked food doesn't brown so it's worth doing this at the start of cooking before adding liquid and putting the lid on. Meat looks and tastes more appetising with a little browning. Onions, garlic and spices also benefit in the flavour stakes from pre-cooking.

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.

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.

In fact, it's water that helps generate the high-pressure environment that makes your food cook faster.

Do you add water when cooking meat in a slow cooker? If your slow cooker is 3/4 full, no extra liquid is required. However, if you're cooking a smaller amount of food, add 1-2cm of liquid in the bottom of the slow cooker bowl to ensure there's enough liquid for cooking.

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.