Trial and error

Hearty comfort food sounds good this time of year, doesn't it?  And I don't mean roasted carrots. Those New Year's resolutions are becoming just a hazy memory.  Ha! I made eggplant Parmesan last night, the delicious, breaded fried kind with melted cheese and red sauce on top.

We've had several meals from the pressure cooker since the pea soup.  There's a learning curve, especially for people who like to dink around with their recipes.  For example,  I should have cooked those pinto beans with salt, even though they say not to. My re-fried beans tasted flat despite all the salt I dumped on later.

Another issue is adding just the right amount of cooking liquid, especially for meat. All the meat we buy seems to contain a lot of water, diluting the seasonings under pressure and making it taste more "stewed" than braised.

Anyway, everything was fine overall, but this Korean barbecue pork fillet was outstanding. In the summer I cook these on the grill, and in the winter use the oven.  They are tricky to make because they dry out fast.  I guess it's safe to cook pork to just medium (still pink) but we like it cooked completely through and juicy.  In the pressure cooker, you don't have to worry about timing it just right.

I marinated the meat overnight in half a bottle of Korean barbecue sauce I bought somewhere.  Then I browned the chunks in the pressure cooker.

Then I browned a generous amount of onions, and added just enough sauce to reach the minimum liquid mark on the side of the pressure cooker.

Back went the meat, on went the lid, up went the pressure for 25 minutes...

And the result was, delicious.  Fork tender and moist.  John took sandwiches to work with the leftovers. Now if I can just remember where I bought that bottle of Korean barbecue sauce.