Slow Cooker, Pressure Cooker or Cast-Iron Casserole? Which Method Is Best For Taste Bud Seduction?
No less an authority than TV presenter and acclaimed cookbook author, Adam Liaw, writing in The Sydney Morning Herald, recently weighed in with his favourite choices when cooking the ultimate comfort food – stews and casseroles.
“If flavour is your top priority”, Adam recommends the Japanese braising method in a cast-iron casserole. “The process involves a quick 10-minute simmer in a heavy pot”.
This is followed by “1-2 hours of standing where the warm pot is wrapped in thick tea towels to insulate it or slipped into an insulated shopping bag to retain heat – a process that mimics slow cooking. This simmer-and-stand process is then repeated two or three more times.
“Beyond the excellent energy efficiency, those long rests between simmers allow the flavours to develop a complexity that you don’t always get from a continuous boil,” Adam explains.
He acknowledges that the slow cooker is “by far the simplest approach”
“ It produces results remarkably similar to the classic method without the need for searing the meat or sauteing the mirepoix. The slow cooker simply achieves the depth” (of flavour) “over seven hours ”
The only downside, he says is that slow cookers are “often criticised for lacking flavour because of excess liquid.” His solution is to “use powdered stock cubes with only a small amount of water. This ensures that the stew remains thick, rich and well-seasoned”.
The flavour profile for slow cooking is enhanced when prepared in advance. “While there is a certain neatness to starting the cooker as you leave for work, your stew will actually be tastier if you kick it off the night before. Wake up to a finished stew, refrigerate it during the day and simply reheat it when you get home for a much deeper, more developed flavour,” he explains.
Meanwhile for sheer speed,” he says, “you can’t beat the pressure cooker.”
“While it lacks a little of the textural nuance found in the slower methods, none of the other techniques can get a hearty stew on the table in under an hour. By following the same logic as the slow cooker – using stock cubes and less liquid to concentrate seasoning – you can produce an excellent, tender result even on the busiest weeknight.”
So there you have it? We’re keen to know what you think and welcome a photograph or two of your favourite results.