Cozy, comforting and, most of all, easy! The pressure cooker is a master of stews and here is a very basic recipe with extraordinary flavor that can easily be modified to include your favorite meat cut and veggies.
| Pressure Cooker | Accessories | Pr. Cook Time | Pr. Level | Open |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3 L or larger | none | 15-20 min. | High(2) | Slow Normal |
Rosemary Veal Stew - pressure cooker recipe
Author: Laura Pazzaglia, hip pressure cooking
Recipe type: pressure cooker
Cuisine: Italian
Prep time:
Cook time:
Total time:
You can make the same stew with beef stewing cubes, using the same pressure cooking time.
INGREDIENTS
- 2 sprigs fresh rosemary, one finely chopped and one for garnish
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 tablespoon butter
- 8 oz. (250g) shallots (about 15 small)
- 2 carrots, chopped
- 2 celery stalks, chopped
- 2 tablespoons all purpose flour
- 3 pounds (1.5k) veal, sliced into 1" cubes
- 1 cup white wine
- water to cover - may be substituted with white veal stock
- 2 teaspoons salt - withhold if using salted stock
INSTRUCTIONS
- To the pre-heated pressure cooker add oil, butter and finely chopped rosemary.
- Mix-in the shallots, carrots and celery and saute until the shallots are just starting to soften.
- In the meantime, mix the meat cubes with flour and then shake off any excess completely (leaving on too much may cause the cooker to scorch).
- Shove the veggies aside and brown the meat cubes on two sides.
- Pour in the wine and use a spatula or wooden spoon to lift and incorporate any brown bits on the bottom of the cooker.
- Pour in just enough water (or stock) to almost cover, but not submerge, the meat.
- Close and lock the lid of the pressure cooker. Turn the heat up to high and when the cooker reaches pressure, lower to the heat to the minimum required by the cooker to maintain pressure. Cook for 15 to 20 minutes at high pressure.
- When time is up, open the cooker by slowly releasing the pressure.
- Let the cooker simmer un-covered at medium high heat for about 5 more minutes or until the cooking liquid has thickened to taste.
Serve on a bed of creamy pressure cooker polenta.
Laura,
How come you changed your mind on the “flour in pressure cooker will scorch” issue? I’ve had very bad luck (= burned pot, needed lots of baking powder to clean up) with dusting meat with even a smidgen of flour (even if I scrape up all the browned bits before closing the lid), and I thought you had, too.
What made you try again?
Yes, it’s true that too much flour can burn and scorch at the bottom of the cooker – my guideline is to not to thicken the cooking liquid (with flour or anything else) before pressure cooking.
When I first started out pressure cooking, and I wasn’t writing my own recipes yet, I had a difficult time bringing the cooker up to pressure with a thick sauce and the contents burned and the cooker never reached pressure.
So yes, flour is tricky. No one has figured out how much flour is too much, yet.
What makes this recipe work is that we’re only lightly dusting the meat with flour and then we’re using LOTS of cooking liquid (about two cups of water, plus all of the water from the veggies and meat).
If you’re uncomfortable with adding flour because of your prior experience, you can ABSOLUTELY not dust the meat. The reason I included that here is that toasted flour adds a really nice flavor to the stew.
Ciao,
L
Hello Laura,
I made this recipe last night with the substitute beef stew cubes. The flavor came out lovely and delicious, however the meat was very tough (I browned it before pressure cooking but did not dredge it first). Is it more likely that I didn’t cook it long enough or that I overcooked it? I have the IP-Duo60 and cooked under pressure for about 25-30 min.
Thanks!
Jacqueline
jacquelinef18, you don’t need to further adjust the cooking time recommended in my recipes. Instant Pot can do right in the middle of my recommended ranges – so since I call for 15-20 minutes: 18 or so would have been perfect.
I’m sorry, it sounds like your beef cubes were a little overcooked. : (
Ciao,
L
Thanks so much for the reply! At least now I know what I’m doing wrong. I’m brand new to pressure cooking. I love my IP Duo-60 but am still figuring out pressure cooking techniques. (-: I also followed one of your recipes for a beef roast and it came out very tough and I had the same question about it, but based on your answer, I think must have cooked it too long. Now that I know your recipes don’t have to be adjusted for my cooker, I think they’ll start coming out much better. (the flavor was still great, the meat was just tough) Thank you so much for your help!! I really love your site and your recipes. (I also have your harcover cookbook and I love it – so informative!)
Thank you again,
Jacqueline
Thanks Jacqueline – don’t worry, you’ll get the hang of it. Although my times are usually pretty-on-the-mark there can be variations in meat density from the size of the pieces to the amount of fat it contains. Each part of the country, and even world, feeds and raises their animals differently – even the butchering and conservation can differ (in America almost all chickens are brined – but nowhere else is this the norm).
You’ve gotten some great advice from your husband (maybe it was the leanness) and other readers (you can always cook it more) – I’m sure that with practice and lots of delicious dinners you’ll get this stew down. ; )
Ciao,
L
Hmm. Any time I’ve had problems with tough beef cubes I have under-, not overcooked them. (For example, when I make goulash, I pressure cook it for 35 min, and then some more once I’ve added in the tomatoes and carrots.)
Different cuts of beef need different amount of time, of course – but often the cuts you get for stewing require time. Even 18 minutes of cooking time sounds short to me.
I have made this recipe several times and found that even the 12 minutes cooking time is too much.
The meat is fine right away but reheated the next day it is more firm(chewy) than I would like it.
Last time I cooked it 10 minutes with quick release and it was much better and still cooked perfectly for me, right away. It is a very tasty recipe no matter how long.
I can’t imagine what a 35 minute stew would be like. maybe like the dreaded slow cooker stew which many love.
But.. most recipes seem to call for longer times so I will have to try it one of these days.
“Slow cooker stew” – them’s fighting words!
As I said – cuts of beef vary. Therefore cooking times vary, too. And as far as beef cubes go, I’d rather err on the side of overdone.
Obviously, this is one of those “it works for me” issues. Your mileage may vary.
Thank you Annette & Helen for the additional advice! Usually I make my beef stew in a giant stockpot on the stovetop and it simmers for about 4 hours and the beef cubes come out very tender, which is why I couldn’t figure out if the meat was overcooked or undercooked. (I know tough meat usually has to be cooked for a long time in the oven or stew but wasn’t sure how the pressure affected the tenderness of the meat.)
My husband also pointed out that since I’m using meat from a grass-fed/grass-finished steer (we purchased a half steer from a local farmer) there may be much less marbling and therefore it might get overdone quicker since it has much less fat in it, so Laura may be right that I way overcooked it.
I will try Helen’s & Laura’s lesser amount of time first and then if the meat is still tough I may try cooking it longer.
Thanks, Ladies!! (-:
You can always cook it longer. Just put the lid back on and add more time. And/or just make a much smaller stew. My first Instant Pot stew I had only 2/3 lb of beef, and it turned out fine with the recipe halved.
@Annette. As I mentioned many people love a well done stew. And one of these days I will try 35 minutes (with much trepidation) as I never mind being proven wrong if it makes for a better dinner.
Helen