Pressure cookers have become increasingly popular in home kitchens over the past decade. With their ability to quickly cook foods and tenderize tough cuts of meat, it’s easy to see why pressure cooking has caught on for home cooks looking to save time without sacrificing flavor. But when it comes to professional restaurant kitchens, do chefs utilize pressure cookers as part of their cooking process? There are pros and cons to using pressure cookers in a professional environment that impact their prevalence in restaurant kitchens.
Benefits of Using Pressure Cookers
There are some key benefits that make pressure cookers an attractive option for professional chefs:
Faster Cooking Times
The pressurized environment inside a pressure cooker allows liquid to reach temperatures above boiling point. This superheated steam quickly cooks foods and breaks down connective tissues in tough cuts of meat. Cooking times can be reduced by up to 70% compared to traditional cooking methods. When you’re cooking for hundreds of covers per service, those time savings really add up. Quicker cooking means dishes can be prepped faster during busy services.
Space Saving Design
Pressure cookers are an efficient use of space, with multiple dishes that can be stacked and cooked at once. Space is at a premium in most restaurant kitchens, so any opportunity to maximize space is valued. Their compact footprint allows them to be easily worked into existing kitchen layouts.
Food Quality
The moist heat environment and accelerated cooking process means pressure cooked foods often maintain more flavors, nutrients, and juices compared to other cooking methods. Meats cooked under pressure are very tender. The pressurized steam also allows for higher cooking temperatures to quickly achieve food safety requirements.
Energy Efficient
Pressure cookers require less energy to operate than most standard cooking equipment. Their airtight design contains heat and steam for more efficient cooking. This allows restaurants to save on energy costs associated with ovens, grills, and stove tops.
Challenges of Using Pressure Cookers
With those benefits in mind, why aren’t pressure cookers ubiquitous in professional kitchens? There are some limitations that present challenges in a restaurant setting:
Lower Output Volumes
While they save space, pressure cookers still have a much lower output capacity compared to large oven ranges, tilt skillets, steam kettles, or braising pans used to cook big batches of food. The capacity of most pressure cookers tops out at around 8-10 quarts – enough for cooking veggies or proteins for 5-6 people. To cook a dish for hundreds of customers per service, a commercial kitchen would need a battery of pressure cookers taking up valuable floor space. Their batch size capabilities are better suited for smaller restaurant operations.
Lack of Flexibility
Standard commercial cooking equipment allows chefs to cook using a variety of techniques like frying, sautéing, searing, braising, poaching, steaming, etc. Pressure cookers are pretty much limited to braising, steaming, and cooking wet dishes. Their pressurized environment makes executing other cooking methods impossible. This one-dimensional cooking functionality limits their utility in pro kitchens that rely on using multiple cooking techniques.
Loss of Control and Customization
Maintaining complete control over each dish is essential for chefs to consistently deliver their creative vision to customers. The enclosed environment of pressure cookers takes away direct access to the food during cooking. Chefs have a harder time closely monitoring the progress of dishes and making quick adjustments to taste and texture. Custom finishing steps like searing or sautéing after pressure cooking are not possible.
Steep Learning Curve
Operating pressure cookers properly requires training to understand cook times, managing pressure release, and following safety procedures. Many pro chefs prefer to default to equipment and techniques they have years of muscle memory and comfort using. Choosing new equipment with a learning curve means potential setbacks in high volume, fast-paced kitchen environments.
Types of Pressure Cookers Used by Chefs
While not the most common kitchen tool, some commercial pressure cooker models are built to handle larger batch sizes more suitable for restaurant use. Here are some examples:
Large Stock Pot Pressure Cookers
15-20 quart stock pot pressure cookers offer enough capacity for cooking 2-3 gallons of soups, stocks, or stews. This makes them useful for preparing large batches of braised meats or bone broths that can be portioned and finished off during service. Their size allows enough portions for 100+ servings.
Pressure Braising Pans
These large pans (up to 40 gallons) combine pressure cooking technology with the open, wide cooking surface of a traditional braising pan. Chefs can sear, sauté, or brown food before pressure cooking in the sealed environment. The open design allows easier access and monitoring during cooking. These hybrid pressure braisers give chefs more flexibility while still decreasing cook times.
Combi Oven Pressure Cookers
Some combi oven manufacturers offer pressure cooking settings on their sophisticated “smart” oven models. Combi ovens already have steaming, convection, and moist heat cooking functionality. Adding pressure cooking allows food to be quickly prepped then finished off with different cooking methods.
Electric Pressure Cooker Ranges
Commercial electric pressure cooker ranges offer multiple covered pressure cookers in a standard range design for easy integration into existing kitchen lines. These give chefs the ability to pressure cook different dishes simultaneously. Models with 5+ cookers allow larger batch size production.
Pressure Fryers
Pressure frying lets protein or veggies get that crispy, fried exterior through pressurized hot air rather than submerged in oil. These pressure fryers significantly reduce oil usage up to 80% less compared to traditional deep fryers. Their compact size takes up less floorspace as well.
Dishes Commonly Prepared with Pressure Cookers
While pressure cookers aren’t necessarily commonplace, there are some specific uses where professional chefs employ them to enhance or expedite their processes:
Stocks and Broths
Long cooked bone broths and stocks are ideal to produce in large pressure cookers. The high pressure environment extracts more collagen and nutrients from the bones in a fraction of standard cooking time. This allows rich, full flavored stocks to be prepped in advance.
Tough, Fibrous Meats
Cheaper cuts of meat with lots of connective tissue can be quickly transformed into fork tender dishes. Short ribs, oxtail, beef cheeks, and pork belly all braise beautifully under pressure. These budget friendly proteins get cost conscious chefs delicious results.
Dried Beans and Grains
Rehydrating dry beans, chickpeas, or lentils is accelerated in the moist, pressurized environment. Grains like oats, rice, farro or barley for sides, salads, and bowls also cook quicker.
Vegetable Dishes
Hearty vegetable dishes with potatoes, squash, carrots, turnips, or other root vegetables cook much faster compared to roasting or simmering on the stovetop. Their texture also remains firmer.
Poached Meats and Seafood
More delicate proteins like chicken, fish, and certain cuts of pork or beef are nicely poached under pressure. This keeps them moist and tender. Poaching also allows leaner, healthier dishes to be offered.
Creamed and Pureed Foods
The thickened consistency and smooth texture of creamed and pureed dishes is easily achieved in pressure cookers. Ideal for soups, risottos, legume dips, and vegetarian dishes.
Foams and Consommés
Some ultra modernist chefs use pressure cookers to produce foams and clarified consommés. These refined techniques extract and concentrate flavors into light, intensely flavored dishes.
Infused Oils and Sauces
Custom infused oils can be steeped under pressure to fully extract flavor compounds from herbs, spices, chilies, and garlic. Important for finishing and tableside sauce presentation.
Special Diet Dishes
Their ability to cook quickly and retain moisture makes pressure cookers useful for restricted diet preparations. Gluten free, paleo, low sodium, and allergen free dishes can be accommodated efficiently.
Types of Cuisines That Use Pressure Cookers
Certain global cuisine styles which feature dishes that align with pressure cooking strengths have a higher likelihood of being prepared with the tools:
Mexican and Latin Cuisine
Dried beans are integral for tacos, enchiladas, tostadas, and tamales. Brisket barbacoa also benefits from pressure tenderizing.
Indian Cuisine
Beans and pulses like chickpeas feature heavily in curries and dals. Pressure cookers are great for making biryani rice dishes.
Jewish Cuisine
Borscht, braised brisket, and tender short rib recipes are right at home in the pressure cooker.
Jamaican Cuisine
Tough, fibrous goat meat and oxtail are common proteins that pressure cooking helps tenderize quickly.
Chinese Cuisine
Chinese soups, congee, ribs, and red cooked braises all utilize pressure cooking to accentuate flavors.
Korean Cuisine
Korean stews and simmered dishes like budae jjigae, galbijjim, and kimchi jjigae achieved the right balance of flavors under pressure.
French Cuisine
Rustic French country favorites like coq au vin, boeuf bourguignon, and cassoulet achieve the proper succulent texture using modern pressure braisers.
Do Michelin Starred Chefs Use Pressure Cookers?
Michelin star restaurants represent the pinnacle of fine dining. Do these elite chefs embrace pressure cookers in their exacting kitchens?
The reality is that Michelin starred restaurants very rarely rely on pressure cookers. Their kitchens emphasize meticulous technique, endless tweaking, and perfect plating. Pressure cookers are seen as shortcuts not aligned with their philosophy. They prefer traditional braising, slow roasting, and simmering methods.
However, some progressive Michelin starred chefs like Daniel Boulud, Joel Robuchon, and Thomas Keller have incorporated pressurized combi ovens and CVAPs (controlled vapor technology ovens) into their kitchens. These sophisticated tools allow humidity, time, and temperature to all be precisely controlled – taking the art of pressure cooking to the next level. But standard pressure cookers remain rare in the world of Michelin star fine dining.
Do Celebrity Chefs Use Pressure Cookers?
What about famous TV chefs and cooking celebrities? Are they embracing pressure cookers and promoting them to their fans?
The reality is celebrity chefs have mixed attitudes when it comes to pressure cookers:
Chefs Who Use Pressure Cookers
– Rachael Ray has long promoted the benefits of pressure cooking and even launched her own Yum-o electric pressure cooker line.
– Bobby Flay also has his own pressure cooker series and has showcased the technique on Beat Bobby Flay.
– Emeril Legasse includes dishes like short ribs machaca and chicken adobo in his pressure cooker cookbooks.
– Guy Fieri features pressure cooker recipes on Diners, Drive-ins and Dives when visiting chefs who use them.
– Gordon Ramsay occasionally turns to pressure cookers to save time when training cooks on Hell’s Kitchen.
Chefs Skeptical of Pressure Cookers
– Anthony Bourdain was quoted as saying “Pressure cookers belong in the same kitchen cabinet as the fondue pot and the raclette grill right next to your copy of “The Joy of Sex.”
– Alton Brown has voiced concerns about lack of moisture control and oversight when pressure cooking.
– Martha Stewart prefers slow braising and roasting methods to pressure cookers for her recipes.
– Wolfang Puck is also not a fan, saying he would never use pressure cookers in his restaurants’ scratch kitchens.
Are Pressure Cookers Standard in Commercial Kitchens?
So are pressure cookers a standard staple appliance found in most pro restaurant kitchens?
The short answer is no. While pressure cookers provide some benefits for large batch prep and cooking tough cuts, most chefs still regard them as specialty equipment not essential for core day to day cooking tasks. Traditional braising pans, steam kettles, range tops, and ovens take priority in commercial kitchens.
Pressure cookers can require a learning curve some old school chefs are reluctant to invest time in. And their limitations around output volumes, lack of flexibility, and loss of control during cooking are all barriers to widespread adoption at scale.
However, for specific menu items and dishes that align with pressure cooking strengths, they remain a useful tool for select commercial kitchens. But ubiquitous? Not yet. Pressure cookers have carved out a niche role but remain far from an essential workhouse staple like ranges, griddles and fryers in most pro restaurant kitchens.
Conclusion
Pressure cookers provide some attractive benefits that explain their popularity surge for home cooks. But limitations around capacity, versatility, and control mean they have not been as readily adopted into professional commercial kitchens. They can expedite cooking times and tenderize tough cuts, so certain chefs employ them situationally for stocks, braises, beans, and specialty dishes. But concerns about lack of finesse and customization keeps them from being considered essential equipment by most culinary professionals. With pressure cooking technology constantly improving, wider adoption could continue – but for now they remain more of a specialty tool than a standard workhorse appliance in most pro kitchens.