Topic: Rapid Chef Pressure Cooker / Fryer Review. For pressure frying KFC style chicken

[Curry Hotter]

http://www.pro-selections.com/product.cfm/25941/

I was lucky enough to win an eBay auction for a brand-new Rapid Chef Pressure Cooker / Fryer.

After a few weeks the cooker was delivered from the US but unfortunately was missing some key parts, namely the 'jiggler' valve and also an instruction book. A couple of calls to the helpful staff at Pro-Selections and the missing parts were shipped out.

The pressure cooker itself looks very impressive. It is constructed from very sturdy heavy duty stainless steel with a mirror finish on the outside. Everything about the device says quality and it looks as if it should last a good few years, if not a lifetime.

When the missing parts finally arrived I tested the pressure cooker by simply boiling some water. Despite reading some people on the Internet having issues with closing the lid, the pressure cooker was very easy to use. You place the lid on as instructed, turn the knob until the bar touches the clamps and then give it another five or six turns.

Pressure was achieved fairly quickly and the valve started to hiss as excess pressure was released. The valve didn't turn but the instruction book said that this is normal and that it will start to turn after a few uses.

I next tried pressure cooking some aubergine using a recipe in the manual. This was a great success! After only three minutes the aubergine was soft and delicious with the garlic infused into the vegetable.

The recipe book says that to make pressure fried chicken you should fry at full temp for three minutes per pound of chicken. I tried this but the coating came out burnt and the chicken itself was undercooked.

I experimented a few times with different times and temperatures but in the end found that the Colonel's original instructions for pressure frying chicken worked the best. To fry 600-800g (2 legs and 2 thighs) of coated chicken: put the chicken in 2-3 litres of hot oil (350F or 177C) and allow the coating to brown for a minute, then place the lid on and wait until pressure is achieved, then turn the temperature right down to achieve a gentle hiss. After 10 minutes release the pressure by carefully lifting the valve (I used a fork as it was hot!) and then remove the lid. Leave the chicken to cool down and eat (or ideally leave in an oven heated to about 150F or 65C. Success!

Conclusion
As stated, the pressure cooker is a quality piece of kit. The guys at Pro-Selections were very helpful on the phone, however don't seem to answer many emails so if you do have questions give them a call on the phone.

The biggest issue I found so far is the times given in the recipes do not seem to be enough to cook the food properly. It's annoying to have to wait for pressure to be released and let the food cool enough to eat only to find it's not cooked enough. What I've found is that I need to increase the times listed in their recipes by another 50 to 100%. Another issue is that the pressure cooker only cooks at 10PSI. Almost all recipes you'll find on the Internet and in books assume you have a pressure cooker that uses 15 PSI. So again you need to adjust all the times. The extra 5PSI does make a difference as your cooking at an extra 50% pressure. I've read some articles on the web that say that 15PSI is the ideal pressure to be pressure cooking at and that this will achieve the best flavour. I did ask if it's possible to buy a jiggler valve that will achieve 15PSI but unfortunately that's one of the emails I sent that was never answered.

Functionality: 7/10 a pressure cooker AND pressure fryer. Only let down by limited pressure.
Durability: 10/10 this thing is built like a tank!

[Mattie]

Deep fat frying under pressure?  No thanks!! Sounds like death and destruction to me!!

[George]

Deep fat frying under pressure?  No thanks!! Sounds like death and destruction to me!!

Wimp! I've done it using a standard pressure cooker, and I'm still around to type this post. A pressure fryer is designed for that purpose and should be even safer. All KFC outlets have been using a commercial pressure fryer for decades.

Curry Hotter - many thanks for your write up - most interesting.

Another issue is that the pressure cooker only cooks at 10PSI. Almost all recipes you'll find on the Internet and in books assume you have a pressure cooker that uses 15 PSI. So again you need to adjust all the times. The extra 5PSI does make a difference as your cooking at an extra 50% pressure. I've read some articles on the web that say that 15PSI is the ideal pressure to be pressure cooking at and that this will achieve the best flavour. I did ask if it's possible to buy a jiggler valve that will achieve 15PSI but unfortunately that's one of the emails I sent that was never answered.

Did you see my recent post about my pressure cooker? I've modified it, to add a pressure gauge and ramp up the pressure from 10 psi to 15 psi. See:

http://www.curry-recipes.co.uk/curry/index.php/topic,7651.msg114453.html#new

[Curry Hotter]

Deep fat frying under pressure?  No thanks!! Sounds like death and destruction to me!!

If you're, understandably, nervous to use a pressure fryer, you can get similar results by just frying, although the resulting chicken is more greasy* (not always a bad thing!) and takes longer to cook.

I've fried chicken under pressure quite a few times without any issues, but always make sure that the jiggler valve and the safety valve are clear and working. The only issue I've had is pulses which can froth up a lot and when the pressure is released a load of steaming food can be sprayed out too! Don't overfill your pressure cooker!!