Pressure Cooker Risk

A pressure cooker can take a tough cut like beef short rib down to fork-tender in under an hour, which is why many home cooks reach for it under time pressure. The catch is visibility: once the lid is locked and the pot's at pressure, you cannot taste, baste, or adjust seasoning until you depressurise — and depressurising a hot pot mid-cook is a faff. The result is a binary: either you nail the time and come out with a melting braise, or you open the lid to overcooked, stringy meat that's too late to fix. Use it when you've cooked the same cut, in the same pot, before.