Can I cook in a cryovag bag inside the pressure cooker?

If I were to bag onions with some baking soda and butter, seal them like I would be throwing them in the circulator, would I be able to put them on say a silicone steamer rack in the pressure cooker and add a bit of water to the pot and cook away? It would be awesome for convenience sake.

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Matt_67991

I think you might need retort bags, like the kind used for MREs.

Brendan_Lee_56950

Well I don't mean for canning purposes but just for the sake of ease, I want to pressure caramelize some leek and onion and instead of having a bowl/pot to clean up I can just pull it from the cooker, chill and hold it for whenever I'm going to use it without all the extra hassle. The same goes for the caramelized carrot soup, If I could do that in bags I could do it in batches and just puree direct to the bowl from the bag when it came time to eat.

Matt_67991

Chris or Grant know way more about this than I do, but I would be cautious. Pressure caramelization seems like it is typically harsher/longer than canning, and MC mentioned using retort bags for canning. What about jars? Those were used for the autoclaved onion soup, and that is supposed to be shelf stable.

Brendan_Lee_56950

yeah that's the idea is to mimic the jars, I just don't have the space to keep a ton of jars around. I'm not really looking for shelf stable in either case though. The cooktime on the carrot soup is only 20 minutes though.

DiggingDogFarm_65362

Good question.

VacMaster sells boilable rethermalization pouches for use in chamber sealers....shoot them an email and ask how much heat/time they can stand.

I use canning jars with reusable lids, but I can see how bags would be convenient in some situations.

Ben_Johnson_34605

I would think the bags would explode, just like if you put a jar in with the lid too tight.

Laura_Pazzaglia_Simmarano_77236

Assuming the bag is heat-safe to 120C/250F and free of air, it would not explode in the pressure cooker. If submerged in water (sous vide style) the contents of the bag would be brought to the same temperature and thus the same pressure.

HOWEVER, should there be a sharp drop in pressure in the cooker (say during a quick of cold-water release) then the pressure differential between the contents of the bag and the water or air COULD cause the bag to burst. To avoid this, simply turn off the heat and let the pressure cooker and the water in it cool down COMPLETELY overnight (as I recommend doing for pressure cooker dulce de leche technique) before opening the cooker or removing the bag.

Ciao,

L

Brendan_Lee_56950

So what i'm gathering is 1) I need to double check the temperature limits on the bags, and 2) poke a hole in it so it doesn't blow up my kitchen.

SteveM_20803

I think the most important thing is to check the temperature the bags can handle. The point of pressure cooking is to raise the boiling point of water above the normal 212 degrees, the bags would have to withstand the increased temperature. Vacmaster does make a bag that is boilable, but it is probably designed for your average boiling point. With regards to the bag and pressure, the pressure on the outside of the bag is going to increase, poking a hole in it will squeeze everything out and cause it to tear.