Instant pot

Schrodingercat

I've been using the instant pot for the last couple of months and use this chili recipe and it works well.

https://www.pressurecookrecipes.com/instant-pot-chili/#recipe

I think mixing the tomatoes causes them to go to the bottom and give you the burn warning so you just pour it on top.

Faith

Yeah you have to be careful with tomato based recipes, and anything with lots of herbs because they tend to stick to the bottom and give the burn notice.

Mollyb60

The 4 cups of water did the job. But it was ridiculously watery by the time it was cooked. The lesson here is that my normal chili recipe will not work in the IP. So I might try out that one Schrodinger, it's pretty similar to my recipe just seems to swap out a tin of tomatos for chicken stock which makes sense. Cheers.

Next attempt will be a turkey breast at the weekend. I'm less confident now than I was before this evening's dinner.

rubadub

Mollyb60 wrote: »

Giving it one more go and its going into the old trusty slow cooker and we'll have something else for dinner.

it can work as a slow cooker so all you would have been doing is making more stuff to clean and the waste of the sauce stuck to it.

A tip is to do saute or slow cooking first, then the moisture from the meat will come out and into the sauce (or just out on its own with no sauce), once out if you do the pressure cook there will be enough moisture there to let it get a decent steam going and so pressurise and seal and you get no "burn" message.

The next time I am using mine I will be doing the meat on its own first under pressure as the moisture can come out, while if you add sauces it the "burn" message is often true, the sauce will literally have burnt onto the bottom. If you just have meat on the bottom it may be fine, the "burn" comes on once the bottom of the pot gets to a certain temperature, which is not crazy high, just way above the temp the pressure cooker should be running at which is probably about 130C, not too much at all.

This is what happens in them


If I try my pork chop curry again I will saute the sliced up chops first, moisture falls out, now pressure cook, they go fall apart tender and more moisture falls out, now add my concentrated paste and put on slow cook mode, no fear of overheating/burning the paste or it being too watery as the moisture has already left the meat.

Also sometimes the seal for the steam vent needs a helping hand to rise up and seal, I have given it a jiggle with a metal skewer and it an suddenly pop up and seal.

You can also use the "pot in pot" method for doing small portions or stuff you do not want diluted much, which is more similar to cooking in a regular pressure cooker but faster and safer.

Mollyb60

Funnily enough I did use the saute function to fry off the minced beef first and thought to myself 'god there's a lot of moisture there in the pot'. Obviously not enough though.
I used the saute function at the end again to try allow it to thicken off but the added 4 cups of water made so much chili I probably have enough made for another 2 dinners (for 2 people) and 2 lunches.

loyatemu

I've cooked chilli and bolognese in mine, never got the burn message. I find you need to use less liquid than in a normal cauldron as a) it doesn't boil off to the same extent, and b) vegetables release a lot of liquid. I always fry off onions and mince using the saute function, but I don't go nuts browning the mince (i.e. if half the mince is browned, that's good enough and the lid goes on).

Muahahaha

Mollyb60 wrote: »

Funnily enough I did use the saute function to fry off the minced beef first and thought to myself 'god there's a lot of moisture there in the pot'. Obviously not enough though.
I used the saute function at the end again to try allow it to thicken off but the added 4 cups of water made so much chili I probably have enough made for another 2 dinners (for 2 people) and 2 lunches.

Id imagine 4 cups of water was a bit too much, iirc it needs about 150ml of liquid to cover the base of the pot to avoid the burn error. But if you do have too much liquid then making a cornflour slurry and adding it along with the saute function helps to thicken it.

Ive made the chilli recipe from the Cooking Club forum in mine a few times now and Im almost convinced that the recipe does better if it is slow cooked. Dont get me wrong it was perfectly acceptable when pressure cooked but I just remember it being more flavoursome when slow cooked, the flavours seemed to meld better or something. Slow cooking means a 10am start and everything but Im going to try it next time out. Thats if I can find chilis in adobo by the Cool Chilli Company, its hit and miss in Fallon and Byrne lately whether they have them or not and other brands Ive tried are not as smokey.

5500

I bought one of these black Friday of last year and only taking it out of the box now!
I see a couple of people asked before about Christmas puddings, did any of you ever try them? The advice seems to be steam for 20 mins then pressure cook for 45, but interested to hear if anyone did the above and how it went.

Also any joy with a fillet of ham? I've seen 15mins per 500g mentioned and was going to try a small piece first but does the timing seem right?

Mollyb60

Muahahaha wrote: »

Id imagine 4 cups of water was a bit too much, iirc it needs about 150ml of liquid to cover the base of the pot to avoid the burn error. But if you do have too much liquid then making a cornflour slurry and adding it along with the saute function helps to thicken it.

I tried 2 cups after the first burn warning and I got another burn warning so put in another cup, added the final cup after the 3rd burn warning.
I might try just putting in the water first with the meat and onions then the rest of the ingredients and just not stir it up before I put the lid on.

I remember this experimentation phase when I got my slow cooker first so I'll work it out eventually.

Muahahaha

Surprised there was a third burn warning after the 3rd cup of water had gone in, I would have through 2 cups of water was plenty dont mind three. Maybe there was tomato sauce stuck to the bottom that was causing it. Anyway persevere at the learning curve, I find the IP great for the likes of stews, soups, steaming veg, etc. Havent used it to cook rice yet but must give it a run out at that task sometime.

Mollyb60

That was the first thing I cooked as a sort of trial to see how it worked. It was actually dead easy. Not faster than just cooking it on the stove but sure, I didn't buy it for it's rice cooking abilities.

SmallTeapot

Mine arrived on Tuesday... I unboxed it... and that is as far as I got.

I would love to use it for one pot meals - using the slow cooker or pressure cooker options (I'm not fussy ), as I'm working from home on a full time basis -
- with some days longer than others (unfortunately), and by dinner time, I'm sometimes at a loss at what to cook/ prepare.

My idea was as follows: as I typically have time to spare at lunchtime, I could prep veg/meat/sauce at that time, and put it in the pot to slow-cook for a few hours (or have it ready to go in the fridge, if opting for pressure cooking).... I like the safety aspect of it - in that you don't have to stand beside a hob and mind a pot, etc.

...However, I don't know where to start... I like the idea of stews and one pot rice meals, etc.

I looked up youtube for inspiration, but all I came across American-style recipes like mac and cheese, bbq ribs and pulled pork

mirrorwall14

SmallTeapot wrote: »

Mine arrived on Tuesday... I unboxed it... and that is as far as I got.

I would love to use it for one pot meals - using the slow cooker or pressure cooker options (I'm not fussy ), as I'm working from home on a full time basis -
- with some days longer than others (unfortunately), and by dinner time, I'm sometimes at a loss at what to cook/ prepare.

My idea was as follows: as I typically have time to spare at lunchtime, I could prep veg/meat/sauce at that time, and put it in the pot to slow-cook for a few hours (or have it ready to go in the fridge, if opting for pressure cooking).... I like the safety aspect of it - in that you don't have to stand beside a hob and mind a pot, etc.

...However, I don't know where to start... I like the idea of stews and one pot rice meals, etc.

I looked up youtube for inspiration, but all I came across American-style recipes like mac and cheese, bbq ribs and pulled pork

Two of my go to stews

Rough stew, I add and take away from it all the time:
Stewing beef (sautéed on med pressure with onions)
Bag carrots peeled/chopped
Decent amount of frozen onion and garlic
2 potatoes chopped into small pieces
Two full tea cups of water/beef stock
Parsley, and herbs
Generous dash of Worcestershire sauce

Optional:
Pot of potatoes and carrots on high trivet above it

Saute beef, whack in the rest and cook on high pressure for 18 mins with NPR
This is usually cooked in a rush so its a "fire it in the pot and walk away" dinner. It also usually has a hodgepodge of veg added e.g. parsnip/turnip etc depending on whats in the fridge. At the end I taste and thicken the sauce as needed then serve.



http://www.slimmingeats.com/blog/balsamic-braised-beef
This is a firm favourite in the family, was very unsure when I first did it. I follow this one as written

loyatemu

SmallTeapot wrote: »

Mine arrived on Tuesday... I unboxed it... and that is as far as I got.

I would love to use it for one pot meals - using the slow cooker or pressure cooker options (I'm not fussy ), as I'm working from home on a full time basis -
- with some days longer than others (unfortunately), and by dinner time, I'm sometimes at a loss at what to cook/ prepare.

My idea was as follows: as I typically have time to spare at lunchtime, I could prep veg/meat/sauce at that time, and put it in the pot to slow-cook for a few hours (or have it ready to go in the fridge, if opting for pressure cooking).... I like the safety aspect of it - in that you don't have to stand beside a hob and mind a pot, etc.

...However, I don't know where to start... I like the idea of stews and one pot rice meals, etc.

I looked up youtube for inspiration, but all I came across American-style recipes like mac and cheese, bbq ribs and pulled pork

there's a long slow cooker thread on the cooking forum - most slow cooker recipes should work well pressure cooked as well.
There's also a couple of good FB groups for the IP - "Pressure cooking with Feisty Tapas" is one I'm in.

From what I've heard the IP isn't the best slow cooker (I've never used the slow function myself), might be better to do the prep at lunchtime then put it in the pot later in the afternoon to pressure cook.

Schrodingercat

SmallTeapot wrote: »

Mine arrived on Tuesday... I unboxed it... and that is as far as I got.

I would love to use it for one pot meals - using the slow cooker or pressure cooker options (I'm not fussy ), as I'm working from home on a full time basis -
- with some days longer than others (unfortunately), and by dinner time, I'm sometimes at a loss at what to cook/ prepare.

My idea was as follows: as I typically have time to spare at lunchtime, I could prep veg/meat/sauce at that time, and put it in the pot to slow-cook for a few hours (or have it ready to go in the fridge, if opting for pressure cooking).... I like the safety aspect of it - in that you don't have to stand beside a hob and mind a pot, etc.

...However, I don't know where to start... I like the idea of stews and one pot rice meals, etc.

I looked up youtube for inspiration, but all I came across American-style recipes like mac and cheese, bbq ribs and pulled pork

I really like bbq ribs in mine. Google "Meathead's Memphis Dust" as a rub, 25minutes in the instant pot , then coat in bbq sauce and put in the oven for a couple of minutes.


I've done this tikka masala a few times. Its pretty easy
https://www.jocooks.com/recipes/instant-pot-chicken-tikka-masala/
It freezes well and can be microwaved after.

The Irish times did a thing on it a while back with some straight forward recipes that I mean to try out.
https://www.irishtimes.com/life-and-style/food-and-drink/what-is-a-multicooker-and-could-it-change-your-life-1.4199936

5500

If you search pressure king pro receipes on YouTube you'll find more irish/uk style recipes and videos rather than the US instantpot ones

SmallTeapot

Lads, I've clearly come to the right place

Thank you for the suggestions thus far, keep them coming

Tree

Yeah, just to add, not had amazing experience using the instant pot as a slow cooker. IT's fine, but a proper slow cooker is better. That said, I got rid of hte slow cooker to make space for the IP, and the things I used to slow cook mostly adapt to pressure cooking.

rubadub

Tree wrote: »

Yeah, just to add, not had amazing experience using the instant pot as a slow cooker. IT's fine, but a proper slow cooker is better. .

what was better?

I reckon the pot in pot method might be better for most things, as it acts a buffer for temperature swings. The instant pot has way more power than a typical slow cooker. So it will be pulsing high energy then off and on over and over (just like a high power basic microwave set on defrost, you can hear the pulses happening). If you have a pot inside with some water this will stop any dramatic peaks in temperature.

I was saying before this is especially needed for smaller portions. I am not sure where the temperature sensing is on them, but if you are using small amounts of food it could be well overheated before it senses the temperature and cuts off power.

Tree

I reckon if it's somehting you prefer to slow cook, you need a slow cooker. All in all, I prefer the instant pot overall to the slow cooker.

The quick cooking of beans beats pulled chicken. Also, the quick bolognaise in the IP is differently good to the slow cooker.

I've done pot in pot the odd time, doing rice over lentils, or when I make a mulling syrup. The main challenge is having the right size pots for in pots.

Mollyb60

Instant pot turkey breast was an immense success. Lovely and juicy, no fuss at all.
However, the recipe I had (an american one admittedly) said 6 minutes per pound. Which I'm sure would work for a proper turkey but I only had a scutchie little turkey breast that was barely 2lbs. I put the timer on for 18 minutes to be safe and even then it was on the verge of being undercooked I thought (no meat thermometer, just going by looks). Next time I'll be pushing it to 20 minutes I think.

the beer revolu

Mollyb60 wrote: »

Next time I'll be pushing it to 20 minutes I think.

But you said it was lovely and juicy. Why change that?

Turkey is lovely, just as you described - on the verge of being undercooked. Cooking it more will only make it drier.
Unless it was pink, I wouldn't be cooking it more.

Mollyb60

Without a meat thermometer though I'd be afraid of giving my sister and her bf food poisoning. lol. Less worried about my husband obviously. :P

Mollyb60

Accidentally made paella soup this evening with the IP. All my own stupid fault though. There's just 2 of us in the house so I usually double up on recipes to make enough for 2 dinners. So of course I doubled everything in the recipe, apart from the rice. I realised just as the cooking cycle completed so it was way too late to salvage anything. Such an idiot. :rolleyes:

Muahahaha

Made BBQ beef short ribs in the Instant Pot earlier. Was following a recipe which said 45 minutes at high pressure and then 15 minutes of natural pressure release. I didnt think that would be enough to get them fork tender but it worked perfectly as when I lifted them out of the pot with tongs the bones just fell right out of the middle of them. Pretty cool that they can be so tender in an hour in the IP, the last time I did beef short ribs it was on the BBQ and took about 5 hours all up.

vidapura

FIVE hours???

Jayses, top marks for perseverence anyway !!

Muahahaha

yeah beef short ribs is a very tough cut so you have to do it low and slow on a bbq or else it will be tough not tender. It took 5 hours as holding low temperatures on BBQs with charcoal is a tricky undertaking. So as you can imagine I was amazed at it being fork tender after just an hour in the Instant Pot. Its a great cut of meat too, similar in texture to beef cheeks which is another cut I would say the IP would be really good at cooking.

LizT

I made peanut chicken using this recipe
https://www.feastingathome.com/instant-pot-peanut-chicken/

It was fab and so quick and easy to make.

Muahahaha

ah brilliant LizT, I had been meaning to make some kind of peanut/satay chicken in the Instant Pot for ages but kept forgetting to actually do it. Have all the ingredients for that recipe above so will make it on Tuesday.

Currently have a beef stew with carrots and parsnips in the IP thats almost finished, looking forward to it now

Faith

LizT wrote: »

I made peanut chicken using this recipe
https://www.feastingathome.com/instant-pot-peanut-chicken/

It was fab and so quick and easy to make.

It looks like a great recipe, but man that site is a good example of the need for the website someone posted recently, that strips all the waffle out of recipe posts!