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Instant Pot (Pressure Cooker) is amazing aka suggest me more recipes

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Funky Papa

FUNK-Y-PPA-4
For those interested in instant pots, keep in mind that the pressure achieved by these devices is usually lower than that of a traditional pressure pot, so you may need to increase cooking time by a few minutes.

Trial and error.
 

oti

Banned
Ok, I got this for Christmas and it looks cool and all but also pretty intimidating.

What is the easiest I can do with it? Like, THE easiest. I like chicken and I'd love to try one of those chilli recipes.

Seriously, I'm looking for super easy stuff just to get to learn this thing first.
 

Grym

Member
Ok, I got this for Christmas and it looks cool and all but also pretty intimidating.

What is the easiest I can do with it? Like, THE easiest. I like chicken and I'd love to try one of those chilli recipes.

Seriously, I'm looking for super easy stuff just to get to learn this thing first.

I just got one for christmas too. First thing I did was the water test in the book. Second thing was hard boiled eggs (doesn't get much easier than that and they came out perfect and peeled so easily). I followed the 'recipe' from thisoldgal.com (cup of water, put the trivet in, eggs on top, high pressure for 2 mins, natural pressure release - it took about 7 mins, throw them in the fridge to cool, done). Tonight I'm going all out and seeing if I can make some soup.
 

RedAssedApe

Banned
Ok, I got this for Christmas and it looks cool and all but also pretty intimidating.

What is the easiest I can do with it? Like, THE easiest. I like chicken and I'd love to try one of those chilli recipes.

Seriously, I'm looking for super easy stuff just to get to learn this thing first.

i've just been using it to cook drumsticks mixed with flavored broth of choice. the meat just melts off and doubles as a simple soup. :D
 

Akuun

Looking for meaning in GAF
Ok, I got this for Christmas and it looks cool and all but also pretty intimidating.

What is the easiest I can do with it? Like, THE easiest. I like chicken and I'd love to try one of those chilli recipes.

Seriously, I'm looking for super easy stuff just to get to learn this thing first.
Throw raw chicken drumsticks into instant pot.

Add salt, pepper and seasoning to taste (I add a bit of soy sauce and italian seasoning mix)

Roll the drumsticks around in the seasoning a bit to make sure it's evenly spread out on the chicken.

You don't need to add water because raw chicken generally has enough water on its own (the instant pot usually needs some water to build up pressure).

Close lid, close release valve (turn it clockwise until it stops - it doesn't move around very far), and press the Poultry button. There's no start button on the instant pot but leave it alone with a given setting or time, and it'll start on its own. You'll know when it starts when it starts beeping by itself and it'll say "on" on the screen.

The pot will beep a bunch of times when it's done (it'll go into automatic keep warm mode and say something L0:00 on the screen to show how long it's been keeping warm).

Wait until the little metal plug thingy on the lid drops, next to the release valve. That means the lid is depressurized and you can open it. You can also turn the release valve counterclockwise to release steam much more quickly, but it's quite loud.

Cooked chicken drumsticks come out.
 

Popstar

Member
Ok, I got this for Christmas and it looks cool and all but also pretty intimidating.

What is the easiest I can do with it? Like, THE easiest. I like chicken and I'd love to try one of those chilli recipes.

Seriously, I'm looking for super easy stuff just to get to learn this thing first.
Do the water test from the manual like Grym suggests.

For my first try of actual food I just bought a couple of pre-seasoned chicken legs with thighs attached. Put a cup and a half of water in the pot and the chicken on the rack that comes with it. Pressed the poultry button. Quick released steam when done.
 

NimbusD

Member
Came here with the same question of what to do with it since it looks way more intimidating than I thought. This thread made me put it on my Amazon wish list and it sound up under my tree on xmas. Excited but it's been years since I've cooked much. Definitely gonna try some chicken today.
 

Ixian

Member
It sounds scary because there's a lot of terminology involved but it doesn't take too long to wrap your head around once you understand the basic concepts (eg: quick release versus natural pressure release, pot-in-pot cooking, etc.). I just went through the newbie phase after Black Friday and it wasn't bad. I can try to answer whatever questions you have.

The other intimidating thing is the number of buttons on the device, but I only ever use the Manual cooking and Sautee functions.
 
It sounds scary because there's a lot of terminology involved but it doesn't take too long to wrap your head around once you understand the basic concepts (eg: quick release versus natural pressure release, pot-in-pot cooking, etc.). I just went through the newbie phase after Black Friday and it wasn't bad. I can try to answer whatever questions you have.

The other intimidating thing is the number of buttons on the device, but I only ever use the Manual cooking and Sautee functions.
How do you cook your rice? I keep looking all over and seeing different answers.
 

Ixian

Member
How do you cook your rice? I keep looking all over and seeing different answers.
I actually haven't used my Instant Pot for rice yet because generally when we're having rice, we're also having a meat we want to sous vide and we use the IP's stainless steel insert for sous viding in. That said, it'll depend on the kind of rice you want to use and how you personally like your rice.
 

Akuun

Looking for meaning in GAF
How do you cook your rice? I keep looking all over and seeing different answers.
I add rice and an appropriate amount of water, then press the rice button.

I find it doesn't have the same texture as rice cooker rice though, so I don't use the instant pot for rice anymore. Probably something about the instant pot retaining too much water/steam and making the rice mushier than I like.

The instant pot is great for congee though. Just add more water.
 

norm9

Member
How do you cook your rice? I keep looking all over and seeing different answers.

I would like to know this also. I attempted to do chicken and rice by throwing it all in the same pot at the same time and the rice came out overdone and I had put too much liquid. I had chopped up a tomato so I think that contributed to too much liquid.
 

Akuun

Looking for meaning in GAF
I would like to know this also. I attempted to do chicken and rice by throwing it all in the same pot at the same time and the rice came out overdone and I had put too much liquid. I had chopped up a tomato so I think that contributed to too much liquid.
I'm not sure if I would cook chicken with rice at the same time in the pot. The pot is way too good at keeping liquid inside so you'll probably end up with mushy rice.

Even just chicken alone with no water added will result in the pot having a bit of chicken broth/liquid at the bottom just from the water in the chicken alone.

The tomato is probably a big thing too. There is just SO MUCH LIQUID in tomatoes. I've put diced tomatoes, onions, and lettuce into the pot with nothing added, and it comes out looking like soup.

I sometimes try to use saute mode after cooking to boil off some of the liquid if I want something thicker (I sometimes make tomato sauce or curry in the instant pot), but that only goes so far.
 

norm9

Member
I was hoping to be able to cook multiple things at once as I'd rather not have to clean my rice cooker AND my instant pot. Doesn't look like this machine can do it.

unintentional congee? :)

Congee is so easy to make on the stove, I don't know why this thing has a setting for it.
 

Akuun

Looking for meaning in GAF
I was hoping to be able to cook multiple things at once as I'd rather not have to clean my rice cooker AND my instant pot. Doesn't look like this machine can do it.
You could probably do it with congee but I just don't know how you'd control the moisture to cook the chicken without making the rice mushy.

You can also probably do it with dried pasta, as long as whatever you put in the pot can be fully cooked before the pasta has been boiling for too long.
 

norm9

Member
Alright y'all, what's your best minimal recipe?

Someone mentioned chicken and some salsa, set it and forget it. I did that it turned out good.

Anyone else have a recipe that requires the least of effort and ingredients?

Eta- I have a jar of pasta sauce and a few chicken thighs. Thinking of combining them.
 

KHarvey16

Member
Alright y'all, what's your best minimal recipe?

Someone mentioned chicken and some salsa, set it and forget it. I did that it turned out good.

Anyone else have a recipe that requires the least of effort and ingredients?

Did a pork roast the other day. Just threw it in about a cup of chicken broth and did manual at normal pressure for about 45 minutes. Came out pretty great; nice and moist.
 

BamfMeat

Member
Alright y'all, what's your best minimal recipe?

Someone mentioned chicken and some salsa, set it and forget it. I did that it turned out good.

Anyone else have a recipe that requires the least of effort and ingredients?

Eta- I have a jar of pasta sauce and a few chicken thighs. Thinking of combining them.

Short ribs, hoisin sauce, soy sauce, chicken stock.

If you wanna get fancy, throw in chopped garlic and ginger.

We put potatoes on the bottom before we throw in the short ribs but I can see how that might not appeal to a lot of people with the hoisin in there.
 

SuperPoncho

Neo Member
Got one for Christmas and have so far done Beef Stew (awesome) and Curried Red Lentils (also pretty good). Not sure what to do next....Been impressed overall.
 

norm9

Member
I'll try the pork roast and short ribs next time I'm at the market.

Ended up tossing in the chicken thighs and a bag of frozen broccoli for ten minutes. I'm pretty sure the veggies will be overcooked but who knows, maybe itll taste alright.
 

Hex

Banned
Figure I will try here since many seemed to pick this up.
Doing a pot roast with red potatos...
At a loss for cooking time, everyone seems to say something different...45 mins with stew button, 80 mins on high pressure manually.
Anyone have some input?
 

Popstar

Member
Figure I will try here since many seemed to pick this up.
Doing a pot roast with red potatos...
At a loss for cooking time, everyone seems to say something different...45 mins with stew button, 80 mins on high pressure manually.
Anyone have some input?
I just tried potatoes for the first time as an experiment.

Russet potatoes, halved lengthwise. Set to manual for 10 minutes. Natural release.

Came out fine.
 

Ixian

Member
Any suggestions for pot roast recipes?
This is what I did:
Ingredients:
- Beef Roast
- Beef broth
- Onions
- Potatoes
- Carrots

Instructions:
- Set Instant Pot to sautee high.
- Spray pot and brown meat, then take out and sautee onions.
- Add beef broth and deglaze pot.
- Add meat back to pot, turn off, then set to Manual 35 minutes. Remember to set dial back to Seal.
- 15 minute natural pressure release.
- Quick release, then add carrots and potatoes. Remember to set dial back to Seal.
- 5 minute high pressure.
- Quick release.
Keep in mind the thicker your meat (not weight, thickness) the longer it's going to take to cook. I'd be quick about adding the veggies, too, to try to keep in as much heat as possible so it doesn't take too long to come back up to pressure.

This is the first thing I made in my pot so the instructions I wrote contain some extra newbie steps. XD
 

SpecX

Member
Just roasted a whole chicken last night using this white wine and herb marinade mix:

W-MM-White-Wine-Herb-3D.png

40-45 mins in the pot (10-15 mins to pressurize) and the meat was falling off the bone. Every piece was moist, juicy, and full of flavor.
 

ameratsu

Member

ColdPizza

Banned
Making a German inspired pot roast. It's a loose take on sauerbraten.

It has:

Chuck roast
Garlic
Onion
Dijon mustard
Beef broth
Sliced dill pickles
Red wine
All spice
Brown sugar
Bay leaves

Corn starch and butter for finishing the sauce afterwards.
 

h1nch

Member
I snagged one of these last week after hearing several friends rave about how great it was and subsequently watching a bunch of youtube videos. My first dish was baby back ribs.

I mostly followed this recipe, but instead of water I used apple cider.

Verdict: Delicious!

Some of the best ribs I've had and it took no more than an hour start to finish. This recipe is a game changer for me. I can't wait to tweak this recipe as I get to know the ins and outs of this thing. Also can't wait to try some of the recipes that have been posted in this thread.

Half rack of instant pot ribs: (I devoured the other half in about 5 mins)

Literally fell off the bone:
 

RedAssedApe

Banned
Chopped up some onion, potato, carrots, and chicken. Sautéed and then threw some curry mix and water.

Yay. What a time saver. Although I gotta learn to portion stuff so I don't have to eat something for like a week lol
 

Ferrio

Banned
Got mine yesterday, tried it today with some brisket and some veggies. Came out super tender, way better than I could get in a slow cooker, and only took an hour. Time to throw the slow cooker out.
 
Had our 8-qt. Instant Pot for two weeks now, and have already made some great meals with it so far, with some highlights below. This thing does ribs so wonderfully.

Easy Pressure Cooker Green Chili With Chicken Recipe (http://www.seriouseats.com/recipes/...fast-and-easy-chicken-chile-verde-recipe.html)

Pressure Cooker Sloppy Lasagna (http://www.pressurecookingtoday.com/sloppy-lasagna/)

Pressure-Cooker Hawaiian Kalua Pig (http://www.thekitchn.com/recipe-pressure-cooker-kalua-pig-recipes-from-the-kitchn-217761)

Last night's Baby Back Ribs (http://www.pressurecookrecipes.com/easy-bbq-instant-pot-ribs/)
 

Quonny

Member
Just moved into a temporary hotel while we find a house and whipped out this thing for the first time.

Been using almost daily for a few weeks. It makes the most juicy, tender chicken breasts I've ever had. More tasty than even in a pan with butter. Truly impressed.
 

oti

Banned
Just moved into a temporary hotel while we find a house and whipped out this thing for the first time.

Been using almost daily for a few weeks. It makes the most juicy, tender chicken breasts I've ever had. More tasty than even in a pan with butter. Truly impressed.

How do you cook them? Sauté first? Do you add water?
 

Quonny

Member
How do you cook them? Sauté first? Do you add water?
I put in either old liquid (from precious cookings) or water first. A cup or so. Apparently you don't need this much liquid but I haven't experimented with the amount.

Then I coat the chicken with whatever spices I want if thawed, if frozen I throw the spices into the water. Obviously chicken stock is better, but water is just easier and cheaper.

Set it for Meat/Stew and 12 minutes.

Afterwards, I take the liquid and put it in an old sealable cup and use it the next time.

So good.
 
I got one of these last week and just used it for the first time. I made japanese curry, which is something that I'm already familiar with making on the stove and in a slow cooker. It came out as the best batch I've ever made.

2lb stew beef, cubed
2 medium carrots, peeled and rough cut
2 small russet potatoes, peeled and cubed into roughly 2cm cubes
1 medium yellow onion, rough chopped
2 cups chicken stock
1 large box Golden Curry (or Vermont, or a combo) blocks (I only used 6 of the blocks though)
1 tbsp worcestershire sauce
1 tbsp soy sauce
a little high-heat cooking oil of your choice

Set instant pot on sautee, add cooking oil. once it reaches full temp, do a light sear on all sides of the beef (probably in batches), and set the meat aside once browned.

Add more oil if needed, add chopped onion and cook until it becomes opaque.

Add about 1-2cm of chicken stock to the pot and deglaze/scrape all the seared bits off the pan with a wooden utensil

Add the meat, potatoes, carrots, and the rest of the chicken stock, give it a quick stir to distribute evenly. Add the curry roux blocks on top (don't push into the liquid)

Put the lid on and set the time manually to 30-35 minutes on regular/high pressure. When it beeped, I gave it 10 minutes to depressurize naturally, and then did a manual release for the rest.

add worcestershire sauce and soy sauce, stir thoroughly to make sure the roux is fully melted and distributed. serve with rice. if the sauce is too thin, you can add another block of roux as necessary.


The meat was absolutely melting and the veg came out perfect. Best batch of japanese curry I've ever made.
 

RedAssedApe

Banned
I got one of these last week and just used it for the first time. I made japanese curry, which is something that I'm already familiar with making on the stove and in a slow cooker. It came out as the best batch I've ever made.

2lb stew beef, cubed
2 medium carrots, peeled and rough cut
2 small russet potatoes, peeled and cubed into roughly 2cm cubes
1 medium yellow onion, rough chopped
2 cups chicken stock
1 large box Golden Curry (or Vermont, or a combo) blocks (I only used 6 of the blocks though)
1 tbsp worcestershire sauce
1 tbsp soy sauce
a little high-heat cooking oil of your choice

Set instant pot on sautee, add cooking oil. once it reaches full temp, do a light sear on all sides of the beef (probably in batches), and set the meat aside once browned.

Add more oil if needed, add chopped onion and cook until it becomes opaque.

Add about 1-2cm of chicken stock to the pot and deglaze/scrape all the seared bits off the pan with a wooden utensil

Add the meat, potatoes, carrots, and the rest of the chicken stock, give it a quick stir to distribute evenly. Add the curry roux blocks on top (don't push into the liquid)

Put the lid on and set the time manually to 30-35 minutes on regular/high pressure. When it beeped, I gave it 10 minutes to depressurize naturally, and then did a manual release for the rest.

add worcestershire sauce and soy sauce, stir thoroughly to make sure the roux is fully melted and distributed. serve with rice. if the sauce is too thin, you can add another block of roux as necessary.


The meat was absolutely melting and the veg came out perfect. Best batch of japanese curry I've ever made.

curry bros. i made something similar last week too. its actually way too much food for one person though...like i need to learn how to adjust the recipes unless i want to eat curry for a week lol
 
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