Author Topic: Instant pot recipes?  (Read 50212 times)

Rural

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Instant pot recipes?
« on: November 29, 2015, 06:32:16 PM »
Okay, so I broke down and ordered one with the Black Friday deals, and from the discussion, it looks like I'm not the only one. So, those of you who have one, what do you do with it?


I'm particularly interested in one-pot meals with limited or no meat, but I know there are a variety of interests out there. What works great?what just doesn't work? What's your favorite recipe?

lbmustache

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Re: Instant pot recipes?
« Reply #1 on: November 29, 2015, 07:08:19 PM »
Following since I bought one a few weeks ago. I love it so far. There are some recipes here: http://forum.mrmoneymustache.com/welcome-to-the-forum/forget-the-slow-cooker-give-me-a-pressure-cooker!/


lunahsol

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Re: Instant pot recipes?
« Reply #2 on: November 29, 2015, 08:01:01 PM »
I use it the most for cooking up potatoes - which I eat a ton of . . . takes 20 minutes to cook up a batch and they taste as good as baked to me.

I also like to use the Instant Pot to steam tamales.  Saves so much time!!

Here is a handy chart for cooking times for various beans/lentils:  http://instantpot.com/cooking-time/dry-beans-legume-and-lentils/

lizzzi

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Re: Instant pot recipes?
« Reply #3 on: November 29, 2015, 08:09:24 PM »
Just bought one. Following.

Dsteadma

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Re: Instant pot recipes?
« Reply #4 on: November 30, 2015, 11:39:40 PM »
So an instant pot is a pressure cooker? People keep raving about them, but I'm still not sure what I would use one for.

jjcamembert

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Re: Instant pot recipes?
« Reply #5 on: December 01, 2015, 01:23:44 PM »
Well the low/no meat pretty much cuts out most of my recipes ;) For others interested, it's great for big, fatty, slow-roasted meats (pork shoulder, beef roasts, etc). If the recipe says slow-cook on "low" usually we've found a slow-cooking temp of "medium" works better for meat.

For vegetarian things we usually use it for soups, such as sweet potato or butternut squash soup. We also use it to make bone-broth.

GuitarStv

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Re: Instant pot recipes?
« Reply #6 on: December 01, 2015, 01:50:14 PM »
Why do you need a recipe?  Just smoke what you've got.

trailrated

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Re: Instant pot recipes?
« Reply #7 on: December 01, 2015, 01:57:10 PM »
I am usually not a big fan of sun dried tomatoes, but I have made this 3 times in the past two weeks it is so freaking good, cheap,  and it packs well for lunch the next day too.

http://www.budgetbytes.com/2015/11/one-pot-creamy-sun-dried-tomato-pasta/

Mrs. PoP

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Re: Instant pot recipes?
« Reply #8 on: December 01, 2015, 02:28:10 PM »
www.hippressurecooking.com is great!  Lots of recipes, most of which she had directions included for electric pressure cookers.  The instant pot is one she speaks highly of and I love mine.

jeromedawg

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Re: Instant pot recipes?
« Reply #9 on: December 01, 2015, 02:29:45 PM »
I got one too! Had it delivered within several hours of ordering via Amazon Prime Now LOL. The DUO60 right? I haven't tried it out yet but am probably going to try making rice in it for a trial run. I'm really looking forward to making oxtail in it :)

Cromacster

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Re: Instant pot recipes?
« Reply #10 on: December 01, 2015, 02:31:18 PM »
Why do you need a recipe?  Just smoke what you've got.

+1

AlwaysLearningToSave

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Re: Instant pot recipes?
« Reply #11 on: December 01, 2015, 04:07:04 PM »
Check out:

http://www.pressurecookingtoday.com/

Last night I made a pork butt with this rub: 

http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/rib-dry-rub-recipe.html

Cut into smaller hunks so it cooks faster, apply rub, throw it in the Instant Pot with a small amount of water, set it for 55 minutes on the "meat" setting, allow a natural pressure release, shred and enjoy on a bun or over rice.  Very flavorful-- no need to use a bbq sauce. 

Lookilu

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Re: Instant pot recipes?
« Reply #12 on: December 01, 2015, 04:38:10 PM »
This recipe--originally from ATK-- has become my "go-to" quick pasta dish. You could easily reduce or omit the meat and increase the vegetables to suit your tastes and what you have on hand. Be sure to use a short tubular pasta so it will cook evenly and not clump together.
Pressure-Cooker Ziti w/Sausage & Peppers
1 TB Olive Oil
1 lb hot or sweet Italian sausage, casings removed
1 onion, chopped
1 green bell pepper, cut into ¾" pieces
1(25-ounce) jar tomato sauce
3 ½ cups water
1 pound ziti
2 chopped TB fresh basil
Salt and pepper
Grated pecorino or parmesan or whatever you like

1. Heat oil in pressure-cooker pot over med-high heat. Stir in sausage, onion, and bell pepper about 5 min. Stir in tomato sauce, water, and ziti.
2. Cook on high for 5 min.
3. Quick release
4. Add basil, salt & pepper, and cheese
5. Give a good stir and enjoy!

This was also excellent: http://www.seriouseats.com/recipes/2014/01/quick-easy-pressure-cooker-chicken-and-chickpea-masala.html

elaine amj

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Re: Instant pot recipes?
« Reply #13 on: December 01, 2015, 04:58:55 PM »
Following.

I also jumped on the Instant Pot bandwagon after all the chatter here. Now hunting for recipes.

My vegan friend is coming for Christmas dinner ...so hoping to find something for her that the rest of us carnivores will also like.

jeromedawg

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Re: Instant pot recipes?
« Reply #14 on: December 02, 2015, 09:12:52 PM »
This recipe--originally from ATK-- has become my "go-to" quick pasta dish. You could easily reduce or omit the meat and increase the vegetables to suit your tastes and what you have on hand. Be sure to use a short tubular pasta so it will cook evenly and not clump together.
Pressure-Cooker Ziti w/Sausage & Peppers
1 TB Olive Oil
1 lb hot or sweet Italian sausage, casings removed
1 onion, chopped
1 green bell pepper, cut into ¾" pieces
1(25-ounce) jar tomato sauce
3 ½ cups water
1 pound ziti
2 chopped TB fresh basil
Salt and pepper
Grated pecorino or parmesan or whatever you like

1. Heat oil in pressure-cooker pot over med-high heat. Stir in sausage, onion, and bell pepper about 5 min. Stir in tomato sauce, water, and ziti.
2. Cook on high for 5 min.
3. Quick release
4. Add basil, salt & pepper, and cheese
5. Give a good stir and enjoy!

This was also excellent: http://www.seriouseats.com/recipes/2014/01/quick-easy-pressure-cooker-chicken-and-chickpea-masala.html

I'm making this right now with fusili and turkey sausage that I quickly made up from ground turkey. Will let you know how it turns out! It smells super-good right now.

BTW: the quick-release is scary - I was testing the release after boiling some water and freaked myself and my wife out after hitting it... :X

jeromedawg

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Re: Instant pot recipes?
« Reply #15 on: December 02, 2015, 09:54:41 PM »
Ugh, it turned out super mushy and the pasta way overcooked. The pasta is brown rice gluten-free fusili from Trader Joes so I'm wondering if it completely just broke down into starch under such high pressure.... not sure if I could have adjusted something to make it better. I also mistakenly set the delay timer thinking I was setting the cooking timer and so the pasta was sitting in the liquid for a few more minutes than it probably should have... that might have been another issue. As far as flavor it is pretty good - I did have to add a good amount of salt. We have *so much* of this stuff leftover now :T I might have to make a casserole out of it or something...

Bracken_Joy

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Re: Instant pot recipes?
« Reply #16 on: December 02, 2015, 10:03:19 PM »
Following! I also ordered one, and have been having mini-panic attacks that I've made the wrong choice, since I don't have many particular recipes in mind (other than "basmati rice faster" and "chickpeas faster" lol). I also want to try potatoes in it- I'm too impatient to do many potatoes normally, but I do like mashers...

Lookilu

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Re: Instant pot recipes?
« Reply #17 on: December 03, 2015, 06:56:36 AM »
Ugh, it turned out super mushy and the pasta way overcooked. The pasta is brown rice gluten-free fusili from Trader Joes so I'm wondering if it completely just broke down into starch under such high pressure.... not sure if I could have adjusted something to make it better. I also mistakenly set the delay timer thinking I was setting the cooking timer and so the pasta was sitting in the liquid for a few more minutes than it probably should have... that might have been another issue. As far as flavor it is pretty good - I did have to add a good amount of salt. We have *so much* of this stuff leftover now :T I might have to make a casserole out of it or something...

I think there may be several issues creating problems here, jplee. I've never cooked gluten-free/rice based pasta, but the cooking time--and amount of liquid--are shorter for rice than pasta, so that's one possibility. Sitting in the liquid probably didn't help things.
The recipe does call for a short, tubular pasta--like ziti, rigatoni or penne. The hollow pastas cook more evenly and won't turn mushy unless you leave it in the pot for quite a while after the cooking is done.
A casserole sounds like a good idea. A handful of cheese sprinkled over the top and browned in the oven can hide a multitude of flaws! :)

MandalayVA

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Re: Instant pot recipes?
« Reply #18 on: December 03, 2015, 07:08:19 AM »
I got an Instant Pot for my birthday this year--does anyone else have one that seems to take forever to come to pressure?  Seriously, mine takes AT LEAST fifteen minutes.  That's why I don't do recipes with a short cooking time because it'll take longer to come to pressure than it does to cook.  I still like it, though.

fallstoclimb

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Re: Instant pot recipes?
« Reply #19 on: December 03, 2015, 09:01:58 AM »
I'm also looking for more vegetarian Instant Pot recipes.  I like mine a lot, but basically only make soups and stews (and rice, and dry beans) in it -- I'm wondering if I could branch out into different types of entrees.

How do you cook potatoes in it? 

Lizzy B.

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Re: Instant pot recipes?
« Reply #20 on: December 03, 2015, 10:27:07 AM »
I also got one of these about 6 months ago, mostly for its versatility. Our slow cooker died years ago, so this replaced that as well as increasing my kitchen capabilities. I like the pressure cooker setting for things like beets and artichokes which take forever without pressure.

I'd love some good one-pot meal suggestions, so I guess I'm mostly just posting to follow. :-)

lbmustache

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Re: Instant pot recipes?
« Reply #21 on: December 03, 2015, 01:17:53 PM »
I got an Instant Pot for my birthday this year--does anyone else have one that seems to take forever to come to pressure?  Seriously, mine takes AT LEAST fifteen minutes.  That's why I don't do recipes with a short cooking time because it'll take longer to come to pressure than it does to cook.  I still like it, though.

It should not take that long. Two things: Do you have it set on "low" rather than "high" pressure, and is the vent on top set to "sealed"? If it's not set to sealed then all the "pressure" (steam) is just coming out and not actually doing anything. Mine gets to pressure in about 2 minutes, set on high.

GizmoTX

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Re: Instant pot recipes?
« Reply #22 on: December 03, 2015, 01:28:25 PM »
Speed to come to pressure in any pressure cooker is dependent upon the volume of food in it & its temperature. Yes, it's possible to pressure cook frozen foods, assuming there's at least the minimum amount of liquid to produce steam, but it will take much longer to pressurize. Once that happens, timing is the same.

If I'm steaming vegetables, I'll put in the 1-2 cups water required & get it boiling, either by high heat on the stovetop or Saute in the Instant Pot. Then add the vegetables to the steaming trivet or perforated basket & fasten the lid (plus press Steam & number of minutes on the IP). It then comes up to pressure very quickly, important with vegetables as some can easily overcook in a PC.

jeromedawg

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Re: Instant pot recipes?
« Reply #23 on: December 03, 2015, 02:08:10 PM »
Ugh, it turned out super mushy and the pasta way overcooked. The pasta is brown rice gluten-free fusili from Trader Joes so I'm wondering if it completely just broke down into starch under such high pressure.... not sure if I could have adjusted something to make it better. I also mistakenly set the delay timer thinking I was setting the cooking timer and so the pasta was sitting in the liquid for a few more minutes than it probably should have... that might have been another issue. As far as flavor it is pretty good - I did have to add a good amount of salt. We have *so much* of this stuff leftover now :T I might have to make a casserole out of it or something...

I think there may be several issues creating problems here, jplee. I've never cooked gluten-free/rice based pasta, but the cooking time--and amount of liquid--are shorter for rice than pasta, so that's one possibility. Sitting in the liquid probably didn't help things.
The recipe does call for a short, tubular pasta--like ziti, rigatoni or penne. The hollow pastas cook more evenly and won't turn mushy unless you leave it in the pot for quite a while after the cooking is done.
A casserole sounds like a good idea. A handful of cheese sprinkled over the top and browned in the oven can hide a multitude of flaws! :)

Another thing I realized was that I didn't wait for it to get to "hot" before throwing in the initial ingredients to saute. I thought you just turn it on, wait a few and then put everything in.... oops :T I was wondering why the meat wasn't browning very well hahaha. I think fusili would have worked but I probably needed to cut the time shorter as well as started cooking right away vs having let it sit for 5 minutes and probably absorb more of the water than it should have. For the bronw rice pasta, I think you're right - I'll have to try cutting the time shorter next time... maybe 3-4 minutes instead of 5. I also let it sit for a few minutes *after* cooking (instead of flipping the quick-release immediately after it was done). I wasn't sure how to read the display read-out at first but now I know. Hopefully next time it'll come out better!

Lizzy B.

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Re: Instant pot recipes?
« Reply #24 on: December 03, 2015, 04:35:00 PM »

Speed to come to pressure in any pressure cooker is dependent upon the volume of food in it & its temperature. Yes, it's possible to pressure cook frozen foods, assuming there's at least the minimum amount of liquid to produce steam, but it will take much longer to pressurize. Once that happens, timing is the same.

If I'm steaming vegetables, I'll put in the 1-2 cups water required & get it boiling, either by high heat on the stovetop or Saute in the Instant Pot. Then add the vegetables to the steaming trivet or perforated basket & fasten the lid (plus press Steam & number of minutes on the IP). It then comes up to pressure very quickly, important with vegetables as some can easily overcook in a PC.

Mine also takes a while to come up to pressure (~10-15 mins) even when I pre-boil the water and don't have massive amounts of cold food in there. Hmmm...

lizzzi

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Re: Instant pot recipes?
« Reply #25 on: December 04, 2015, 04:55:38 PM »
Just used mine for the first time to make a pureed carrot/potato/leek soup to go with supper. It took 10 minutes to  come up to pressure. Then I only wanted to cook it for 10 minutes, but could not set the control for less than 20 minutes...so stood there and watched it from the living room (in case it exploded) and turned it off and unplugged it at the 10 minute point. Went and did other things...figured I would do "natural release", which I guess means you just leave it alone until it cools off enough so you can take the lid off without needing to jettison the warp core and evacuate the engine room. I don't have an immersion blender, so pureed it in my Vitamin. Very good soup. I will try other things in the InstaPot before giving "my final answer."  : D

lizzzi

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Re: Instant pot recipes?
« Reply #26 on: December 04, 2015, 04:56:54 PM »
"Vitamix", of course....not "Vitamin." Sheesh...long day.

lunahsol

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Re: Instant pot recipes?
« Reply #27 on: December 04, 2015, 05:02:02 PM »
Quote from: fallstoclimb link=topic=47422.msg889829#msg889829 date=1449158518
How do you cook potatoes in it?
[/quote

Wash and then peel (or don't peel) and chop into quarters (or just leave whole) the potatoes (however many you want).  Put a cup of water in the Instant Pot and then the potatoes into the Instant Pot on top of the little wire rack it comes with.  Set to Manual, 20 minutes.  When it beeps, wait another 5-ish for the pressure to release and then manually release whatever pressure is left. 

I have done this with red, white and sweet potatoes.  They come out perfect every time.

kudy

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Re: Instant pot recipes?
« Reply #28 on: December 05, 2015, 01:49:12 PM »
My black friday purchase got here today... tonight I am making some variation of this delicious looking unhealthy pasta:
http://dadcooksdinner.com/2013/04/pressure-cooker-macaroni-and-cheese.html/

I'll probably throw brocolli in to cook with the pasta, and add tuna with the cheese.

Tomorrow we'll try it for quick cooking potatoes, as we're making some kind of potato dish.

cavewoman

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Re: Instant pot recipes?
« Reply #29 on: December 05, 2015, 06:22:13 PM »
I'm in the club! I was going to maybe pull the trigger for myself if it went on sale, so I put it on my wish list on amazon. . . or what I thought was my wish list! I forgot that since my kindle was ordered under my boyfriend's prime account that it links to his amazon automatically. Then, the Friday before thanksgiving he tells me there is a surprise in the closet. He saw it on there and bought it for me! It was really nice to have for Thanksgiving too, since I was cooking for 13 for my first time. I did two batches of potatoes and then used it to keep them warm after I mashed them.
I've also done pork shoulder for carnitas. So much nicer than using the stove top for four hours!!
Looking forward to getting some recipes here! I'm going to try "Senate beans" tomorrow from a blog called dad cooks dinner (I think) I'll come back with the results!

lizzzi

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Re: Instant pot recipes?
« Reply #30 on: December 05, 2015, 08:03:28 PM »
OK, second night with InstaPot. Felt more comfortable with it. It does definitely take 8 minutes to come up to pressure. I was able to set the cook time for 10 minutes tonight. I made myself some potato/leek soup without really using a recipe. So a few minutes to chop up ingredients and make some chicken broth...18 minutes to come up to pressure and cook...I let it sit for 10 minutes before summoning the courage to release some steam and take the lid off. You really have to be careful with that steam...I could see the potential for bad burns there. Anyway, stirred in a couple tablespoons of Half n Half and had some really flavorful, hot soup in a little over a half hour. Didn't bother pureeing it--it was good with the chunks. I'm starting to see the possibilities here.

rpr

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Re: Instant pot recipes?
« Reply #31 on: December 08, 2015, 02:45:14 PM »
Made two recipes so far.

The rice pulao came out too mushy. I put too much water, too many veggies, and cooked for too long. It was very yummy though.

The lentil soup was excellent. Very flavorful. I adapted a recipe found on the internet.

Next plan to make a quinoa, black bean veggie dish. 

elaine amj

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Re: Instant pot recipes?
« Reply #32 on: December 08, 2015, 08:21:09 PM »
I got my instant pot today - finally! Of course, I had to cook dinner with it. I threw in a bag of half-frozen large chicken thighs, a seasoning mix, and a cup of water. Topped it off with chopped up carrots. Took a while to get it up to pressure. I set it for 12 mins on high - following a recipe in the instant pot recipe book using bone-in chicken parts. The chicken was tender, but a little raw. I ended up tossing the plate into the oven for 3 mins to finish up the cooking (which unfortunately made it a little rubbery). I think I needed to increase cooking time to 15 mins since these were pretty large chicken thighs.

Question: is there any way to continue cooking something if we have misjudged the time?

Before I went to bed, I decided I had to try hard-boiled eggs. I have always struggled with this and my eggs always come out ugly. There are a few different recipes/cooking times out there but I decided to try one that instructed me to set it on low for 8 minutes and then release pressure naturally. I cut up the cardboard egg carton to place inside the instant pot to keep the eggs separated (can also use a steamer basket, tin foil, mason jar lids, or silicone cups). It worked perfectly (naturally, I had to toss the soaked carton out after). When it was time to release pressure, I forgot to release it naturally so I switched off the IP and turned the pressure valve. After a couple seconds, I remembered and turned it back. I wasn't sure what to do next so I pressed "keep warm" again (not sure whether that did anything) and waited 10 mins. I opened it up and there were my eggs. I dumped them into a bowl of cold water - couldn't do an ice bath since I don't have ice right now (next time, I will just remove the inner pot and fill with cold water).

All 6 eggs peeled perfectly (although I didn't have the pretty, intact peels I saw on the blogs). I was thrilled. DH and DS had a snack and I made some egg salad for my breakfast tomorrow - YUM!

Debating what to try next. I'd like to use it to make an entrée for a dinner I am hosting soon - but haven't found an appealing recipe yet.


cavewoman

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Re: Instant pot recipes?
« Reply #33 on: December 08, 2015, 09:13:43 PM »
I'm in the club! I was going to maybe pull the trigger for myself if it went on sale, so I put it on my wish list on amazon. . . or what I thought was my wish list! I forgot that since my kindle was ordered under my boyfriend's prime account that it links to his amazon automatically. Then, the Friday before thanksgiving he tells me there is a surprise in the closet. He saw it on there and bought it for me! It was really nice to have for Thanksgiving too, since I was cooking for 13 for my first time. I did two batches of potatoes and then used it to keep them warm after I mashed them.
I've also done pork shoulder for carnitas. So much nicer than using the stove top for four hours!!
Looking forward to getting some recipes here! I'm going to try "Senate beans" tomorrow from a blog called dad cooks dinner (I think) I'll come back with the results!

Senate beans were a success!

1 lb navy beans
Quick soaked in the IP
Then sauteed  onions and garlic (1 onion and 4 sliced cloves)
Added beans back
8 cups water
The rest of my ham from Thanksgiving with the bone (1lb?)
Manual pressure cooked on high for 8 minutes
Natural release
Shredded ham
Added honey (not in recipe)
Salt and pepper and enjoyed!

I did kick myself for not remembering to grab cornbread, because what goes better with ham and beans. Had leftovers for 2 days (and I got the cornbread for the leftovers).

Next up lentil soup! Which will be my first time making lentils. I feel weird saying that here but its true. Please let me stay on the forum even though I've never cooked lentils before :-)

Bracken_Joy

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Re: Instant pot recipes?
« Reply #34 on: December 09, 2015, 08:41:29 AM »
I finally used mine yesterday. I made rice, and chickepeas for hummus. Results:

Rice- good, but not necessarily faster than stovetop. It took 3 min to come to low pressure, then "auto sensed" (rice setting) to cook the one cup of rice for 12 minutes. Per feedback I found online, I then let it natural release for 2 min, then quick released it. So 17 minutes total. The rice was good, but stovetop takes 20 minutes (well, 23 with coming to a boil). Not a major difference there. For some reason, when I did 2 cups rice later, it did 10 minutes cook time. So maybe I just use it for bulk? Rice was fine, good texture, pretty much like the stovetop results.

Chickpeas- I quick soaked them first (bring to boil for 5 min, set for 1 hr), like I do stovetop. Then I did high pressure for 30 min. They were still too firm. So I did them again for 15min. Still a bit firm, but soft enough I didn't want to do another cycle. It takes 90 min stovetop. Maybe I'm being too optimistic, thinking half the time should have been enough. But so far I'm really not getting the amazing results everyone seems to swear on.

elaine amj

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Re: Instant pot recipes?
« Reply #35 on: December 09, 2015, 11:30:12 AM »
I finally used mine yesterday. I made rice, and chickepeas for hummus. Results:

Rice- good, but not necessarily faster than stovetop. It took 3 min to come to low pressure, then "auto sensed" (rice setting) to cook the one cup of rice for 12 minutes. Per feedback I found online, I then let it natural release for 2 min, then quick released it. So 17 minutes total. The rice was good, but stovetop takes 20 minutes (well, 23 with coming to a boil). Not a major difference there. For some reason, when I did 2 cups rice later, it did 10 minutes cook time. So maybe I just use it for bulk? Rice was fine, good texture, pretty much like the stovetop results.

Chickpeas- I quick soaked them first (bring to boil for 5 min, set for 1 hr), like I do stovetop. Then I did high pressure for 30 min. They were still too firm. So I did them again for 15min. Still a bit firm, but soft enough I didn't want to do another cycle. It takes 90 min stovetop. Maybe I'm being too optimistic, thinking half the time should have been enough. But so far I'm really not getting the amazing results everyone seems to swear on.

I agree - once u add the time to get to pressure and release pressure, its not much difference. I think the difference is being able to walk away while the food is cooking. Also, better taste (more nutrients) and less energy used. Of course, certain slow cooking things will be faster in the IP.

I do have a question - how do you figure out how much time to adjust for different sizes of meat? Yesterday, I cooked my chicken thighs (large) for 12 mins. It wasn't done and I had to finish in the microwave. My guess is I should have used 15 mins.

Today I am cooking small beef short ribs. I see recipes ranging from 25 mins to 50 mins. I'm not sure what I should do since I think my sliced beef short ribs are much smaller than many of the pictures I am seeing. I do plan to brown them first. My guess is supper will take about 1.5 hrs to cook tonight (although I shouldn't have anything to monitor during the pressure cooking portion).

jeromedawg

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Re: Instant pot recipes?
« Reply #36 on: December 09, 2015, 12:00:58 PM »
Since the pasta fiasco, I've made a few more things. Some good and some not so great.


Not so great:
I tried cooking frozen Zaycon chicken breasts for around 13 minutes. Tossed them in along with some salt, pepper, garlic powder and a little water and let it go. Due to the thickness of the chicken breasts, it was still raw in the middle. Pressure cooked it again for another 15 minutes or so and it came out done but it turned out dry (this could have also been because I was too quick to cut into the chicken and caused all the juices to spill out, drying it out). I didn't really get the seasoning either.

Better:
I wanted to use up some leftoever ribeye slices so decided to make an impromptu "french onion dip" - sauteed some onions, added garlic, and semi-caramelized them, added meat to brown, added rosemary, and then poured in almost a full bottle of Black Toad (dark ale I like from Trader Joes) and almost 2 cups of water. Let it go for about 10 minutes and it was good to go. I only had cheddar and sweet rolls, so it wasn't ideal, but you'll probably want to have a hoagie or two on hand + provolone haha. There was a good amount of au jus left for dipping too.

Pretty darned good:
My first attempt at pho (following several recipes that I googled). I used a combination of beef hind shank, beef neckbones, and oxtail. About 3lbs of meat to roughly 7 cups of water plus all other ingredients (rock sugar, toasted spices [star anise, coriander, cloves, cinnamon, white/black peppercorns], toasted onion and ginger, fish sauce....) and set it to manual/high pressure for 60 minutes. It took closer to 20 hours to come up to pressure and what not. Someone recommended letting it sit for the natural release but it felt like it was taking forever, so I quick-released it maybe 20-30 minutes into waiting. The broth came out pretty nice but I feel like it was still lacking a bit of body. I probably need to throw in a meaty chunk of chuck or brisket to get a more full flavor. It's fun making broth though :D The oxtail is crazy-delicious too - everything is fall-off-the-bone and the gelatin and marrow nearly melt right off the bone


Something interesting I've noticed, and maybe I'm just way to conservative about seasoning, but it seems even after I salt meat relatively well, it doesn't come out of the PC very flavorful. I'm sure it's the amount of water I'm adding too. But with the pho, I salted it pretty well I thought. Guess it's better to adjust *after* everything's done anyway, so as to not produce something overly salty (ugh that reminds of recently when my dad cooked vegetables and wanted to add sugar, so grabbed what he thought was sugar (which was actually the concentrated sea salt you can get at the Korean market intended for bland soup) and poured a ton of it in while sauteing the veggies. It was horrendous.

jeromedawg

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Re: Instant pot recipes?
« Reply #37 on: December 09, 2015, 09:20:30 PM »
Just tried this recipe (with several omissions and substitutes) tonight and it's pretty outstanding: http://www.hippressurecooking.com/pressure-cooker-chicken-and-rice-one-pot-meal/

Instead of tomato paste I added twice as many teaspoons of canned petite-cut tomatoes and liquid. Omitted the turmeric and cardamom as I don't have those. Everything was about the same more or less. I also tried to do a quick-brine of the chicken beforehand but I don't think it was long enough or that there was enough salt in it.

The chicken was kinda under-seasoned and I attribute it to my poor attempt of a quick-brine. I think next time I'll try brining longer and or may additionally season the chicken as well as brown it a bit. And I may increase the time of the cook on the chicken by 5-10 minutes for more of that fall-of-the-bone goodness. The broth turned out very nicely and quite flavorful.

Instead of white rice I used brown genmai rice so ended up cooking it for around 21 minutes. Surprisingly, it turned out with a risotto-like consistency and wasn't mushy at all.

All in all, it turned out nicely. I'm really loving this contraption. I've used it almost every day since getting it.

lizzzi

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Re: Instant pot recipes?
« Reply #38 on: December 10, 2015, 06:05:29 PM »
Third night: Brown rice. It turned out fine--I followed the instructions that came with the cooker for the ratio of brown rice and water...put it in the pot...put the cover on...pushed the "rice" button and the "pressure" button, and just left it alone. I'm not sure how long it took to cook, because somewhere along the line it turned itself down and put itself on "keep warm." I had started it 40" before I planned to serve it, and whenever it finished, it kept itself nice and warm until we were ready to eat. Family loved it. I loved not having to watch it, not having it boil over, and not having to soak the pan overnight to get it clean. Another win.

lbmustache

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Re: Instant pot recipes?
« Reply #39 on: December 10, 2015, 10:13:58 PM »


Question: is there any way to continue cooking something if we have misjudged the time?


I just turn the pressure cooker off, and start it up again with the new time of things. So let's say you put stuff in for 12 minutes and it didn't cook enough, I would just turn it off and start a new "session" (?) for 3 minutes or 5 minutes or whatever. I dunno if there's another way...

firelight

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Re: Instant pot recipes?
« Reply #40 on: December 10, 2015, 11:04:12 PM »
I do a lot of Indian cooking with instant pot. I've had it for a year and it's my favorite gadget. Here is the basic recipe (feel free to add chicken or pork if you want to)

On saute mode, put oil or butter. Let it heat for a minute, then put cut onions and chili peppers (if you like it spicy). Once the onions brown, add any combination of veggies (I usually use carrots, beans, broccoli, sprouts, beetroots, etc.... Whatever I fancy). Toss it for a few minutes, add pepper and salt (if you like a more Indian flavor, add turmeric or any one of the million Indian curry powders you get in the Asian markets). You can add meat and let it brown for a few minutes at this step. If you add water and a bit of chicken/veggie broth and let it cook, it becomes a flavorful side of veggies. I set the instant pot to manual mode for 3-6 minutes based on the hardness of veggies used and do natural release.

If you prefer to eat with rice, add rice in the ratio of 1 cup rice to 2.5 to 3 cups of water/liquid to the veggie mix above. Then set instant pot in manual mode and set the timer for 12 minutes. Do natural release and you have rice pulao ready.

The best way to know you have added the right amount of salt is to test the water after you add salt to the pot. If the water is a bit salty, the food will have enough salt. If you can't feel the salt in water, then the dish needs more salt.

This rice pulao along with pasta and curried chicken has made dinners so easy when done in instant pot.

Once you get the hang of it, try adding coconut milk or yogurt to this recipe for more flavor.

I also make yogurt with it and have stopped buying yogurt stove this method gives me really thick yogurt.

firelight

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Re: Instant pot recipes?
« Reply #41 on: December 10, 2015, 11:11:14 PM »
The rice to water ratio will depend on the type of rice you use. It can take a few tries to get it right.

Troubleshooting tips:
1) If you have more liquid left in a dish than you prefer, put it in saute mode and leave the lid open. It acts like a vessel in stove and the water evaporates.
2) if the dish doesn't cook well enough, add more minutes. If that doesn't work, add more water.
3) its better to have more water in a recipe than less since a pressure cooker with very less water is a recipe for disaster.
4) I started out with different settings but ended up using saute and manual for 90% of my cooking (rest 10% is yogurt making lol).
5) I make chickpeas with delayed timer and it comes out extra flavorful and I can skip soaking chickpeas before hand.

firelight

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Re: Instant pot recipes?
« Reply #42 on: December 10, 2015, 11:12:19 PM »
One more thing: if your dish overcooked with natural release, try quick release the next time. It might be cooked right.

TomTX

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Re: Instant pot recipes?
« Reply #43 on: December 12, 2015, 08:17:27 PM »
Today was my very first day using the Instant Pot - yay for Amazon Black Friday.

So, making stock out of a rotisserie chicken carcass worked well. 30 minutes, then natural for 12 until I just HAD TO open it. I've been making stock for a long time, but this was so much easier.

Stock/Broth:

Break down the remaining bones/skin/cartilege from a rotisserie chicken (ie, tear it apart into rough chunks with your hands and place into the Instant Pot. If you have any carrot ends, potato peelings, celery ends, whatever scrap vegetables you could extract, add those too.

Add water to mostly cover. I use the bottom of the rotisserie container to get any bits of chicken, gelatin, whatever into the broth.

Add 2T cider vinegar to help extract the bones.

Pressure cook 30 minutes, natural release.

I suspend my big strainer in another pot and transfer most of the bones to the strainer. Once they have dripped, the bones go in the trash and I pour the rest of the stock through the strainer.

Voilà - stock.

I then decided to make chicken and rice soup.

I put the stock back in the Instant Pot, added a cup of (dry) brown rice, chopped up the remaining quarter of a cabbage, chopped 4 small-medium carrots, some of the rotisserie chicken, garlic, salt, pepper, Kirkland no-salt seasoning to taste.

Cook on the "rice" setting (12 minutes.) I did natural release for 6 minutes, then HAD TO open it. I then added some leftover asparagus from the fridge (cooked for a prior meal) and let it warm in the soup for 5 minutes or so.

Came out great. Added cheese in individual bowls.

I was LAZY. I could have easily put half of the broth in a container for later and replaced with water and the soup would have been fine. Hell, you can use the same bones twice (first stock is richer, so use it for soup base, second for a water replacement when you make rice)

Hm, maybe time to try some steel cut oats in the morning...

lizzzi

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Re: Instant pot recipes?
« Reply #44 on: December 12, 2015, 08:25:53 PM »
Fourth day of use: I decided to make my basic vegetable soup that I usually do on top of the stove in the Le Creuset dutch oven. So I used a chopped onion, two stalks of chopped celery, two chopped carrots...and sautéed them in two TBS. of olive oil. Then I added a quart of chicken broth made from L.B. Jamison stock (i.e. kind of salty), and two cups of water...one potato peeled and cut up, a couple handfuls of chopped cabbage, and a couple TBS of tomato paste. A teaspoon parsley, a half-teaspoon oregano, a dash of pepper. Put on lid and sealed it, pushed the "Soup" button and the "Pressure" (high) button, and set timer for 10 minutes. So with sautéing and chopping, with it coming up to pressure, with about 10 minutes cool down and then releasing the steam by hand...in around a half hour I had a flavorful vegetable soup that would normally take me two hours to make. Another winner.

elaine amj

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Re: Instant pot recipes?
« Reply #45 on: December 12, 2015, 08:57:25 PM »
Well, the beef short ribs I made the other day was just...ok. I think they needed more sauce or a richer broth or something. I should have done it more like a stew. I ended up finishing them up on the stove.

Today, I made plain chickpeas. I love eating chickpeas from a can but always feel guilty about the sodium. I did add quite a bit of Himalayan pink salt...but eating them fresh like this is probably a million times healthier :) It was easy with no fuss. Poured a small portion into the Instant Pot, then added water to cover (next time I will add more water - one recipe said 2 inches above the level of the chickpeas). Set on manual for 40 mins. Then let it release naturally. (I didn't end up wandering back to the pot until 1.5-2hrs later. They're not quite as soft as I like so next time, more water. Still - perfect to have on hand for a healthy snack :)

I am still struggling a little with recipes. Still seems to me that it is best for stuff u normally would cook for a long time - pot roasts, ribs, soups, stews. I did buy pork rib chops today so will give that a shot this week. Also planning to  pick up some bones/rotisserie chicken to make stock. At the moment, I only use chicken broth from the store and REALLY want to start making my own.

Rural

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Re: Instant pot recipes?
« Reply #46 on: December 13, 2015, 05:52:08 AM »
OP here. I confess mine's still sitting in the box. My excuse is it's the end of the semester and I have no time to think about it until my grades are in, hopefully tomorrow. But I do plan to use it to cook blackeyed peas for a family holiday dinner next weekend. I read it will do collard greens really fast, too, so I may just make my daddy a happy man.

Bracken_Joy

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Re: Instant pot recipes?
« Reply #47 on: December 13, 2015, 07:51:45 AM »
DH used it to make dinner last night. 3lbs of pot roast turned into a modified version of this recipe: http://nomnompaleo.com/post/115686948218/pressure-cooker-mocha-rubbed-pot-roast

Guys, it was REALLY GOOD. Tender, fall apart meat is definitely where the Instant Pot wins I think. And it only took like 35min.

horsepoor

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Re: Instant pot recipes?
« Reply #48 on: December 13, 2015, 09:08:17 AM »
Last week I made some pork shoulder for pulled pork in the IP.  Used some canned chipotle, garlic, cumin and a cup of homemade beef broth.  Since we were having the pork over salads, that left a bunch of flavorful liquid with bits of pork in it.  I saved it in the fridge, so on a week night I cut up a cabbage into ~1/2" shreds, threw it in the IP with the pork liquid.  10 minutes on medium pressure and then release the steam.  Super tasty, tender cabbage with basically 3 minutes of effort.

I agree with one of the previous posters about rice.  Not worth it unless you're making a bigger quantity.  I'll often make the curry or whatever the main dish is in the IP and do the 1 cup of white rice in a small sauce pan and they're ready around the same time.

Friday night I made yogurt.  I haven't had yogurt in awhile, so I didn't have a starter, so grabbed a marked-down 16oz container of a grass-fed yogurt (usually use half as much for starter) and also a marked-down quart of half and half along with a half gallon of 2%.  When the milk and cream came down from the boil cycle to 115F, stirred in the yogurt and clumsily pushed several buttons and then went to bed.  When I checked on it after about 11 hours, I realized I'd put it on a "low" setting instead of the normal setting I've always used.  However, I don't know if it was that or the half and half, but the yogurt was extremely mild but had set up much better than previous whole-milk batches I've made, and it had much less whey.  I put it back on the regular temperature to incubate for another 4 hours and the yogurt turned out really nice.  I was happy with the consistency without taking off any whey, so I ended up with nearly a gallon of yogurt.

lbmustache

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Re: Instant pot recipes?
« Reply #49 on: December 14, 2015, 07:34:21 PM »
This is one of my favorite recipes: http://www.alexandracooks.com/2013/02/26/honey-soy-chicken-drumsticks-thighs-or-wings/

I sub a bit of ginger powder for the ketchup since I'm not a huge ketchup fan. I want to try to make this in my Instant Pot... will keep you all updated.