The Money Mustache Community
General Discussion => Welcome and General Discussion => Topic started by: Gone Fishing on October 16, 2015, 07:32:52 AM
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A few weeks ago, I picked up a new in box pressure cooker from a yard sale for $5. Never had one before, but for $5 I thought I would give it a try. Last night, I threw in 2 FROZEN mutton shanks and some soup bones I had saved. Within an HOUR I was able to pull the meat off the bone with a fork. I added some veg (some of it frozen), yellow curry (MAESRI in the small cans is excellent!) and a can of coconut milk. 5 more minutes at pressure and it was done!
I know some of the early birds can get their slow cookers fired up in the morning and have dinner waiting on them when they get home, but I am barely functional in the morning and I am doing well just to get to work on time. I can easily see the pressure cooker becoming a regular tool in our kitchen.
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One year ago I paid the un-Mustachian price of almost $100 for a Cuisinart pressure cooker:
http://www.amazon.com/Cuisinart-EPC-1200PC-Electric-Pressure-Stainless/dp/B003RCEVOY (http://www.amazon.com/Cuisinart-EPC-1200PC-Electric-Pressure-Stainless/dp/B003RCEVOY)
I use it probably 3-4 days each week and absolutely love it! I purchased another for Mom's birthday.
A necessary accessory (for me) was replacing the cooking pot with a stainless steel pot:
http://www.amazon.com/Secura-6-quart-Pressure-Stainless-Cooking/dp/B005YZYYE4 (http://www.amazon.com/Secura-6-quart-Pressure-Stainless-Cooking/dp/B005YZYYE4)
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My boyfriend and I keep toying with the idea of a pressure cooker... you're helping convince me!
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I've been "this" close to pulling the trigger on an InstantPot for about a year now. You've just pushed me even closer...
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I am a huge fan of pressure cookers. Both stovetop & electric versions have their merits -- intensifying flavor in less time with less energy. Electric PCs get to "medium" pressure rather than high of 15 psi, but an extra 20% of time compensates, & they are truly set & forget -- no need to monitor the heat to keep the pressure where it needs to be or set a timer.
My favorite is the Instant Pot Duo 6 qt -- it is not only a superlative pressure cooker, it can also function well as a sauté pot, slow cooker, rice cooker, steamer, yogurt maker, popcorn popper, & keep warm. It comes with a stainless steel inner pot that can go on the stove to keep warm while you use the IP for something else, like steaming vegetables in 2 minutes. The company sells a glass lid & extra inner pot separately for multitasking. The Instant Pot is Amazon's number 1 best seller for pressure cookers. It currently sells around $130, but replaces all those other electric appliances & has a compact footprint.
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Hmmm....
I have never even considered getting a pressure cooker as I really try to avoid buying extra appliances. but you guys got me thinking...
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This is a good link to independent info on the Instant Pot: http://dadcooksdinner.com/2015/01/instant-pot-frequently-asked-questions.html/
This blog has some great recipes. I love his technique for making chicken broth & shredded chicken for homemade chicken noodle soup & other dishes. Another way to make chicken broth is to use the carcass of a roasted chicken in the PC -- very frugal & tasty.
I'm now making yogurt weekly in the Instant Pot, for the cost of fresh milk & a some yogurt starter (plain yogurt saved from the last batch). For thicker yogurt or to boost the protein, add 1/3 cup powdered milk per quart of fresh milk. I don't mess with cups or containers, just put a half or whole gallon in the inner pot, put on either the pressure cover or glass lid, & press the Yogurt button plus Adjust button to bring the milk to boiling temperature to temper it. Then I remove the inner pot & allow the milk to cool to 105-112 degrees F, using a clip on candy thermometer to monitor. This goes faster if I set the pot in a dishpan of cold water. For the first batch, I used yogurt starter, then 3-4 tablespoons of saved yogurt for later batches, whisked in to mix. Then place the inner pot back into the IP, cover, & press the Yogurt button. The time default is 8 hours; I do at least that, up to 10 hours. Then whisk gently to smooth it out, & ladle into clean glass containers like Pyrex cups or mason jars, cover & refrigerate to set.
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Keep talking. You are convincing me to dig out my yard sale pressure cooker which I have never used and give it a try.
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Love my pressure cooker! Brown rice in 12min, white rice in 6min.
Also dry beans. I had given up on dry beans because they took too long but it's only 20min for black beans from dry to yummy in the pressure cooker!
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Another interesting site is the Plant Fueled Trucker, who cooks in his Instant Pot in his truck on the road, & lost 60 pounds doing it. Recipes & commentary via Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/plantfueledtrucker
He currently has a coupon discount offer for the Lux version of the IP, which is the older model without the yogurt function & has a different cover design.
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Been reading the Amazon reviews. Now I'm very tempted although what is it about trying to reduce spending that gets me thinking about all the things I want to buy? Looks like it could be a very helpful tool in the kitchen though.
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I'm pretty slow in the morning too, so I usually set up my slow cooker meals the night before and put the enamel pot and lid in the fridge. In the morning, I just take the pot out of the fridge and put it in the slow cooker and turn it on. If there's anything I don't want to have sitting together overnight (especially if I want wet and dry ingredients separated) I'll just have all of the wet ingredients in the slow cooker and have all the measured out dry ingredients in a separate container next to it (or vise versa). I also use a christmas light timer on my slow cooker if I don't want something cooking the entire time I'm gone. Pressure cookers sound great, but I just can't make myself spend that much on another kitchen appliance.
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I got an Instant Pot for my birthday--alas, the only thing I've done with it is cook chicken breasts, once from frozen. I'm attempting a pork stew on Sunday, though!
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I finally bought an InstantPot after more than year of vacillation. I am absolutely in love with it. Seriously...I think my husband is jealous.
If I was a college kid again, the only thing I would need is my InstantPot and a mini fridge.
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I resisted the siren song of the InstantPot for months before finally giving in and buying one earlier this year. I LOVE THAT FREAKING THING!
It only rarely makes it back into the cupboard since I use it several times a week. It's great for pressure cooking (even if you've been afraid of pressure cooking in the past), as a rice maker, and as a slow cooker. I'm planning to make my own ricotta in it the next time I make lasagna. :)
Oh, and this 4 minute potato salad is great. http://www.pressurecookingtoday.com/quick-potato-salad-in-the-pressure-cooker/ (http://www.pressurecookingtoday.com/quick-potato-salad-in-the-pressure-cooker/)
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While I like my slow cooker better, the pressure cooker has its place. My personal favorite is cooking beans and rice at the same time (with a bowl in the middle to keep them separate). That tip came from Amy Daczyn's (spelling?) book The Tightwad Gazette.
Oh, and as for being up early enough to start the slow cooker, it's not really necessary! We frequently put together slow cooker ingredients the night before, set the crock into the refrigerator overnight, and then just start the machine in the morning.
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I like my pressure cooker too, although I don't have an electric one. This is the one I have: http://www.amazon.com/Magefesa-Practika-Stainless-6-3-Quart-Pressure/dp/B0018A9ATS/ref=sr_1_1?s=kitchen&ie=UTF8&qid=1445112531&sr=1-1&keywords=magefesa
If I had to do it over, I'd get the set that comes with two different sized pots and the steamer.
It's basically awesome. Like someone else said, it has transformed beans for me--so easy! Also, I'm a huge soup person, so it's great for that too. I still see uses for the slow cooker (I'm trying out a version of this recipe right now: vhttp://www.budgetbytes.com/2011/11/slow-cooker-marinara/), but if I had to give one up, I know which one it would be.
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I bought an Instant Pot http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00FLYWNYQ?psc=1&redirect=true&ref_=oh_aui_search_detailpage
It is programmable. So I just throw in whatever I want to cook, set the timer and forget it. Food cooks much faster than it would in a regular pot on a stove.
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I recently ordered the 8qt Preso stainless-steel pressure cooker. I hope it works out well for me! I've never used a pressure cooker before, but I like the idea of saving energy costs by only needing to keep the stove on for a very short amount of time!
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The pressure cooker is better than a crock pot. The meat has more moisture in it. Love it.
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Spotted a 6 quart Faberware programmable pressure cooker for $59 at Walmart. It seems to have all of the features of the instanpot. It also seems to be new, but a 4 quart version has good reviews on Amazon. I'm thinking about it- has anyone tried one of these?
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Spotted a 6 quart Faberware programmable pressure cooker for $59 at Walmart. It seems to have all of the features of the instanpot. It also seems to be new, but a 4 quart version has good reviews on Amazon. I'm thinking about it- has anyone tried one of these?
Pay up for the Instant Pot. Walmart is notorious for getting their vendors to produce shoddy products at low margins:
http://www.fastcompany.com/54763/man-who-said-no-wal-mart
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Spotted a 6 quart Faberware programmable pressure cooker for $59 at Walmart. It seems to have all of the features of the instanpot. It also seems to be new, but a 4 quart version has good reviews on Amazon. I'm thinking about it- has anyone tried one of these?
Pay up for the Instant Pot. Walmart is notorious for getting their vendors to produce shoddy products at low margins:
http://www.fastcompany.com/54763/man-who-said-no-wal-mart (http://www.fastcompany.com/54763/man-who-said-no-wal-mart)
Okay, so further research shows it's not new. Let's assume that for some reasons I want to pay $35 more for the same item at Amazon. Has anyone tried one of these?
http://www.amazon.com/Power-Cooker-6-Quart-Digital-Pressure/dp/B00FRRMPMM/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1445206171&sr=8-1&keywords=farberware+pressure+cooker
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We have an admittedly expensive, German made pressure cooker (a Fissler), but we're fans of buying well once and then never buying a thing again. It has worked so far. We also got it with change from the change jar, and getting gift certificates from Coinstar.
We use it constantly. Favorites are what it does to dried chick peas for hummus, soup stock in an hour, and well, everything. I haven't touched the slow cooker in over a year as a result and will probably donate it.
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i have both appliances, and they both have their uses. If I could choose only 1, I think I'd go for the pressure cooker. Lovely "slow cooked" meals in 30mins or less.
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Okay, so further research shows it's not new. Let's assume that for some reasons I want to pay $35 more for the same item at Amazon. Has anyone tried one of these?
For this price you can get the LUX model of the Instant Pot. It's the previous version & excellent. Stainless steel inner pot (much better than nonstick).
http://www.amazon.com/Instant-Pot-IP-LUX60-Programmable-1000-Watt/dp/B0073GIN08/ref=sr_1_2?s=kitchen&ie=UTF8&qid=1445249960&sr=1-2&keywords=Instant+pot
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i have both appliances, and they both have their uses. If I could choose only 1, I think I'd go for the pressure cooker. Lovely "slow cooked" meals in 30mins or less.
++!
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Stainless steel inner pot (much better than nonstick).
I can confirm. As mentioned above, I replaced my nonstick pot with the stainless steel pot, but could have saved myself the trouble by simply purchasing the Instant Pot.
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Should've read this before writing my post this morning asking about slow cookers (and their shattering lids). The IP seems like a great product. although does it save you as much time as the slow cooker if you can't really start cooking until you get home from work? What kind of foods do you cook in it?
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Here to defend the slow cooker! I love my slow cooker, we use it at least once a week. I agree that sometimes getting all the prep done in the morning can be a pain. To fix this, I make slow cooker freezer packs. Basically I spend an afternoon to cut vegetables, prep meat, and make "season packs". Throw it all, uncooked, in a gallon freezer bag.
To cook, remove a bag from the freezer, dump it in the slow cooker, then turn it on for 4 or 8 hours. Everything can be served with rice or tortillas or steamed veggies. These packets will usually be enough for 2 meals.
Some crockpot meals we have had are mongolian beef, chicken korma, beef or chicken fajitas, pot roast, chili, etc.
I'm planning to try more vegetarian meals for a little variety.
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We got a stainless steel Lagostina pressure cooker several years ago and have been using it several times a week. It was expensive ($200+) but I got it with travel points, at a time when I was working for an airline and did not need travel points to fly. Best use of my points ever.
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Obligatory: http://earlyretirementextreme.com/a-tribute-to-my-pressure-cooker.html
By the way, I've never had good luck with frozen meat in my pressure cooker. Always turns out tough no matter how long I cook it. Anyone else notice same/different? Maybe I'm doing something wrong.
Works a charm on non-frozen roast, pork shoulder, etc.
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This would be the only other appliance I would buy but I have been dragging my feet because I don't want it to be another thing that sits around, which is what happens in my house. But I think everything would be so much faster. I have tried cooking black beans before and was not successful. I have been considering an insta pot. Maybe I will reconsider especially as soup season is upon us.
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I have always been a propent of the slow cooker for meals and such, until I went to a Strength & Conditioning/Fitness Seminar this last weekend. Charles Mayfield (Paleo Comfort Foods) brought his Instant Pot with him and did a cooking demo. I was amazed at all it could do, and he ended up making short ribs in 35 min. Problem is, I already have a rice cooker, a slow cooker, no dutch oven (we accidentally donated it in our move). While I want an instant pot, it isn't high up on my list of needs right now. Maybe I'll put that on a wish list, and if someone wants to buy something as a Christmas/birthday/anniversary gift I will generously accept
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Obligatory: http://earlyretirementextreme.com/a-tribute-to-my-pressure-cooker.html
By the way, I've never had good luck with frozen meat in my pressure cooker. Always turns out tough no matter how long I cook it. Anyone else notice same/different? Maybe I'm doing something wrong.
Works a charm on non-frozen roast, pork shoulder, etc.
Mine works a treat with frozen Aussie lamb or chook. I don't do anything different to fresh meat. If the meat is still frozen when you put it in (I usually at least part thaw mine), you will need to increase cooking time a bit.
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I splurged on a Kuhn-Rikon for my birthday/Christmas a couple years ago and love it. Highly recommend dadcooksdinner.com (http://dadcooksdinner.com) for pressure cooking recipes. (The whole site is actually great!)
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I've been "this" close to pulling the trigger on an InstantPot for about a year now. You've just pushed me even closer...
Do it!!!
+100 to all the Instant Pot recommendations. My husband, who has no interest in my stove top pressure cooker, will even use it.
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Should've read this before writing my post this morning asking about slow cookers (and their shattering lids). The IP seems like a great product. although does it save you as much time as the slow cooker if you can't really start cooking until you get home from work? What kind of foods do you cook in it?
Or you could have read my post on your thread. ;)
You can either slow cook or pressure cook in the IP. The other day I started something as slow cooking when I had time to prep in the morning, then ran a short pressure cycle to finish it a little sooner so I could eat.
I've had a stovetop PC for a few years and thought electric PCs were for suckers, but I'm a total convert because I can just push a button and leave the kitchen/house, come back and it's done.
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You can either slow cook or pressure cook in the IP. The other day I started something as slow cooking when I had time to prep in the morning, then ran a short pressure cycle to finish it a little sooner so I could eat.
I've had a stovetop PC for a few years and thought electric PCs were for suckers, but I'm a total convert because I can just push a button and leave the kitchen/house, come back and it's done.
Is there a reason you would choose to slow cook in your IP instead of only pressure cooking? The stuff I keep reading keeps claiming pressure cooking has similar results to slow cooking and uses less electricity.
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I'm not going to go away for ten hours and leave a slow cooker on its own. I wouldn't stop worrying. But a *pressure cooker* can accomplish many of the same things; you simply have different timing on when you throw in your prepped ingredients. I only got one a couple of years ago because I have memories of Mom's pressure cooker being LOUD. When I was three or four I would actually go hide somewhere when that damn thing was going. The better brands of pressure cooker are a lot quieter than many models were 30-40 years ago.
The Kuhn-Rikon I got does have a hiss audible from the living room when it is up to pressure or a little past- it isn't at ear-hurting volumes.
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Threw a couple of hard frozen venison shanks and a few soup bones in the pressure cooker this morning and ran it for an hour while I was getting ready for work. Turned off the burner as I was walking out the door. I figure there is enough heat left in it for a couple hours of simmering as well. We'll see how it turned out when I get home...
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$5 for the win!!
Love my pressure cooker and also use it for canning. Way faster and doesn't heat up the house as much as a water bath.
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Love love love my Instant Pot. Not sure how I lived without it before. Not sure that I can still cook without it in the future.
Our nanny, after initial trepidation (think old lady with almost no ability to learn to use new gadgets), fell in love with it too, to the point where she asked me to get her one. I think she's quickly getting to the point where she can't cook soup or porridge without it either.
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I'm not going to go away for ten hours and leave a slow cooker on its own. I wouldn't stop worrying. But a *pressure cooker* can accomplish many of the same things; you simply have different timing on when you throw in your prepped ingredients. I only got one a couple of years ago because I have memories of Mom's pressure cooker being LOUD. When I was three or four I would actually go hide somewhere when that damn thing was going. The better brands of pressure cooker are a lot quieter than many models were 30-40 years ago.
The Kuhn-Rikon I got does have a hiss audible from the living room when it is up to pressure or a little past- it isn't at ear-hurting volumes.
I think a pressure cooker will liquefy veggies a little worse than a slow cooker, and it's certainly more of a pain to add anything at the end (depressurization and repressurizing)
I got a Kuhn-Rikon and think it's great. However, my mustacian problem is even the lowest burner setting is often too high for long braises (I find thicker meats still need about an hour although that's much better than the 3-4 hours in the Dutch oven). So I can't leave it alone, I have to turn off the heat for a while, then turn it back on minimum and otherwise babysit.
For that reason I wish I got the IP. It either didn't exist back then or I just hadn't heard of it. I think it's benefits outweigh the downsides of breakable electronics.
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The trick to keep veggies from liquifying into a long braise is to put the liquid & meat into the pressure cooker, then add a steamer insert, & put the veggies in it to steam at the same time. The steamer insert can be a perforated pan (that often comes with a PC), or a collapsible stainless steel steamer, or a flexible silicone steamer insert. If the braise recipe calls for tomatoes, place them on top of the meat & don't stir in -- the tomatoes can be scorched.
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I just pulled the trigger and ordered the IP on Amazon! Been debating back and forth between this and a slow cooker for the past few days and I was almost ready to buy a slow cooker, but once I realized the IP has a slow cook function, I was sold. So excited to test it out this weekend!
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You can either slow cook or pressure cook in the IP. The other day I started something as slow cooking when I had time to prep in the morning, then ran a short pressure cycle to finish it a little sooner so I could eat.
I've had a stovetop PC for a few years and thought electric PCs were for suckers, but I'm a total convert because I can just push a button and leave the kitchen/house, come back and it's done.
Is there a reason you would choose to slow cook in your IP instead of only pressure cooking? The stuff I keep reading keeps claiming pressure cooking has similar results to slow cooking and uses less electricity.
Yes, if I have time to prep in the morning and have hot food when I get home vs prepping after work and then waiting for the pressure cooker. I also slightly prefer the way the flavors meld for stews or Pot roast with slow cooking.
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You can either slow cook or pressure cook in the IP. The other day I started something as slow cooking when I had time to prep in the morning, then ran a short pressure cycle to finish it a little sooner so I could eat.
I've had a stovetop PC for a few years and thought electric PCs were for suckers, but I'm a total convert because I can just push a button and leave the kitchen/house, come back and it's done.
Is there a reason you would choose to slow cook in your IP instead of only pressure cooking? The stuff I keep reading keeps claiming pressure cooking has similar results to slow cooking and uses less electricity.
Yes, if I have time to prep in the morning and have hot food when I get home vs prepping after work and then waiting for the pressure cooker. I also slightly prefer the way the flavors meld for stews or Pot roast with slow cooking.
That's my concern; how does a chicken breast in a pressure cooker compare to a chicken breast slow cooked for 8 hours? I make some mean chicken tacos + pico de gallo and the juicy chicken breasts really tie things together. Would a pressure cooker yield the same results?
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Threw a couple of hard frozen venison shanks and a few soup bones in the pressure cooker this morning and ran it for an hour while I was getting ready for work. Turned off the burner as I was walking out the door. I figure there is enough heat left in it for a couple hours of simmering as well. We'll see how it turned out when I get home...
Meat was perfect! Just cooked enough to fall off the bone, but not mush. Added some pumpkin puree, potatoes, carrots, onions, a few spices and brought it to pressure for 8 minutes. Turned out great!
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You can either slow cook or pressure cook in the IP. The other day I started something as slow cooking when I had time to prep in the morning, then ran a short pressure cycle to finish it a little sooner so I could eat.
I've had a stovetop PC for a few years and thought electric PCs were for suckers, but I'm a total convert because I can just push a button and leave the kitchen/house, come back and it's done.
Is there a reason you would choose to slow cook in your IP instead of only pressure cooking? The stuff I keep reading keeps claiming pressure cooking has similar results to slow cooking and uses less electricity.
Yes, if I have time to prep in the morning and have hot food when I get home vs prepping after work and then waiting for the pressure cooker. I also slightly prefer the way the flavors meld for stews or Pot roast with slow cooking.
That's my concern; how does a chicken breast in a pressure cooker compare to a chicken breast slow cooked for 8 hours? I make some mean chicken tacos + pico de gallo and the juicy chicken breasts really tie things together. Would a pressure cooker yield the same results?
The slow cooker is just too compatible for my 8 hour work day and life with small kids. We get up early anyway for school (although I frequently do the freezer pack meals mentioned above) and kids are usually howling for dinner almost immediately when we get home after work.
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Threw a couple of hard frozen venison shanks and a few soup bones in the pressure cooker this morning and ran it for an hour while I was getting ready for work. Turned off the burner as I was walking out the door. I figure there is enough heat left in it for a couple hours of simmering as well. We'll see how it turned out when I get home...
Meat was perfect! Just cooked enough to fall off the bone, but not mush. Added some pumpkin puree, potatoes, carrots, onions, a few spices and brought it to pressure for 8 minutes. Turned out great!
That's awesome - thanks for the report :)
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yes- thanks for the report.
I bought a manual? Fagor pressure cooker about 6 months ago. I do like it a lot--- but am kicking myself for not buying an electronic pressure cooker where you don't have to babysit it constantly... I like where I heard it automatically kicks into "warming mode" and etc... sounds handy.
works amazingly well--- rice quickly, beans quickly---- I once bought a huge pack of CHEAP beef "trimmings" and sliced into cubes for stews, etc... Perfect. No matter how bad the cut of meat, a pressure cooker will make it tender.
Very, very useful kitchen tool.
looking into an electronic unit now...
Jimmy
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You can either slow cook or pressure cook in the IP. The other day I started something as slow cooking when I had time to prep in the morning, then ran a short pressure cycle to finish it a little sooner so I could eat.
I've had a stovetop PC for a few years and thought electric PCs were for suckers, but I'm a total convert because I can just push a button and leave the kitchen/house, come back and it's done.
Is there a reason you would choose to slow cook in your IP instead of only pressure cooking? The stuff I keep reading keeps claiming pressure cooking has similar results to slow cooking and uses less electricity.
Yes, if I have time to prep in the morning and have hot food when I get home vs prepping after work and then waiting for the pressure cooker. I also slightly prefer the way the flavors meld for stews or Pot roast with slow cooking.
That's my concern; how does a chicken breast in a pressure cooker compare to a chicken breast slow cooked for 8 hours? I make some mean chicken tacos + pico de gallo and the juicy chicken breasts really tie things together. Would a pressure cooker yield the same results?
I don't really care for chicken cooked that way, but I think it would be better in the pressure cooker because it doesn't need the time for tenderizing as much. I was thinking more of things like chile verde, big pot roasts, short ribs etc. that need time to break down the connective tissues and let the flavors meld. My friend does chicken in the IP on pressure and uses it for tacos and that sort of thing and really likes it, but then she's not much of a cook by her own admission, so she probably is not as picky as me.
It would be interesting to compare power usage, but my guess is that the savings is negligible. In the summer heat output could be an issue, but either appliance could be operated outdoors or in the garage if you were so inclined.
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For those who have bought used pressure cookers, how much did you pay?
Last weekend, I stumbled across a brand new Cuizen electric pressure cooker at a Salvation Army store for $25. My husband and I debated for a long time - but it was a nonstick pot that had some small gouges and scratches (even though it did look brand new as claimed). Plus a massive dent on the outside. I just didn't feel confident that the dent wouldn't affect the performance. So decided to pass.
I would love an InstantPot - but at a $100, I just don't know.
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A stovetop pressure canner that does 7 quart jars, new (that is old but unused) in the box at a yard sale for $25. It's a Presto brand. I did replace the gasket, but that was under five dollars at the hardware store.
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Any others want to chime in on the Instant Pot? I am contemplating buying one... it's sitting in my cart! Early birthday present to myself? :P
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Thank you everyone for the info, I've put the InstantPot electronic 6qt pressure cooker on my Xmass wish list this year and hope to put it to good use on the half of a pig I purchased off a friend which is sitting in my chest freezer. I'm going to begin gathering rough recipe ideas by going back over this thread and scouring the internet so I'm well prepared to put it to use by the end of the year!
I may be asking an ignorant question as I skimmed this thread and may have missed it if posted already but...
Can you put frozen food in these pressure cookers, or does it need to be thawed out first?
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You can cook frozen food in a PC, but expect the time to come up to pressure to take longer. Make sure you include at least 1 cup liquid so the food won't scorch. The pressure time remains the same.
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You can cook frozen food in a PC, but expect the time to come up to pressure to take longer. Make sure you include at least 1 cup liquid so the food won't scorch. The pressure time remains the same.
Awesome, can't wait to try out a new method of making raw meat more tasty! Thanks for the thorough response.
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Ok, I bought one! Excited for the cooking possibilities :)
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I've cooked three meals with the instant Pot I recently bought. I'm really happy with the way the meals are turning out, the ease of use, the time savings, and the money I'm saving by not using my oven. It should pay for itself in a matter of weeks.
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Updating this to say my first night was successful with the Instant Pot. Made a quick and easy pasta with a bunch of ingredients laying around:
- Linguine
- Trader Joe's garlic spaghetti sauce
- EVOO
- Fresh garlic (chopped)
- Leftover salami (chopped)
- Water
Used the saute function to cook the garlic and salami for a bit. This is where you are standing over the pot and stirring and watching. After about 5 minutes I added the sauce + water + pasta. Tip: you need enough liquid to cover the top of the pasta! I left the cooker on high pressure for approx 10-15 minutes (can't remember exactly - sorry!) and ended up with a tasty dish with leftovers for tomorrow.
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Updating this to say my first night was successful with the Instant Pot. Made a quick and easy pasta with a bunch of ingredients laying around:
- Linguine
- Trader Joe's garlic spaghetti sauce
- EVOO
- Fresh garlic (chopped)
- Leftover salami (chopped)
- Water
Used the saute function to cook the garlic and salami for a bit. This is where you are standing over the pot and stirring and watching. After about 5 minutes I added the sauce + water + pasta. Tip: you need enough liquid to cover the top of the pasta! I left the cooker on high pressure for approx 10-15 minutes (can't remember exactly - sorry!) and ended up with a tasty dish with leftovers for tomorrow.
Don't know if you used the same TJ sauce I use, but I really like it because it's pretty cheap (like $1.39 for 24 oz) and has all good ingredients: EVOO, tomatoes, garlic, salt... maybe some other "spices". No sugar or other junk.
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I bought a pressure cooker this past year and absolutely love it! Use it several times a week and it helps us eat healthier and save energy!
I bought Chef Ming's 6 qt pressure cooker and it's great! You can sear things in it before pressure cooking. You can also use it as a slow cooker if you want, but I really enjoy the speed of pressure cooking. You can make fabulous stew or chili in 20 minutes, or cook whole chickens, or dry beans, or even vegetables. It makes great collard greens in just a few minutes! It seems to push the flavors into whatever you are cooking and makes it soooooo yummy! It's so easy and safe! I really love not having to boil water to cook things like yams or pumpkin or squash. You can throw whole acorn squash or other types in there and they come out perfect. I have made some amazing ribs in there too!
here is the link to the one I bought.
http://www.hsn.com/products/simply-ming-premiere-pressure-cooker-with-technolon/7862150?sz=5&sf=QC0023&ac=&cm_mmc=Shopping%20Engine-_-PLA-_-Kitchen%20and%20Food-_-7862156&mr:trackingCode=c8019dcf-816f-11e5-b7e1-005056946dac&mr:referralID=NA&channel=Froogle&gclid=Cj0KEQiAsNyxBRDBuKrMhsbt3vwBEiQAdRgPstTfs-kBp6HrhJoOuViu7kEU89fA68OQEBrGz9yQbgkaAj2I8P8HAQ
We used to love our slow cooker, but now I just don't see the point of wasting that much energy!
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Loving all the reports. now just debating if the Instant Pot is worth it or if I should just go with one of the (numerous) other brands.
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Updating this to say my first night was successful with the Instant Pot. Made a quick and easy pasta with a bunch of ingredients laying around:
- Linguine
- Trader Joe's garlic spaghetti sauce
- EVOO
- Fresh garlic (chopped)
- Leftover salami (chopped)
- Water
Used the saute function to cook the garlic and salami for a bit. This is where you are standing over the pot and stirring and watching. After about 5 minutes I added the sauce + water + pasta. Tip: you need enough liquid to cover the top of the pasta! I left the cooker on high pressure for approx 10-15 minutes (can't remember exactly - sorry!) and ended up with a tasty dish with leftovers for tomorrow.
Don't know if you used the same TJ sauce I use, but I really like it because it's pretty cheap (like $1.39 for 24 oz) and has all good ingredients: EVOO, tomatoes, garlic, salt... maybe some other "spices". No sugar or other junk.
I think so, if it is the roasted garlic one. I have used almost all the TJ's sauces, but the roasted garlic one is my favorite! :)
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Loving all the reports. now just debating if the Instant Pot is worth it or if I should just go with one of the (numerous) other brands.
The Instant Pot is much more multi-functional than other brands: rice cooker, slow cooker, sauté/simmer, steamer, popcorn popper, in addition to pressure cooker. It comes with a quality stainless steel inner pot instead of non-stick & has a compact footprint. The DUO model has an improved lid that can rest in a side slot allowing condensation to drain neatly into the rim & a removable condensation cup. Its handle & pressure valve have been improved as well. It has an easy to use yogurt program that allows me to save immensely over commercial yogurts & I control what goes in it. I've used both the DUO & LUX models, & the $30 difference between the two is quickly paid for with the DUO. I recommend the 6 quart size unless you are a household of 1, because pressure cookers can only be filled 2/3. There's also a new SMART model that runs by smartphone app in addition to the pot buttons, but this model is twice the DUO price & not worth it, IMHO.
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So yesterday I steamed sweet potatoes under pressure in the Instant Pot to prep them for canning. This morning I browned a pork roast on the saute function then added other ingredients and clicked it over to slow cook. Looking forward to coming home to the smell of chile verde ready to eat when I finish up at the stable. Next up it will be making us a nice beef stew. Also recently saw a NomNom Paleo post on using it to cook spaghetti squash, which I'd previously been baking with mixed results. InstantPot is well worth the money as long as it proves to be durable.
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Happy to stumble across this thread and share the pressure cooker love.
We had been on the fence about buying a pressure cooker for a while, deciding on the model, electric vs stovetop, etc. Then we stumbled across the Cuisinart Electric Pressure Cooker (http://amzn.to/1hP8Tdr) on our local Craigslist for about $35 brand new. It has been great.
The only thing that had annoyed me was the stainless nom-stick lining which I knew wouldn't last forever and we've already managed to scratch slightly.
Based on the info on this thread, I might think about adding the stainless steel insert to our repertoire at some point.
Once we got down to using it, we were finding uses for it several times a week, or daily. It opened up new options, cut cooking time a lot, and added flavor.
I'm glad we got the electric one, because while I dislike special purpose appliances, it really is pretty easy to use (once I figured out the lid) and a lot less intimidating then a stove top pressure cooker for someone who has never used it.
Now that I know and love pressure cooking, I might add a smaller stove top pressure cooker to our arsenal if the right circumstances come up.
We've had slow cookers, but other then one or two uses, we don't find it fits that well with our lifestyle. Too much advanced planning required. We are more last minute people, and the amount of flavor you can get into a quick meal with a pressure cooker is great.
I'd say the only downside has been that it has been causing us to eat more meat, because it is so easy to find a cheap cut on sale, cook it and have a tasty meal with little effort.
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Used my Instant Pot twice today - I made steel cut oats and 15 bean soup. I love it! I also ordered The Great Big Pressure Cooker cook book from Bruce Weinstein. Have made a few recipes from it and each one was a hit.
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Loving all the reports. now just debating if the Instant Pot is worth it or if I should just go with one of the (numerous) other brands.
The Instant Pot is much more multi-functional than other brands: rice cooker, slow cooker, sauté/simmer, steamer, popcorn popper, in addition to pressure cooker. It comes with a quality stainless steel inner pot instead of non-stick & has a compact footprint. The DUO model has an improved lid that can rest in a side slot allowing condensation to drain neatly into the rim & a removable condensation cup. Its handle & pressure valve have been improved as well. It has an easy to use yogurt program that allows me to save immensely over commercial yogurts & I control what goes in it. I've used both the DUO & LUX models, & the $30 difference between the two is quickly paid for with the DUO. I recommend the 6 quart size unless you are a household of 1, because pressure cookers can only be filled 2/3. There's also a new SMART model that runs by smartphone app in addition to the pot buttons, but this model is twice the DUO price & not worth it, IMHO.
Wait - popcorn popper?
I did some price comparison today. The Instant Pot Duo is $138 after taxes. Compared to the Cuisinart from Costco for $69. It sounds really, really cool - but is it worth $70 more?
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Used it twice in the past two days. Cooked dry pintos for chili. Beans went from dry to fully cooked in 30 min or so. Then turned around and filled it with soup bones from a pork shoulder and sweet potatoes for a savory soup in 20 min. Constantly amazed that nothing burns to the bottom despite running the burner full blast to bring it up to pressure.
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Hey I recently got my 8-qt Presto pressure cooker, and today I finally had the courage to use it for the first time. I'm really paranoid about hurting myself or blowing up my kitchen. I've got a question, and if someone with a similar unit from Presto could answer it, I would be grateful :) This is the one I have: http://www.amazon.com/Presto-01370-8-Quart-Stainless-Pressure/dp/B0000Z6JIW
After I secure the lid and start bringing it up to temperature, the little pressure-indcator thing pops and down with some steam around it being released. Finally after a little while it stays up and no longer lets any steam come out from around it.
At this stage, according to the manual, I think there should soon be steam released from the "pressure regulator"...
As I understand it, the pressure regulator is the little turn-knob thing that you press over a tiny valve. I have this in the "Pressure" position.
After a few minutes of leaving the pot on "high" (and after the pressure-indicator thing has popped up permanently), I never notice any steam coming out of the "pressure regulator". (If I turn the "pressure regulator" knob thing to "release", I do see a lot of steam come out pretty fast. I wore an oven-mitt while doing this :)
Maybe I'm not waiting long enough? I've given it about 2 or 3 minutes on high... and started to become worried that a lot of excess pressure was perhaps building up... so I turned off the burner and let it sit to cool down.
Does it sound like something is wrong with my pressure cooker? Or am I just not giving it enough time to build up enough pressure so that the steam starts coming out of the valve?
(edit: For what it's worth, what I had in the pressure cooker was: about 6 pounds of pork shoulder cut up into large chunks, one cubed onion, about 3 or 4 cups of water, salt, and pepper. It was all just barely below the 1/2 way-measuring-mark in the pot, so it wasn't overfilled.)
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Hey I recently got my 8-qt Presto pressure cooker, and today I finally had the courage to use it for the first time. I'm really paranoid about hurting myself or blowing up my kitchen. I've got a question, and if someone with a similar unit from Presto could answer it, I would be grateful :) This is the one I have: http://www.amazon.com/Presto-01370-8-Quart-Stainless-Pressure/dp/B0000Z6JIW
After I secure the lid and start bringing it up to temperature, the little pressure-indcator thing pops and down with some steam around it being released. Finally after a little while it stays up and no longer lets any steam come out from around it.
At this stage, according to the manual, I think there should soon be steam released from the "pressure regulator"...
As I understand it, the pressure regulator is the little turn-knob thing that you press over a tiny valve. I have this in the "Pressure" position.
After a few minutes of leaving the pot on "high" (and after the pressure-indicator thing has popped up permanently), I never notice any steam coming out of the "pressure regulator". (If I turn the "pressure regulator" knob thing to "release", I do see a lot of steam come out pretty fast. I wore an oven-mitt while doing this :)
Maybe I'm not waiting long enough? I've given it about 2 or 3 minutes on high... and started to become worried that a lot of excess pressure was perhaps building up... so I turned off the burner and let it sit to cool down.
Does it sound like something is wrong with my pressure cooker? Or am I just not giving it enough time to build up enough pressure so that the steam starts coming out of the valve?
(edit: For what it's worth, what I had in the pressure cooker was: about 6 pounds of pork shoulder cut up into large chunks, one cubed onion, about 3 or 4 cups of water, salt, and pepper. It was all just barely below the 1/2 way-measuring-mark in the pot, so it wasn't overfilled.)
I don't think anything is supposed to come out of the pressure regulator unless you are above the max temperature. In other words, I think it's supposed to be a safety outlet. At least that's how it works in mine ("2nd gen" vs "1st gen" pressure cooker). I think old 1st gen cookers would constantly emit steam, but doubt they make those anymore
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I don't think anything is supposed to come out of the pressure regulator unless you are above the max temperature. In other words, I think it's supposed to be a safety outlet. At least that's how it works in mine ("2nd gen" vs "1st gen" pressure cooker). I think old 1st gen cookers would constantly emit steam, but doubt they make those anymore
I figured it out. I just wasn't patient enough and was getting worried too soon. I kept it at higher heat longer, and after a while, I heard a hiss and saw some steam coming out regulator. I turned the burner down to "2" on my stove, and it continued at a steady pace. Works great now!
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Guys, I just bought the instant pot. I got it on Friday, now it is Monday night. Since then I made mashed potatoes, brown rice, veggie soup, mashed sweet potato, and vegetarian thai curry with potato, carrots, eggplant, and tofu. I cannot believe how fast and easy cooking is now with this awesome machine. If you are even on the fence, hop off and buy the darn thing. I bought mine, the 6 quart, from Wayfair for $117. Free shipping and no tax. So happy...
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Guys, I just bought the instant pot. I got it on Friday, now it is Monday night. Since then I made mashed potatoes, brown rice, veggie soup, mashed sweet potato, and vegetarian thai curry with potato, carrots, eggplant, and tofu. I cannot believe how fast and easy cooking is now with this awesome machine. If you are even on the fence, hop off and buy the darn thing. I bought mine, the 6 quart, from Wayfair for $117. Free shipping and no tax. So happy...
Are you a vegetarian? I'm glad you like the cooker but imo it's sort of wasted on vegetables (which don't typically hold up under pressure or don't benefit from it). The most beneficial vegetarian dish would be legumes I guess (don't need to soak anymore)
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Another vote for an Instant Pot!
We're mainly vegetarian and do tons of chilis and other bean dishes. Steel cut oatmeal in minutes for breakfast. Had my lentil sloppy joes in the slow cooker function utilizing lentils that had been precooked using the pressure cooker function. LOVE the sauté function so I don't have to get another pot dirty. Haven't used the yogurt function yet...I think that I don't want to admit that my Cuisinart yogurt maker was a colossal waste of money...
For what it's worth, I got my IP on Craigslist. $50, barely used.
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I'm glad you like the cooker but imo it's sort of wasted on vegetables (which don't typically hold up under pressure or don't benefit from it). The most beneficial vegetarian dish would be legumes I guess (don't need to soak anymore)
Artichokes do really well in the pressure cooker, especially the large ones.
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We just moved into a real dump of a house that we are going to rehab. I now have no stove and no dishwasher. I bought an InstantPot a couple of weeks ago and WOW I'm in love! I am having such fun. It is a bit of a learning curve. If you get one follow the manufacturer's encouragement and read the entire booklet that comes with the pressure cooker. I didn't. I should have. Thankfully I didn't ruin it and I did eventually read as directed.
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Guys, I just bought the instant pot. I got it on Friday, now it is Monday night. Since then I made mashed potatoes, brown rice, veggie soup, mashed sweet potato, and vegetarian thai curry with potato, carrots, eggplant, and tofu. I cannot believe how fast and easy cooking is now with this awesome machine. If you are even on the fence, hop off and buy the darn thing. I bought mine, the 6 quart, from Wayfair for $117. Free shipping and no tax. So happy...
Are you a vegetarian? I'm glad you like the cooker but imo it's sort of wasted on vegetables (which don't typically hold up under pressure or don't benefit from it). The most beneficial vegetarian dish would be legumes I guess (don't need to soak anymore)
I'm going to disagree: We've had great results with the pressure cooker and vegetables. As simple as sauteing in fat and and cooking under pressure for a short amount of time. Not only does it reduce the cooking time, we've found the flavors to be better pressure cooking then conventional method.
We're using an electric pressure cooker, so admittedly lower pressure then a stove-top model. Also with veggies, we never go above the recommended cooking time provided by the manufacturer, and sometimes go less.
As for the better flavor (assuming you don't over cook), my understanding is that under high heat and pressure, you get new effects happening, including the maillard reaction (http://modernistcuisine.com/2013/03/the-maillard-reaction/) which you wouldn't for normal water based methods, and that can increase the flavor of veggies and other things.
The important thing about the Maillard reaction isn’t the color—, it’s the flavors and aromas. Indeed, it should be called “the flavor reaction,” not the “browning reaction.” The molecules it produces provide the potent aromas responsible for the characteristic smells of roasting, baking, and frying.
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The Maillard reaction, or its absence, distinguishes the flavors of boiled, poached, or steamed foods from the flavors of the same foods that have been grilled, roasted, or otherwise cooked at temperatures high enough to dehydrate the surface rapidly —in other words, at temperatures above the boiling point of water. These two factors, dryness and temperature, are the key controls for the rate of the Maillard reaction.
Temperatures need to be high to bring about the Maillard reaction, but as long as the food is very wet, its temperature won’t climb above the boiling point of water. At atmospheric pressure, only high-heat cooking techniques can dry out the food enough to raise the temperature sufficiently. It’s not the water that stops the reaction, but rather the low boiling point at normal, sea-level pressure. In the sealed environment of a pressure cooker, the Maillard reaction can,— and does—, occur. This is something we exploit when making soups, like in our Caramelized Carrot Soup, or purees, like the broccoli puree in our Brassicas recipe. Adding baking soda to the pressure cooker raises the food’s pH (making it more alkaline), which also helps.
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I'm going to disagree: We've had great results with the pressure cooker and vegetables. As simple as sauteing in fat and and cooking under pressure for a short amount of time. Not only does it reduce the cooking time, we've found the flavors to be better pressure cooking then conventional method.
By the time I saute my vegetables in fat, they are done. Maybe you guys have some fancy type vegetables that are really tough.
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As for the better flavor (assuming you don't over cook), my understanding is that under high heat and pressure, you get new effects happening, including the maillard reaction (http://modernistcuisine.com/2013/03/the-maillard-reaction/) which you wouldn't for normal water based methods, and that can increase the flavor of veggies and other things.
The important thing about the Maillard reaction isn’t the color—, it’s the flavors and aromas. Indeed, it should be called “the flavor reaction,” not the “browning reaction.” The molecules it produces provide the potent aromas responsible for the characteristic smells of roasting, baking, and frying.
...
The Maillard reaction, or its absence, distinguishes the flavors of boiled, poached, or steamed foods from the flavors of the same foods that have been grilled, roasted, or otherwise cooked at temperatures high enough to dehydrate the surface rapidly —in other words, at temperatures above the boiling point of water. These two factors, dryness and temperature, are the key controls for the rate of the Maillard reaction.
Temperatures need to be high to bring about the Maillard reaction, but as long as the food is very wet, its temperature won’t climb above the boiling point of water. At atmospheric pressure, only high-heat cooking techniques can dry out the food enough to raise the temperature sufficiently. It’s not the water that stops the reaction, but rather the low boiling point at normal, sea-level pressure. In the sealed environment of a pressure cooker, the Maillard reaction can,— and does—, occur. This is something we exploit when making soups, like in our Caramelized Carrot Soup, or purees, like the broccoli puree in our Brassicas recipe. Adding baking soda to the pressure cooker raises the food’s pH (making it more alkaline), which also helps.
Very interesting! I knew the pressure cooked foods seemed more savory than usual!
About how much baking soda do you add?
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For anyone that was waiting for price drop, the Instant Pot on sale on Amazon for $78.50 for 12 more hours.
http://smile.amazon.com/dp/B00FLYWNYQ/ref=wl_it_dp_o_pC_nS_ttl?_encoding=UTF8&colid=N1TC52IHEYXU&coliid=I1BT2PJ6NA52PR
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Guys, I just read this thread and I am STILL on the fence. Amazon is having an incredible sale on it (as was just pointed out) and I am so tempted. But.
A couple things
-This feels like a gadget. I hate gadgets. Ex- I resisted a garlic press for years. I finally got one, and enjoyed not having to mince garlic manually. But it broke after 2 months. So now I am back to mincing, but now I know I COULD have a garlic press. It has made me a consumer sucka
-Isn't this kind of a "muscle over motor" type situation?
-Is the liner heavy? I have an awful time washing my crock liner because my arms get exhausted
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Guys, I just read this thread and I am STILL on the fence. Amazon is having an incredible sale on it (as was just pointed out) and I am so tempted. But.
A couple things
-This feels like a gadget. I hate gadgets. Ex- I resisted a garlic press for years. I finally got one, and enjoyed not having to mince garlic manually. But it broke after 2 months. So now I am back to mincing, but now I know I COULD have a garlic press. It has made me a consumer sucka
-Isn't this kind of a "muscle over motor" type situation?
-Is the liner heavy? I have an awful time washing my crock liner because my arms get exhausted
You can mince your garlic without a garlic press, but you can't pressure cook your food without a pressure cooker. At $78.50, you can probably sell the Instant Pot back on ebay if you later decide pressure cooking is not for you. I use mine 3-4 times a week.
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The inner pot is quality stainless steel, substantial but not heavy like a ceramic slow cooker liner pot. It can be used on a gas or electric stove top to keep food warm; I have an extra inner pot to then make rice or steam vegetables to serve with a meal. (It does not work on induction unless you have a plate for non-compatible pans, but I have not tried this.)
The Instant Pot is the most versatile small appliance I know of; it can replace a slow cooker, rice cooker, & popcorn popper in addition to being a quality pressure cooker, extra pot to sauté in or keep food warm, make porridge, or incubate yogurt.
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Guys, I just read this thread and I am STILL on the fence. Amazon is having an incredible sale on it (as was just pointed out) and I am so tempted. But.
A couple things
-This feels like a gadget. I hate gadgets. Ex- I resisted a garlic press for years. I finally got one, and enjoyed not having to mince garlic manually. But it broke after 2 months. So now I am back to mincing, but now I know I COULD have a garlic press. It has made me a consumer sucka
-Isn't this kind of a "muscle over motor" type situation?
-Is the liner heavy? I have an awful time washing my crock liner because my arms get exhausted
You can mince your garlic without a garlic press, but you can't pressure cook your food without a pressure cooker. At $78.50, you can probably sell the Instant Pot back on ebay if you later decide pressure cooking is not for you. I use mine 3-4 times a week.
Most persuasive argument yet... I love being able to undo "mistakes"!
I'm leaning toward yes so far. Our current rental is... well, the stove is crooked, the burner coils only make contact on one side, and generally it's just annoying to cook on. To think... I could purchase my own flat surface for cooking =P
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+1 on the Instant pot. I recently purchased mine after this thread. I have only used it once, but I am beyond excited for all the possibilities. I'm I allowed to say I LOVE it yet, since I have only used it once??!? Definitely worth the money ($100+) and this price of $78.50, WOW! I say go for it, if you don't like it, you can sell it on Craigslist, or even in the Mustachian Marketplace. (I LOVE MY INSTANT POT).. :P
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NOOOOOOOOOOO.
I had just decided, okay, let's do it! And I go to Amazon. DEAL SOLD OUT.
UGHHHHHHHHHHHHH
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NOOOOOOOOOOO.
I had just decided, okay, let's do it! And I go to Amazon. DEAL SOLD OUT.
UGHHHHHHHHHHHHH
I just did the same thing.....now I'm waiting for another sale.
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NOOOOOOOOOOO.
I had just decided, okay, let's do it! And I go to Amazon. DEAL SOLD OUT.
UGHHHHHHHHHHHHH
I just did the same thing.....now I'm waiting for another sale.
I only saw a time counter, nothing about % sold like some of the other deals. That makes me mad. I thought I had time!
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NOOOOOOOOOOO.
I had just decided, okay, let's do it! And I go to Amazon. DEAL SOLD OUT.
UGHHHHHHHHHHHHH
I just did the same thing.....now I'm waiting for another sale.
I only saw a time counter, nothing about % sold like some of the other deals. That makes me mad. I thought I had time!
I just checked at Walmart, because I heard the instant pot was part of their cyber Monday deals, and they are on sale now for 78.50.
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NOOOOOOOOOOO.
I had just decided, okay, let's do it! And I go to Amazon. DEAL SOLD OUT.
UGHHHHHHHHHHHHH
I just did the same thing.....now I'm waiting for another sale.
Feeling better I pulled the trigger early, and it should be here Tuesday.
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NOOOOOOOOOOO.
I had just decided, okay, let's do it! And I go to Amazon. DEAL SOLD OUT.
UGHHHHHHHHHHHHH
I just did the same thing.....now I'm waiting for another sale.
I only saw a time counter, nothing about % sold like some of the other deals. That makes me mad. I thought I had time!
I just checked at Walmart, because I heard the instant pot was part of their cyber Monday deals, and they are on sale now for 78.50.
After much debating and wringing of hands, I did the Walmart deal. I'll only get 1% instead of my nice 3% amazon back, but I think I'll live. Let's hope this is good for my daily life, but also doesn't obliterate my regular cooking skills!
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NOOOOOOOOOOO.
I had just decided, okay, let's do it! And I go to Amazon. DEAL SOLD OUT.
UGHHHHHHHHHHHHH
I just did the same thing.....now I'm waiting for another sale.
I only saw a time counter, nothing about % sold like some of the other deals. That makes me mad. I thought I had time!
I just checked at Walmart, because I heard the instant pot was part of their cyber Monday deals, and they are on sale now for 78.50.
After much debating and wringing of hands, I did the Walmart deal. I'll only get 1% instead of my nice 3% amazon back, but I think I'll live. Let's hope this is good for my daily life, but also doesn't obliterate my regular cooking skills!
I don't see how you can go wrong...you're still saving a shitload by not eating out.
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NOOOOOOOOOOO.
I had just decided, okay, let's do it! And I go to Amazon. DEAL SOLD OUT.
UGHHHHHHHHHHHHH
I just did the same thing.....now I'm waiting for another sale.
I only saw a time counter, nothing about % sold like some of the other deals. That makes me mad. I thought I had time!
I just checked at Walmart, because I heard the instant pot was part of their cyber Monday deals, and they are on sale now for 78.50.
After much debating and wringing of hands, I did the Walmart deal. I'll only get 1% instead of my nice 3% amazon back, but I think I'll live. Let's hope this is good for my daily life, but also doesn't obliterate my regular cooking skills!
I don't see how you can go wrong...you're still saving a shitload by not eating out.
But I already don't go out to eat. Having or not having the InstantPot won't change that.
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But I already don't go out to eat. Having or not having the InstantPot won't change that.
Ha...I'd still use that as my justification...since you're already doing better than 95% of America. But, you could also argue that you're going to be spending less time cooking and have more time for productive things. Boom. $80 paid for in a few months.
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But I already don't go out to eat. Having or not having the InstantPot won't change that.
Ha...I'd still use that as my justification...since you're already doing better than 95% of America. But, you could also argue that you're going to be spending less time cooking and have more time for productive things.
Well, that's my hope. As it stands now, it goes like this:
We cook all meals at home (both of us primarily at home most days). I cook most of the time, but if I've spent a bunch of time cooking and cleaning that day, DH wants to help. Admirable, but he works full time and is doing a full time masters. So my hope is this will make it easier for ME to cook, so that I don't get whiny and DH doesn't feel bad and want to take a shift, so it takes a household task of his plate (so to speak).
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I grabbed that Amazon one, should be here in a few days. Anyone have a favorite site for pressure cooker recipes?
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Well, that's my hope. As it stands now, it goes like this:
We cook all meals at home (both of us primarily at home most days). I cook most of the time, but if I've spent a bunch of time cooking and cleaning that day, DH wants to help. Admirable, but he works full time and is doing a full time masters. So my hope is this will make it easier for ME to cook, so that I don't get whiny and DH doesn't feel bad and want to take a shift, so it takes a household task of his plate (so to speak).
I like my pressure cooker because I can get everything prepared quickly, then forget about it while the food is cooking. This frees up time for other activities: other food preparation, household chores, or even going out for a walk -- and I don't have to worry about the meal. The timer will auto-shut the pressure for slow release and keep the food warm until I'm ready to dine. I'm using the Cuisinart, but I assume the Instant Pot works in pretty much the same way.
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I went in on the walmart insta pot deal (thanks to the above poster). It looks like MMM is helping my BF shopping spree. My excuse is that I moved, but there's probably some lifestyle inflation here.
I'm hoping to make more legumes, and have been lazy making them on the stovepot. But the fact you can put it dried chickpeas or lentils in the insta pot and then have them ready is pretty enticing. I also hope to cook more south asian legume dishes like dahl and chickpea curry.
Having a one pot machine which cuts down on prep and cook time sounds like a winner.
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Anyone have a favorite site for pressure cooker recipes?
http://www.hippressurecooking.com
http://dadcooksdinner.com/pressure-cooker-recipe-index/
http://missvickie.com
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Picked up this one
Instant Pot IPLUX60 Stainless Steel 6Quart 6in1 MultiFunctional Pressure Cooker
on the Wal-Mart deal. I've been a slow-cooker fan for years, hoping pressure cooking will improve my game!
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I too got one. Looking forward to cooking with it.
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NOOOOOOOOOOO.
I had just decided, okay, let's do it! And I go to Amazon. DEAL SOLD OUT.
UGHHHHHHHHHHHHH
I just did the same thing.....now I'm waiting for another sale.
I only saw a time counter, nothing about % sold like some of the other deals. That makes me mad. I thought I had time!
I just checked at Walmart, because I heard the instant pot was part of their cyber Monday deals, and they are on sale now for 78.50.
After much debating and wringing of hands, I did the Walmart deal. I'll only get 1% instead of my nice 3% amazon back, but I think I'll live. Let's hope this is good for my daily life, but also doesn't obliterate my regular cooking skills!
Which card are you using? I know Discover regularly has 5% back for Walmart online if you go through their shopping portal. Chase has a similar portal but I'm not sure what the percent it. I bet other banks have similar portals.
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Just bought one on 'zon. Following.
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Obligatory: http://earlyretirementextreme.com/a-tribute-to-my-pressure-cooker.html
By the way, I've never had good luck with frozen meat in my pressure cooker. Always turns out tough no matter how long I cook it. Anyone else notice same/different? Maybe I'm doing something wrong.
Works a charm on non-frozen roast, pork shoulder, etc.
I've had a Cuisinart electric pressure cooker for a few years now and use it regularly for rice. It cooks in 6-7 mins and tastes great.
I haven't had any luck with frozen meat either. Frozen chicken comes out tasting like ass.
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I was going to get the Walmart $79 (CDN ~$100) deal for the LUX, but then ended up seeing the DUO on sale on Amazon.ca for CDN $119. Seemed well worth it so I snagged it (plus it saves me the hassle of bringing it back across the border). It was out of stock by Saturday but we were still able to buy it and they will ship it when they get more stock.
It is now on for $149.95 - but oddly enough, I wasn't able to find this price by doing a search on amazon.ca - only through the product link I have on my order page. http://www.amazon.ca/gp/product/B00FLYWNYQ?psc=1&redirect=true&ref_=oh_aui_detailpage_o00_s00
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Reporting back - the Black Friday Amazon Instant Pot has been opened, cleaned and was just started with the chicken bones/scraps, water and a bit of vinegar to make stock/broth.
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Just made Chicken Noodle soup from a Costco rotisserie carcass. Easy, yummy and a big hit!
http://dadcooksdinner.com/2013/12/pressure-cooker-turkey-noodle-soup-with-vegetables.html/
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So far I'm really liking mine. I just had turkey and rice soup for lunch. I'm getting used to it still so I need to get a better plan together for using it more. So far I've made rice a few times, minestrone soup, a couple of batches of chicken soup, and now a batch of turkey soup. I have a frozen ham shank in the freezer leftover from Thanksgiving and will use that for beans and ham later. We normally use a lot of beans and buy organic, low sodium which can be costly, so we are hoping to make our own in the IP. Does anyone have a good IP recipe for beans and rice?
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We've done whole chickens from frozen twice now. They have to be fully submerged, but since these are old tough birds, that's what we do anyway. Then we shred the meat, dump the frame back in with veggies, and cook for 2 hours on high pressure to make some AWESOME broth. Soup then follows. I like this system. I can break the bones easily apart with my hand once they're done.
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glad i saw this thread; our manual/recipe guide said dry beans had to be cooked for 7-8 hours. Checked some online guides, looks like beans in 20-30 minutes :)
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Hmmmm....I am in a big time food rut so this is very tempting. I put this on my Amazon wish list.
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glad i saw this thread; our manual/recipe guide said dry beans had to be cooked for 7-8 hours. Checked some online guides, looks like beans in 20-30 minutes :)
It depends on how you like your beans. It's probably more like 40 minutes, but still awesome.
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have made two beans that both went well. Black eyed peas on NYD was 25 minutes and let sit in cooker for 2 hours; almost mushy they were so tender. Pinto beans were 25 minutes and took off the pressure right away. could have been a little longer but still very edible. Also did some chicken breast Teriyaki that turned out well. I think we did 40 minutes but could have gone on longer to make it a little more tender.
Might try a "wing" recipe. frozen chicken quarters, basically cooked in the pressure cooker, then soaked in milk then battered then roasted for crispiness, lastly tossed in a some sauce.
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Might try a "wing" recipe. frozen chicken quarters, basically cooked in the pressure cooker, then soaked in milk then battered then roasted for crispiness, lastly tossed in a some sauce.
I like the sound of your "wing" recipe and will have to give it a shot! good way to cook cheap chicken quarters.
I made bone-in pork chops last night. I cooked it a little less than instructed so it wouldn't reach the point of mushiness (family likes a bit of chewiness). Tossed in some water mixed with onion soup mix and it was delish. Took about 45 mins from start to finish though - heat up the pot, brown 2 sets of meat, add the liquid, bring up to pressure, cook, then quick release. Family was getting a wee bit impatient. I could cook it much faster on the stove, but the instant pot makes sure it is tender. I then used the leftover bones to make stock (with lots of veggies since there weren't many bones).
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Bought an electric pressure cooker a few months ago (Cuisinart CPC-600, $50 pre-owned but unused from Craig's List).
One of the best purchases of my life, especially combined with my farm share, which brings me fresh seasonal vegetables. Also my No Food Packaging challenge (http://forum.mrmoneymustache.com/share-your-badassity/no-food-packaging-challenge), which nearly eliminated food from boxes, bags, or other packages.
I tell myself I'll follow a recipe at some point, but so far I haven't needed one. All I do is wash vegetables, chop them, and put them in with beans or lentils, olive oil, garlic, onions, and whatever spices I feel like (usually just cayenne pepper). Then I add salt when I eat it. The flavors are deep, rich, and complex. The texture is like a stew that's cooked all day.
Every time the resulting stew is so good I eat it until stuffed. Since it's just vegetables and legumes so as best I can tell it's high in fiber, vitamins, and nutrition, I think stuffed means a healthy amount. The definition on my abs isn't changing so I'm not putting on weight.
The latest batch has French lentils, carrots, beets, broccoli, cabbage, onion, garlic, cayenne, radish, celeriac, and maybe a few other vegetables. How do I choose them? Whatever came from the farm. But I could just as well pick random vegetables from a store. So I haven't gotten bored because the vegetables change with the season. Other stews have included chard, squash, jalepeno, broccoli rabe, parsnips, collard greens, potato, cauliflower, celery, eggplant, red beans, black beans, black-eyed peas, mung beans, and I can't think of what else.
I never heard of some of these vegetables before, but I find out by tasting them after cooking. The only things pre-processed that's gone in are olive oil and dried spices. Everything else is whole vegetables. I get the lentils and olive oil from the bulk food store (bringing my own bags and bottle).
I put zero planning into any of it and it's among the most delicious, nutritious, fast-cooked food I've ever made. Seriously, I just chop random vegetables and combine them with legumes, oil, spices, and water. I only choose 9 minutes cooking time for lentils and 20 for beans (the instruction book's suggestions). Perfect every time.
I sometimes wonder if I'll ever get to recipes since everything comes out so good and changes with the seasons.
My recommendation if you're thinking about getting one: buy one and just start using it. I had no idea I'd use it this much or enjoy the food so much. I have only praise for my model.
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Just made Chicken Noodle soup from a Costco rotisserie carcass. Easy, yummy and a big hit!
http://dadcooksdinner.com/2013/12/pressure-cooker-turkey-noodle-soup-with-vegetables.html/
Thanks for the link to that. I used up a left over Costco rotisserie carcass that way as well. Super easy and great tasting soup.
We had no waste from the rotisserie chicken.
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this is great! Never want to cook on a pot or slow cooker again! made the 'wing' thing and it turned out well too. Made a bean soup from the water and rendered fat(from chicken quarters) in the pressure cooker that turned out excellent also.
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love my instant pot. best Christmas present ever. So far I've made: Kalua pork (nom nom paleo), creme brulee, risotto (2x), apple chicken thighs, hardboiled eggs, and a pot roast. fantastic appliance.
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Bought an electric pressure cooker a few months ago (Cuisinart CPC-600, $50 pre-owned but unused from Craig's List).
One of the best purchases of my life, especially combined with my farm share, which brings me fresh seasonal vegetables. Also my No Food Packaging challenge (http://forum.mrmoneymustache.com/share-your-badassity/no-food-packaging-challenge), which nearly eliminated food from boxes, bags, or other packages.
I tell myself I'll follow a recipe at some point, but so far I haven't needed one. All I do is wash vegetables, chop them, and put them in with beans or lentils, olive oil, garlic, onions, and whatever spices I feel like (usually just cayenne pepper). Then I add salt when I eat it. The flavors are deep, rich, and complex. The texture is like a stew that's cooked all day.
Every time the resulting stew is so good I eat it until stuffed. Since it's just vegetables and legumes so as best I can tell it's high in fiber, vitamins, and nutrition, I think stuffed means a healthy amount. The definition on my abs isn't changing so I'm not putting on weight.
The latest batch has French lentils, carrots, beets, broccoli, cabbage, onion, garlic, cayenne, radish, celeriac, and maybe a few other vegetables. How do I choose them? Whatever came from the farm. But I could just as well pick random vegetables from a store. So I haven't gotten bored because the vegetables change with the season. Other stews have included chard, squash, jalepeno, broccoli rabe, parsnips, collard greens, potato, cauliflower, celery, eggplant, red beans, black beans, black-eyed peas, mung beans, and I can't think of what else.
I never heard of some of these vegetables before, but I find out by tasting them after cooking. The only things pre-processed that's gone in are olive oil and dried spices. Everything else is whole vegetables. I get the lentils and olive oil from the bulk food store (bringing my own bags and bottle).
I put zero planning into any of it and it's among the most delicious, nutritious, fast-cooked food I've ever made. Seriously, I just chop random vegetables and combine them with legumes, oil, spices, and water. I only choose 9 minutes cooking time for lentils and 20 for beans (the instruction book's suggestions). Perfect every time.
I sometimes wonder if I'll ever get to recipes since everything comes out so good and changes with the seasons.
My recommendation if you're thinking about getting one: buy one and just start using it. I had no idea I'd use it this much or enjoy the food so much. I have only praise for my model.
Soooo I want to try this but I am afraid of screwing it up and wasting a ton of ingredients. Quick questions - do you cook the beans beforehand and then add everything (and then cook for additional time), or do you add everything at once and everything cooks together for the same time? Do you also soak beans overnight?
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Made ribs in the Instant Pot for the first time about a week ago. I did 20 minutes under high pressure for babyback ribs, and they were really good. Next time I think I'll do 20 minutes, open the pot and push the ribs down into the sauce and bring back up to pressure for another 10 minutes. Then they were finished on the grill just to get a bit of that char and make the sauce set up. Weeknight BBQ FTW!
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I made this chicken thighs and rice recipe (http://www.hippressurecooking.com/pressure-cooker-chicken-and-rice-one-pot-meal/) for dinner last night. It came out awesome, and it is a super flexible/versatile dish for seasoning.
This was the first time I pressure cooked skin-on chicken thighs. I REALLY love crispy skin and couldn't stand the thought of the soggy skin pressure cooking would cause. 10-15 minutes under the broiler while the rice was cooking made the skin crispy and helped this recipe get into my weekly busy dinner night rotation!
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Soooo I want to try this but I am afraid of screwing it up and wasting a ton of ingredients. Quick questions - do you cook the beans beforehand and then add everything (and then cook for additional time), or do you add everything at once and everything cooks together for the same time? Do you also soak beans overnight?
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You put in everything at once. Yes, you can go from dried beans to completely cooked in a very short time. I've read when cooking dry beans it's best to always use at least a tablespoon of oil with the liquid, to avoid the hazard of the beans popping up and clogging the pressure mechanism. I've done it that way for many years, and never had a problem. Best of luck!
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I'm pondering this, but am looking on Craiglist and other inexpensive sources and am not sure of how much of an investment I want to make up front. Should I be afraid of the "old-timey" models? Some of them need pressure regulators -- which I understand are easy to buy at a hardware store.
I once had a rice cooker (similar concept?) and hated it and got rid of it.
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Bought an electric pressure cooker a few months ago (Cuisinart CPC-600, $50 pre-owned but unused from Craig's List).
One of the best purchases of my life, especially combined with my farm share, which brings me fresh seasonal vegetables. Also my No Food Packaging challenge (http://forum.mrmoneymustache.com/share-your-badassity/no-food-packaging-challenge), which nearly eliminated food from boxes, bags, or other packages.
I tell myself I'll follow a recipe at some point, but so far I haven't needed one. All I do is wash vegetables, chop them, and put them in with beans or lentils, olive oil, garlic, onions, and whatever spices I feel like (usually just cayenne pepper). Then I add salt when I eat it. The flavors are deep, rich, and complex. The texture is like a stew that's cooked all day.
Every time the resulting stew is so good I eat it until stuffed. Since it's just vegetables and legumes so as best I can tell it's high in fiber, vitamins, and nutrition, I think stuffed means a healthy amount. The definition on my abs isn't changing so I'm not putting on weight.
The latest batch has French lentils, carrots, beets, broccoli, cabbage, onion, garlic, cayenne, radish, celeriac, and maybe a few other vegetables. How do I choose them? Whatever came from the farm. But I could just as well pick random vegetables from a store. So I haven't gotten bored because the vegetables change with the season. Other stews have included chard, squash, jalepeno, broccoli rabe, parsnips, collard greens, potato, cauliflower, celery, eggplant, red beans, black beans, black-eyed peas, mung beans, and I can't think of what else.
I never heard of some of these vegetables before, but I find out by tasting them after cooking. The only things pre-processed that's gone in are olive oil and dried spices. Everything else is whole vegetables. I get the lentils and olive oil from the bulk food store (bringing my own bags and bottle).
I put zero planning into any of it and it's among the most delicious, nutritious, fast-cooked food I've ever made. Seriously, I just chop random vegetables and combine them with legumes, oil, spices, and water. I only choose 9 minutes cooking time for lentils and 20 for beans (the instruction book's suggestions). Perfect every time.
I sometimes wonder if I'll ever get to recipes since everything comes out so good and changes with the seasons.
My recommendation if you're thinking about getting one: buy one and just start using it. I had no idea I'd use it this much or enjoy the food so much. I have only praise for my model.
Soooo I want to try this but I am afraid of screwing it up and wasting a ton of ingredients. Quick questions - do you cook the beans beforehand and then add everything (and then cook for additional time), or do you add everything at once and everything cooks together for the same time? Do you also soak beans overnight?
Repeating frompa's response: everything at once. I haven't messed anything up and the only instruction I'm using is the guide that came with the pressure cooker that tells me how long the legumes take. The vegetables cook along the way and become part of the stew, as if you stewed it all together all day. If I put in too much water it becomes more like a soup. Too little water and it's more like a porridge.
If you soak the beans overnight you pressure cook them about five minutes less.
I had no experience before I bought the thing and no one showed me how to use it beyond a couple videos online.
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Perfect, thanks everyone. Will experiment with this later on this week! Going to try risotto tonight.
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I've been using my instant pot at least several times a week. I did find I have to vary my cooking technique a little and use my stovetop and oven sometimes to vary the tastes and textures for my family. My absolute most favorite thing to make is stock. I've always bought them - and at $1.29-$1.99 a package, it adds up fast! I love that i am using more veggies and less salt.
Last week I started pressure cooking dried chickpeas. They are among my favorite snacks and I love that I don't have any of the salt that is in the canned stuff. I am perfectly happy eating them plain. I do find I have to cook them much longer than recommended to get a softer texture. I might also add some garlic cloves next time for some additional flavor.
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I do chickpeas in mine, too. I think mine is a Fagan pressure cooker. I usually soak them for the morning first which shortens the time. I love to think about how much gas I am saving!
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I put the beans in the Instant Pot stainless steel bowl and cover them with cold water plus 2-3 inches. I set the Instant Pot on Manual, clicking the Adjust button within 30 seconds to raise the temperature to high. As you know, do not put the pressure cooker lid on at this point. I do not cover at all, but some people have a glass lid with their Instant Pot or an old pan or Corning Ware lid that would fit if you want to speed the boil.
After the water comes to a boil, I turn the Instant Pot (IP) off (timing is not critical, I've been off by 5 minutes on this with no problem). I lay the Pressure Cooker lid on top, at an bit of an angle, to hold heat (the optional lid would work quite well for this, too). Then I wait an hour. After that hour of "Quick Soak", I drain the beans in a colander, put them back in the IP stainless steel bowl, cover them again with water (cold) plus about a 3 inch depth and usually I add a bay leaf at this point. Next, I secure the IP pressure cooker lid, turn the toggle to the closed (pressure) position, and begin to pressure cook the beans using the Manual button and time setting. I set Garbanzo beans at 25 minutes, Adzuki at 16 min, Pintos at 25. I always Natural Pressure release beans (NPR).....well, at least for 15 minutes (I am not always as patient as I ought to be. Otherwise you get a cloggy mess. My times are longer than most, I think, because I'd rather have my beans really tender than to have to repressurize and cook another 2 minutes (again, a patience issue!). I recall one time the beans were not "quite" done to my taste and I just set "saute" to medium and simmered them for another 10 min in the pot.
So my way takes longer overall than cooking from dry, and my times are longer than the guidelines that come with the IP. But my beans are really tender. BTW: they freeze wonderfully in baggies, portion sized for future recipes. My tip: as you find times that work for you, write them down in your IP booklet for future reference.
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love my instant pot. best Christmas present ever. So far I've made: Kalua pork (nom nom paleo), creme brulee, risotto (2x), apple chicken thighs, hardboiled eggs, and a pot roast. fantastic appliance.
Can you please share your creme brulee recipe? I would love to try that in my IP.
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I made refried beans in my IP yesterday loosely following this recipe and they came out amazing.
http://www.seriouseats.com/recipes/2014/04/perfect-refried-beans.html
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I finally bought a pressure cooker (regular stove-top model) as a holiday present for us, and it's a great tool. So far, it's been most useful for cooking beans. Where I used to have to cook some types of beans for hours and hours, until they were waterlogged and tasteless yet sometimes not even fully cooked, I now can throw beans and water plus a little oil (or start by sautéing some onions etc. and then adding the beans and water) into the pot, crank it up, cook for 10-15 minutes, cool down for another 15 minutes, and they are DONE. And they taste better. I've done them both presoaked and not -- works either way.
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I am still having good luck using my InstaPot for rice...either white or brown...using the proportions that are in the little InstaPot cookbook that came with it. The good thing besides the rice never boiling over is that you have that "Keep Warm" function. We fed the kids early last night, but had to wait for another family member who was at a school conference. Kept the rest of the rice on "Keep Warm" and she got home on a frigid night to nice, warm rice to go with the rest of her meal. And it didn't dry out.
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Check out this thread for a video of me preparing a vegetable stew in under twenty minutes with a pressure cooker: http://forum.mrmoneymustache.com/share-your-badassity/video-my-20-minute-vegetable-stew!-six-delicious-nutritious-meals-maybe-$10 (http://forum.mrmoneymustache.com/share-your-badassity/video-my-20-minute-vegetable-stew!-six-delicious-nutritious-meals-maybe-$10). I'd write more, but I just cross-posted in another pressure-cooker thread and don't want to post too many times.
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Saw a big pressure canner at the thrift store. I was a bit tempted but held off considering we don't can very much (freeze mostly). FYI ,the local term for the pressure weight is a "jiggler" and is held behind the counter lest someone make off with it to replace a missing one!
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Check out this thread for a video of me preparing a vegetable stew in under twenty minutes with a pressure cooker: http://forum.mrmoneymustache.com/share-your-badassity/video-my-20-minute-vegetable-stew!-six-delicious-nutritious-meals-maybe-$10 (http://forum.mrmoneymustache.com/share-your-badassity/video-my-20-minute-vegetable-stew!-six-delicious-nutritious-meals-maybe-$10). I'd write more, but I just cross-posted in another pressure-cooker thread and don't want to post too many times.
Pro tip: Never start off a video by saying "I didn't do any prep."
PS: Video was 40 minutes.
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Pro tip: Never start off a video by saying "I didn't do any prep."
Why not?
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Pro tip: Never start off a video by saying "I didn't do any prep."
Why not?
It think it's just a subtle way of getting us to watch the video. But anyways, he talks to the camera a lot during the video so of course it's going to be longer than the 20 min it is normally
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Pro tip: Never start off a video by saying "I didn't do any prep."
Why not?
Well for one, no one's going to watch a 40 minute video demonstrating a simple recipe when there's no editing or high production value in general. The only way I could think people would stick around is if Louis CK were telling jokes during the boring prep parts.
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Pro tip: Never start off a video by saying "I didn't do any prep."
Why not?
Well for one, no one's going to watch a 40 minute video demonstrating a simple recipe when there's no editing or high production value in general. The only way I could think people would stick around is if Louis CK were telling jokes during the boring prep parts.
Maybe I should have clarified, my goal was to show how fast and easily you can cook a cheap, delicious meal with a pressure cooker -- no recipe needed -- not to entertain. Actually, six delicious, nutritious meals at once.
I still don't understand why not to say I didn't prep.
I guess I made a video I had seen years before. If I had seen a video like that earlier, I would have bought a pressure cooker and joined a CSA earlier, making me healthier and wealthier earlier. Then I'd watch it again to see how to use them. That was my goal.
I can't compete with Louis CK on humor or entertainment, and there are plenty of his videos online anyway.
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It's on sale again for $69 for Cyber Monday:
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00FLYWNYQ/
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Ok, I got the good cyber Monday deal! I'm telling myself that I was already replacing my crock pot due to breakage anyway. I used to have a pressure cooker and loved it, but tossed it due to making broth and setting it in the garage to cool, only I forgot about it and found it a year later. I was too scared to open it so I chucked it in the garbage. The pan was probably not the festering sludge of bacteria that I thought that it had become, it was sealed like a canning jar, but I was too squeamish about it. Oh well. I forgive myself. I had used that pressure cooker for 20 years. Looking forward to giving the instant pot a go.
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are these really worth it... every time i see the deal i wonder.
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are these really worth it... every time i see the deal i wonder.
I bought it, we make a lot of crock pot meals.
I'm curious to try some of the settings though. I'm most excited about the ability to not have to clean as many dishes that people say, so I guess we'll see.
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are these really worth it... every time i see the deal i wonder.
I think so. I actually bought a second one on Black Friday because mine gets used a few times per week, and I've frequently wanted a second liner ($30), and often wish for a second pot as well, so I can do, say, curry in one and rice in the other. With the Black Friday deal, I took the plunge and have two identical ones, so I now have a spare liner when we're storing leftovers in the fridge in the first one. Depends on your definition of "worth it" but I love being able to push a button and go walk the dog or go to the stable and come back to perfectly cooked food.
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i took the plunge, i use a crock pot alot and a smoker as well.
I eat a semi paleo diet called 4 hour body. are there any good recipes where i can take frozen meat and throw it in?
Also how good is it at dried beans without soaking.
planning on having kids next year figure this may save some headaches if i dont have to thaw things when we forget about dinner.
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All this talk about pressure cookers and slow cookers and I just have to chime in about my favorite cooking "appliance"...the thermal cooker. You can use it for anything that you would a pressure or slow cooker, but I find it much easier to use and much more "mustachian".
You only need to cook it on the stove for about 10-15 minutes or so depending on what you're cooking, and then just slip the pot into the outer insulated container and then let it cook the rest of the way like you would a slow cooker. Because you aren't adding any more additional heat, it is impossible to burn anything with it. That also makes clean up much easier since you never have a ring around you pot of burned on mess like you get with a slow cooker.
I use it to cook all sorts of things like soups and stews and I've even replaced my rice cooker with it since it cooks perfect rice every time with no burned rice at the bottom.
The only thing to keep in mind when using it is since there is no evaporating taking place, always use a little less liquid than what the recipe calls for.
This method of cooking saves energy, money, and makes great meals. It is also great in the summer time when you don't want to have the stove running for long periods of time. It's great too for taking to other places or potluck dinners since you don't need to depend on having a wall outlet or needing to plug in. It'll be ready and hot whenever you need it on the go.
There are lots of different Thermal Cookers on Amazon, I bought the Thermos brand one since it is a recognizable brand and it works great. It'll keep it piping hot for 8 hours easily.
https://www.amazon.com/Thermos-Thermal-Cooker-RPC-4500-Thermo/dp/B002QHZG3G/ref=sr_1_11/156-8620359-6865726?ie=UTF8&qid=1480434543&sr=8-11&keywords=thermal+cooker (https://www.amazon.com/Thermos-Thermal-Cooker-RPC-4500-Thermo/dp/B002QHZG3G/ref=sr_1_11/156-8620359-6865726?ie=UTF8&qid=1480434543&sr=8-11&keywords=thermal+cooker)
Anyway, just thought I'd throw that out there for those that have never heard of thermal cooking before.
PS. I am in no way affiliated with any thermal cooker brand. I just love the product and method of cooking.
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A huge advantage of a pressure cooker is that it cooks fast, I'm not sure how a stovetop cooker is going to be either any more efficient energywise or timewise?
It's nearly guaranteed to be less efficient energy wise and probably is much slower, too.
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I don't know if anybody has mentioned it, but a great cookbook I enjoy is "Cooking Under Pressure" by Lorna Sass.
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any good websites. i havent ever bought a cookbook and dont really plan to.
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A huge advantage of a pressure cooker is that it cooks fast, I'm not sure how a stovetop cooker is going to be either any more efficient energywise or timewise?
It's nearly guaranteed to be less efficient energy wise and probably is much slower, too.
Was this in response to the thermal cooker or just other stove top cookers in general?
The thermal cooker is more energy efficient because you only need to cook it until it boils. That means that thermal cookers even beat out the fastest pressure cookers (from an energy spent perspective) since you aren't adding heat during the entire cooking process. You only need to cook it for about 10 minutes and then you remove it from its cooking source and place it in an insulated vacuum to finish the cooking process. It might not be faster overall timewise before you can actually eat it, but it is definitely more energy efficient. The added benefit is that, like slow cooking, you can come home at the end of the day to a fully prepared meal from a thermal cooker without worrying that it will be burned or overcooked.
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any good websites. i havent ever bought a cookbook and dont really plan to.
The nomnompaleo blogger is a huge Instant Pot fan and has lots of recipes there.
Yes, it will cook beans from dried no problem.
Yes, you can cook meat from frozen. Sometimes I just throw in frozen chicken breasts with some stock and chile sauce, salt and cumin. Pressure cook ~20 minutes and have a good taco filling. Haven't tried with larger cuts of meat, but I've been known to make chili tossing in dried beans, frozen hunk of ground beef, tomato onion and regular seasonings and then breaking up the meat after pressure cooking.
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The thermal cooker is more energy efficient because you only need to cook it until it boils. That means that thermal cookers even beat out the fastest pressure cookers (from an energy spent perspective) since you aren't adding heat during the entire cooking process. You only need to cook it for about 10 minutes and then you remove it from its cooking source and place it in an insulated vacuum to finish the cooking process. It might not be faster overall timewise before you can actually eat it, but it is definitely more energy efficient. The added benefit is that, like slow cooking, you can come home at the end of the day to a fully prepared meal from a thermal cooker without worrying that it will be burned or overcooked.
I highly doubt most stove --> thermal cooker heat transfers are very efficient. A large percentage of the heat there gets lost, if you don't believe me put your hand on the stove after you turn it off sometime ;)
If you had a kill-a-watt you could measure, too, and I suspect you'd find that while a stove might run less, any electric stove uses a ton more energy than a pressure cooker. Quick googling suggests that a stove uses about 1.5x as much energy as a pressure cooker max does, so running the pressure cooker seems likely to be much less energy overall unless you run it for a loong time.
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I ordered a faberware pressure cooker from walmart.com on thanksgiving and looking forward to receive it soon so I can join the club.
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A huge advantage of a pressure cooker is that it cooks fast, I'm not sure how a stovetop cooker is going to be either any more efficient energywise or timewise?
It's nearly guaranteed to be less efficient energy wise and probably is much slower, too.
Was this in response to the thermal cooker or just other stove top cookers in general?
The thermal cooker is more energy efficient because you only need to cook it until it boils. That means that thermal cookers even beat out the fastest pressure cookers (from an energy spent perspective) since you aren't adding heat during the entire cooking process. You only need to cook it for about 10 minutes and then you remove it from its cooking source and place it in an insulated vacuum to finish the cooking process. It might not be faster overall timewise before you can actually eat it, but it is definitely more energy efficient. The added benefit is that, like slow cooking, you can come home at the end of the day to a fully prepared meal from a thermal cooker without worrying that it will be burned or overcooked.
You can also just take any pressure cooker off the stove and wrap it in insulation (a blanket) and get the same effect
If I didn't already have a regular pressure cooker, I'd get the instant pot deal in a second. I like the versatility of my cooker, but don't like monitoring the pressure - it's so efficient that my minimum flame is usually high enough to over pressure and I have to alternate between off and on for long recipes. Instant pot is set and forget
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I highly doubt most stove --> thermal cooker heat transfers are very efficient. A large percentage of the heat there gets lost, if you don't believe me put your hand on the stove after you turn it off sometime ;)
If you had a kill-a-watt you could measure, too, and I suspect you'd find that while a stove might run less, any electric stove uses a ton more energy than a pressure cooker. Quick googling suggests that a stove uses about 1.5x as much energy as a pressure cooker max does, so running the pressure cooker seems likely to be much less energy overall unless you run it for a loong time.
Most plugin-electric pressure cookers use about 800-1500 watts of electricity during use. Most medium and small stove top burners are also within that range (the larger burners use much more). It doesn't matter whether the heat is transferred in full to the pot or not. What matters most is how long you are using that amount of electricity for. I am assuming (I could be wrong) that you're using the pressure cooker on average for about 20 minutes to cook a meal. Certainly it is dependant on the food you're cooking and some things may certainly be more efficient to cook in a plugin pressure cooker. Strictly steaming vegetables, for example, only take a handful of minutes to cook in a pressure cooker and so may be better served with one. However, soups with whole grains and/or meats would take at least 20 minutes to cook with a pressure cooker in which case the thermal cooker would serve better.
I compare an electric stove with an electric pressure cooker because the comparison is easier, but gas stoves are much more efficient and so using a gas stove serves a thermal cooker better.
But, if the most amount of time I'm ever actually using a heating element with my thermal cooker is 10 minutes to a boil, then it is still a very energy efficient method of cooking that is on par with a pressure cooker for most recipes.
You can also just take any pressure cooker off the stove and wrap it in insulation (a blanket) and get the same effect
If I didn't already have a regular pressure cooker, I'd get the instant pot deal in a second. I like the versatility of my cooker, but don't like monitoring the pressure - it's so efficient that my minimum flame is usually high enough to over pressure and I have to alternate between off and on for long recipes. Instant pot is set and forget
You can't just wrap a pot in a blanket and expect it to continue to cook like a thermal cooker. Thermal cookers use vacuum insulation that lets virtually no heat escape. I can take a pot right off the stove and put it in the thermal container and it will be cool to the touch. If you attempt to wrap a pot in a blanket expecting it to thermal cook, then your food will quickly cool to room temperature and will not be safe to eat.
At any rate, I figured I'd just post some info on thermal cookers since most people have no idea about the benefits of them and how great they can be. Pressure cookers are great too (I used to run a website for pressure cookers).
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any good websites. i havent ever bought a cookbook and dont really plan to.
Bazillions, for example:
http://www.fagoramerica.com/my_fagor/recipe_library/pressure_cooker
http://www.hippressurecooking.com/pressure-cooker-recipes/
Plus don't forget the library if you don't want to buy cookbooks!
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any good websites. i havent ever bought a cookbook and dont really plan to.
Bazillions, for example:
http://www.fagoramerica.com/my_fagor/recipe_library/pressure_cooker
http://www.hippressurecooking.com/pressure-cooker-recipes/
Plus don't forget the library if you don't want to buy cookbooks!
thanks, library still requires going somewhere vs the internet which is in my pocket and in front of my face almost 100% of the time.
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All this talk about pressure cookers and slow cookers and I just have to chime in about my favorite cooking "appliance"...the thermal cooker. You can use it for anything that you would a pressure or slow cooker, but I find it much easier to use and much more "mustachian".
You only need to cook it on the stove for about 10-15 minutes or so depending on what you're cooking, and then just slip the pot into the outer insulated container and then let it cook the rest of the way like you would a slow cooker. Because you aren't adding any more additional heat, it is impossible to burn anything with it. That also makes clean up much easier since you never have a ring around you pot of burned on mess like you get with a slow cooker.
I use it to cook all sorts of things like soups and stews and I've even replaced my rice cooker with it since it cooks perfect rice every time with no burned rice at the bottom.
The only thing to keep in mind when using it is since there is no evaporating taking place, always use a little less liquid than what the recipe calls for.
This method of cooking saves energy, money, and makes great meals. It is also great in the summer time when you don't want to have the stove running for long periods of time. It's great too for taking to other places or potluck dinners since you don't need to depend on having a wall outlet or needing to plug in. It'll be ready and hot whenever you need it on the go.
There are lots of different Thermal Cookers on Amazon, I bought the Thermos brand one since it is a recognizable brand and it works great. It'll keep it piping hot for 8 hours easily.
https://www.amazon.com/Thermos-Thermal-Cooker-RPC-4500-Thermo/dp/B002QHZG3G/ref=sr_1_11/156-8620359-6865726?ie=UTF8&qid=1480434543&sr=8-11&keywords=thermal+cooker (https://www.amazon.com/Thermos-Thermal-Cooker-RPC-4500-Thermo/dp/B002QHZG3G/ref=sr_1_11/156-8620359-6865726?ie=UTF8&qid=1480434543&sr=8-11&keywords=thermal+cooker)
Anyway, just thought I'd throw that out there for those that have never heard of thermal cooking before.
PS. I am in no way affiliated with any thermal cooker brand. I just love the product and method of cooking.
thanks for the info. I have never heard of this before. Seems like something that might be good to use when camping. You could just heat up fixings for a stew for 10 mins on stove and then put it in the insulator and let it stew all day, right? Interesting. Can you do beans in it?
I LOVE my electric pressure cooker. It seems so much more efficient than my stove top, but perhaps that's just my perception. And maybe that's because only our large burner works on our stove and it only works on HIGH! Our kitchen heats up fast whenever I have to use that. I saw your post about energy use. thanks for the extra info.
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All this talk about pressure cookers and slow cookers and I just have to chime in about my favorite cooking "appliance"...the thermal cooker. You can use it for anything that you would a pressure or slow cooker, but I find it much easier to use and much more "mustachian".
You only need to cook it on the stove for about 10-15 minutes or so depending on what you're cooking, and then just slip the pot into the outer insulated container and then let it cook the rest of the way like you would a slow cooker. Because you aren't adding any more additional heat, it is impossible to burn anything with it. That also makes clean up much easier since you never have a ring around you pot of burned on mess like you get with a slow cooker.
I use it to cook all sorts of things like soups and stews and I've even replaced my rice cooker with it since it cooks perfect rice every time with no burned rice at the bottom.
The only thing to keep in mind when using it is since there is no evaporating taking place, always use a little less liquid than what the recipe calls for.
This method of cooking saves energy, money, and makes great meals. It is also great in the summer time when you don't want to have the stove running for long periods of time. It's great too for taking to other places or potluck dinners since you don't need to depend on having a wall outlet or needing to plug in. It'll be ready and hot whenever you need it on the go.
There are lots of different Thermal Cookers on Amazon, I bought the Thermos brand one since it is a recognizable brand and it works great. It'll keep it piping hot for 8 hours easily.
https://www.amazon.com/Thermos-Thermal-Cooker-RPC-4500-Thermo/dp/B002QHZG3G/ref=sr_1_11/156-8620359-6865726?ie=UTF8&qid=1480434543&sr=8-11&keywords=thermal+cooker (https://www.amazon.com/Thermos-Thermal-Cooker-RPC-4500-Thermo/dp/B002QHZG3G/ref=sr_1_11/156-8620359-6865726?ie=UTF8&qid=1480434543&sr=8-11&keywords=thermal+cooker)
Anyway, just thought I'd throw that out there for those that have never heard of thermal cooking before.
PS. I am in no way affiliated with any thermal cooker brand. I just love the product and method of cooking.
thanks for the info. I have never heard of this before. Seems like something that might be good to use when camping. You could just heat up fixings for a stew for 10 mins on stove and then put it in the insulator and let it stew all day, right? Interesting. Can you do beans in it?
I LOVE my electric pressure cooker. It seems so much more efficient than my stove top, but perhaps that's just my perception. And maybe that's because only our large burner works on our stove and it only works on HIGH! Our kitchen heats up fast whenever I have to use that. I saw your post about energy use. thanks for the extra info.
at the end of the day you're not burning that much energy cooking food. heating and cooling your house is the big ticket item.
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Following for pressure cooker glory
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been digging trying to find a good low(read as no) sugar pork tenderloin recipe for the pressure cooker tonight. havent come across anything. typically i sear it on the stove then spread mustard on it and roast it in the oven. any suggestions?
do i need more liquids or can i do this recipe.
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I love my pressure cooker. I didn't really get the appeal at first but after using it for a while I learned that I can make huge portions and pack the extra meals for lunches throughout the week. I also bought 4 Turkey for 68 cents a pound when they were cheap at thanksgiving. Rather than cook them in the oven, I'm just going to put them in the pressure cooker. Should save me a decent chunk of change on meat over the next couple of months. I'm also planning on stocking up on some meat deals around Christmas and freezing them as well. Does anyone else have a hack for getting cheap meat? It seems like it's one of the most expensive things on the grocery list and humans need protein. I did see mmm's post on combining rice and beans to form a complete protein set.
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just watch for sales. my go to buying points for meats currently are as follows
boneless skinless chx breasts under 1.5/lb
Thighs under 1.29/lb
bone in thighs under 69c/lb
ground turkey under 2/lb
ground beef under 1.5/lb (we bought a whole cow so this doesnt apply anymore)
Pork Tloins under 2/lb
Pork loin under 1.49/lb
pork butts under 1.29/lb
bacon under 1.49/lb
we eat a high protein diet with lots of meat and drink a ton too and spend about 450 a month on groceries for 2
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One of the biggest advantages of a pressure cooker is that the higher heat will allow browning to occur even when the ingredients are still wet. An ordinary slow cooker never gets hot enough to properly cook many ingredients, it just softens them.
http://www.seriouseats.com/2016/10/why-pressure-cookers-are-better-than-slow-cookers.html
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i'm gonna try a thai peanut sauced pork tenderloin tonight see how that goes
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just watch for sales. my go to buying points for meats currently are as follows
boneless skinless chx breasts under 1.5/lb
Thighs under 1.29/lb
bone in thighs under 69c/lb
ground turkey under 2/lb
ground beef under 1.5/lb (we bought a whole cow so this doesnt apply anymore)
Pork Tloins under 2/lb
Pork loin under 1.49/lb
pork butts under 1.29/lb
bacon under 1.49/lb
we eat a high protein diet with lots of meat and drink a ton too and spend about 450 a month on groceries for 2
Wow this makes our prices look high and I still feel they are great deals.
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I don't know about tenderloin, but I often do a pulled pork or carnitas that looks like this:
Season and Brown pork shoulder cut to whichever size you like (I slice it into steaks and grill outside to minimize smoke).
Sauté onions, garlic, whatever in pressure cooker, then add pork with a little liquid (stock or beer or whatever-- the onions and pork will release a lot of water on their own - I usually chop up the pork for quicker cooking
Cook at high pressure until it's done. Longer is better but I think it's usually good in about 30-60 min. I'm more of a checker, so I'll usually just check at 30 min and cook longer if needed. Someday I'll have it down
If you want "carnitas", pull it, spread on sheet, season, and broil in oven until dark and crispy
If you leave it in juice it's a pork stew
I usually have to drain and save a lot of delicious juice. Otherwise you can add some chile verde (I like it from trader joes) and make a pork chile verde.
Make some flour tortillas while the other stuff is happening
Some day I might make the verde salsa but probably not since we don't have a ton of tomatillos or hatch chiles in my grocery haunts
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The nomnompaleo blogger is a huge Instant Pot fan and has lots of recipes there.
...
Haven't tried with larger cuts of meat...
I used nomnompaleo's recipe for kalua pork. It was AMAZING. I used to live in Hawaii and it tastes just like the kind you can get there in restaurants. It takes less than 2 hours to make it, and this includes prep time. Normally cooking kalua pork is a many, many, many hours affair (16 hours in a slow cooker, for example).
Probably the only downside of the kalua pork is I bought the smallest pork shoulder I could find in the grocery store and my household of only 2 adults just barely finished it in time before it could go bad, and that was with eating it every single day. Next time I'm going to have to look into seeing if it's possible to freeze some of it.
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The nomnompaleo blogger is a huge Instant Pot fan and has lots of recipes there.
...
Haven't tried with larger cuts of meat...
I used nomnompaleo's recipe for kalua pork. It was AMAZING. I used to live in Hawaii and it tastes just like the kind you can get there in restaurants. It takes less than 2 hours to make it, and this includes prep time. Normally cooking kalua pork is a many, many, many hours affair (16 hours in a slow cooker, for example).
Probably the only downside of the kalua pork is I bought the smallest pork shoulder I could find in the grocery store and my household of only 2 adults just barely finished it in time before it could go bad, and that was with eating it every single day. Next time I'm going to have to look into seeing if it's possible to freeze some of it.
definitely freeze when i smoke pork butts. i do two at a time and we freeze 5-6 freezer bags as we are a two eater household.
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This is our go to carnita recipe: http://www.skinnytaste.com/instant-pot-pork-carnitas-mexican/ (http://www.skinnytaste.com/instant-pot-pork-carnitas-mexican/) I love it.
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so my instant pot didnt show up early enough last night so i did the pork tenderloin in medalions in a pan and poured my spicy peanut sauce over them... then used the instant pot after it arrived. way better in the pan. though i do know that pork tenderloin isnt a cut of meat i'd usually do in a slow cooker so its not the best example of what you should do in an instant pot.. i can see the value for roasts and other slow cooker dishes and beans/rice.
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so my instant pot didnt show up early enough last night so i did the pork tenderloin in medalions in a pan and poured my spicy peanut sauce over them... then used the instant pot after it arrived. way better in the pan. though i do know that pork tenderloin isnt a cut of meat i'd usually do in a slow cooker so its not the best example of what you should do in an instant pot.. i can see the value for roasts and other slow cooker dishes and beans/rice.
Did you have at least 1 cup liquid? You don't get good pressure otherwise, and technically aren't supposed to run the pot with less. Couldn't tell from your post.
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Yeah there was plenty of liquid. I'm just a pretty good cook. And pressure cookers are more to speed up breaking down fat and tendons which tenderloin doesn't really need
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Yeah there was plenty of liquid. I'm just a pretty good cook. And pressure cookers are more to speed up breaking down fat and tendons which tenderloin doesn't really need
Yeah, I just wanted to double check. Not having enough steam would certainly not help with the outcome =P
I have definitely found some items are just better with other methods. IP is awesome, but it is not a panacea for cooking. =)
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As a general observation, I'd say things that are normally braised in the oven are usually--or at least very often--better with the traditional method.
That said, I love the crap out of my pressure cooker.
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As a general observation, I'd say things that are normally braised in the oven are usually--or at least very often--better with the traditional method.
That said, I love the crap out of my pressure cooker.
I've found a few things that work well "enough" if you start in the pressure cooker to simulate the long cooking, and finish under the broiler.
Weeknight ribs for example. I wouldn't say it's the same as smoked for 8 hours, but it's still pretty darn good and fast
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Ooh allow me to recommend A Pressure Cooker Saved My Life, part recipe book, part memoir, part love letter to a pressure cooker.
http://www.smh.com.au/lifestyle/life/you-can-have-it-all-just-not-all-at-once-20100508-ukrj.html
https://www.amazon.com/Pressure-Cooker-Saved-My-Life/dp/0733325882
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Yeah there was plenty of liquid. I'm just a pretty good cook. And pressure cookers are more to speed up breaking down fat and tendons which tenderloin doesn't really need
Yeah, I just wanted to double check. Not having enough steam would certainly not help with the outcome =P
I have definitely found some items are just better with other methods. IP is awesome, but it is not a panacea for cooking. =)
Yep completely understand just had thawed tenderloin and wanted to use it
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Following.
I bought a stovetop pressure cooker at an estate sale this summer and pulled it out this week because the Instant Pot Cyber Monday talk was so ubiquitous.
I've done chicken stock twice this week and the result definitely had a deeper flavor than stocks made in a slow cooker. Plus, speed! And I appreciate that having the pressure cooker keeps my slow cooker free for our breakfast staple, overnight "groatmeal."
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Following.
I bought a stovetop pressure cooker at an estate sale this summer and pulled it out this week because the Instant Pot Cyber Monday talk was so ubiquitous.
I've done chicken stock twice this week and the result definitely had a deeper flavor than stocks made in a slow cooker. Plus, speed! And I appreciate that having the pressure cooker keeps my slow cooker free for our breakfast staple, overnight "groatmeal."
Yeah, I like the broth from my IP way better than my slow cooker. Doesn't get any of the burnt flavors that develop with a *long* cook in the slow cooker.
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One of the biggest advantages of a pressure cooker is that the higher heat will allow browning to occur even when the ingredients are still wet. An ordinary slow cooker never gets hot enough to properly cook many ingredients, it just softens them.
http://www.seriouseats.com/2016/10/why-pressure-cookers-are-better-than-slow-cookers.html
Thank you for this excellent article. Now I'm going to try Dutch-oven-225 overnight groatmeal, just to see what happens!
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Over the months I've found that I use my InstaPot routinely for rice and for mashed potatoes, in cooking for five or six people. Not only are these things simple to prepare, the IP keeps them warm indefinitely for latecomers, and keeps the stovetop free for other things. Not exotic, but useful.
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Over the months I've found that I use my InstaPot routinely for rice and for mashed potatoes, in cooking for five or six people. Not only are these things simple to prepare, the IP keeps them warm indefinitely for latecomers, and keeps the stovetop free for other things. Not exotic, but useful.
What do you do for mashed potatoes?
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The nomnompaleo blogger is a huge Instant Pot fan and has lots of recipes there.
...
Haven't tried with larger cuts of meat...
I used nomnompaleo's recipe for kalua pork. It was AMAZING. I used to live in Hawaii and it tastes just like the kind you can get there in restaurants. It takes less than 2 hours to make it, and this includes prep time. Normally cooking kalua pork is a many, many, many hours affair (16 hours in a slow cooker, for example).
Probably the only downside of the kalua pork is I bought the smallest pork shoulder I could find in the grocery store and my household of only 2 adults just barely finished it in time before it could go bad, and that was with eating it every single day. Next time I'm going to have to look into seeing if it's possible to freeze some of it.
definitely freeze when i smoke pork butts. i do two at a time and we freeze 5-6 freezer bags as we are a two eater household.
Yes! I smoke 3-6 butts at a time for 24 hours, and usually end up with a years worth of pulled smoked pork for my freezer. We pull it while its hot, let it cool and then bag it in 5 gallon freezer bags. If you mash the bag flat so its less than an inch thick full of pork, youll be able to snap off portions easily while its still frozen. No need to thaw out a whole package for one pulled pork sammich!
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Somebody asked about used pressure cookers... I have an old fashioned Fagor cooker and a couple of precautions I take are replacing the gasket periodically and checking to see if the the pressure vent is clear. If you find a used cooker, I would try to figure out the model number, look up the manual, and see what maintenance it requires. I would also preemptively replace the gasket and carefully monitor how the cooker sounds as it heats up. You want it to settle down to a fairly steady stream of steam, with a kind of calm "shooka shooka" sound as the liquid inside boils. If you hear the liquid inside bubbling but no steam is coming out, I'd quickly turn off the heat, wait until the cooker cools, and either troubleshoot or give up on that cooker. You don't want an explosion because of a blocked vent!
A good idea, if you are new to pressure cookers but want to try a used one, is to find a friend who does have a working cooker and see how they cook with it. That will give you an idea about what is normal so you can cook safely.
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If you mash the bag flat so its less than an inch thick full of pork, youll be able to snap off portions easily while its still frozen. No need to thaw out a whole package for one pulled pork sammich!
That's a really good idea. I could do this for all sorts of things in my deep freeze! Thanks for sharing.
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If you mash the bag flat so its less than an inch thick full of pork, youll be able to snap off portions easily while its still frozen. No need to thaw out a whole package for one pulled pork sammich!
That's a really good idea. I could do this for all sorts of things in my deep freeze! Thanks for sharing.
Thanks! This method also enables me to maximize storage space by stacking flat frozen bags of food like tiles. I can turn 6 pork butts into a solid square foot of stacked frozen pulled pork in bags
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Over the months I've found that I use my InstaPot routinely for rice and for mashed potatoes, in cooking for five or six people. Not only are these things simple to prepare, the IP keeps them warm indefinitely for latecomers, and keeps the stovetop free for other things. Not exotic, but useful.
What do you do for mashed potatoes?
- Cubed potatoes + 1 cup stock (or water)
- 4 minutes high pressure
- Quick release
- Mash, prepare as you normally would
*Sometimes I throw a few cloves of garlic in with the potatoes
*I typically use red or golden potatoes, russets may need a bit more time under pressure
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Over the months I've found that I use my InstaPot routinely for rice and for mashed potatoes, in cooking for five or six people. Not only are these things simple to prepare, the IP keeps them warm indefinitely for latecomers, and keeps the stovetop free for other things. Not exotic, but useful.
What do you do for mashed potatoes?
- Cubed potatoes + 1 cup stock (or water)
- 4 minutes high pressure
- Quick release
- Mash, prepare as you normally would
*Sometimes I throw a few cloves of garlic in with the potatoes
*I typically use red or golden potatoes, russets may need a bit more time under pressure
Mashed potatoes in four minutes? Yes please!
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A good idea, if you are new to pressure cookers but want to try a used one, is to find a friend who does have a working cooker and see how they cook with it. That will give you an idea about what is normal so you can cook safely.
Good call. I certainly know when it sounds "right". Never had a blockage, but I can certainly hear when the heat is not right.
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What happens when the gasket fails? Is it catastrophic (food everywhere, including the ceiling) or does it just not reach pressure?
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What happens when the gasket fails? Is it catastrophic (food everywhere, including the ceiling) or does it just not reach pressure?
Not catastrophic. The internal chamber just fails to reach pressure if the
gasket fails or isn't seated properly. Eventually the gasket will wear out
and need to be replaced. I've done this once already. It's no big deal.
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Huge fan of bone stocks of any kind here, but not a fan of pressure pots. I like to be able to access the pot and add/remove contents easily. So just a old fashioned stock pot with a lid for me.
Just fyi on the bones, there are alot of butchers that you can find to get bones cheaply from, I use one here that does lots of game meats. I get to try alot of different animal bones for my stocks. Typically i have 2 weeks worth of stock frozen that I make ramen with for dinners. It's an amazing meal for very little cost!
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One year ago I paid the un-Mustachian price of almost $100 for a Cuisinart pressure cooker:
http://www.amazon.com/Cuisinart-EPC-1200PC-Electric-Pressure-Stainless/dp/B003RCEVOY (http://www.amazon.com/Cuisinart-EPC-1200PC-Electric-Pressure-Stainless/dp/B003RCEVOY)
I received this same one as a gift and use it constantly.
As much as you're using it, I wouldn't call the price un-Mustachian. :)
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Over the months I've found that I use my InstaPot routinely for rice and for mashed potatoes, in cooking for five or six people. Not only are these things simple to prepare, the IP keeps them warm indefinitely for latecomers, and keeps the stovetop free for other things. Not exotic, but useful.
What do you do for mashed potatoes?
- Cubed potatoes + 1 cup stock (or water)
- 4 minutes high pressure
- Quick release
- Mash, prepare as you normally would
*Sometimes I throw a few cloves of garlic in with the potatoes
*I typically use red or golden potatoes, russets may need a bit more time under pressure
Mashed potatoes in four minutes? Yes please!
Plus the ten or fifteen minutes it takes to get up to pressure. That time always needs to be added in.
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Yeah there was plenty of liquid. I'm just a pretty good cook. And pressure cookers are more to speed up breaking down fat and tendons which tenderloin doesn't really need
Yeah I was just about to post asking how those turned out, that's not something I'd usually think of cooking in a pressure/slow cooker. Same with chicken breasts or a ribeye.
As a general observation, I'd say things that are normally braised in the oven are usually--or at least very often--better with the traditional method.
That said, I love the crap out of my pressure cooker.
You don't get that same browning on the sides and top that you get in the oven. The Food Lab guy talked about it in a stovetop vs oven debate for stew.
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Yeah there was plenty of liquid. I'm just a pretty good cook. And pressure cookers are more to speed up breaking down fat and tendons which tenderloin doesn't really need
Yeah I was just about to post asking how those turned out, that's not something I'd usually think of cooking in a pressure/slow cooker. Same with chicken breasts or a ribeye.
As a general observation, I'd say things that are normally braised in the oven are usually--or at least very often--better with the traditional method.
That said, I love the crap out of my pressure cooker.
You don't get that same browning on the sides and top that you get in the oven. The Food Lab guy talked about it in a stovetop vs oven debate for stew.
i was planning to use this for chicken breasts, i've seen a lot of frozen breasts recipes that are ready really fast. for when i forget to thaw meat.
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For shredding chicken, I feel like the pressure cooker helps. Not 100% sure though, might be placebo
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For shredding chicken, I feel like the pressure cooker helps. Not 100% sure though, might be placebo
My chicken is antibiotic free - I never considered it might be heavily laced with placebos!
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My pressure cooker arrived yesterday. Looking forward to putting it to use. Will probably start with a simple bbq chicken or beef recipe to start.
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For shredding chicken, I feel like the pressure cooker helps. Not 100% sure though, might be placebo
My chicken is antibiotic free - I never considered it might be heavily laced with placebos!
The placebos won't work unless you know they are there. Hopefully now your chicken tastes better.
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I got an Instant Pot with the yogurt maker function. It's almost paid for itself just from the $$ we save by making our own yogurt. Fage full fat greek yogurt is the only yogurt we like at the store, and it's $4 for 17oz. I can make my own greek style yogurt for less than 1/4th the cost.
So, $1 per 17oz vs $4 per 17oz. That's $3 savings per small tub. Instant pot cost me $115, so $115/$3 is 38 batches. Right now we're around 30 batches made, in about 6 months. And the yogurt I make is actually better than the store yogurt, at least per everyone that has tried it. I think it's because I strain it longer, so its even thicker/creamier than the Fage.
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Following.
I bought a stovetop pressure cooker at an estate sale this summer and pulled it out this week because the Instant Pot Cyber Monday talk was so ubiquitous.
I've done chicken stock twice this week and the result definitely had a deeper flavor than stocks made in a slow cooker. Plus, speed! And I appreciate that having the pressure cooker keeps my slow cooker free for our breakfast staple, overnight "groatmeal."
Yeah, I like the broth from my IP way better than my slow cooker. Doesn't get any of the burnt flavors that develop with a *long* cook in the slow cooker.
My IP broth comes out wonderfully, particularly since I now know just to barely cover the bones with water. I've been drinking a ton of it lately.
Also I will now only make hard-boiled eggs in the IP. They come out perfectly every time.
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I got an Instant Pot with the yogurt maker function. It's almost paid for itself just from the $$ we save by making our own yogurt. Fage full fat greek yogurt is the only yogurt we like at the store, and it's $4 for 17oz. I can make my own greek style yogurt for less than 1/4th the cost.
So, $1 per 17oz vs $4 per 17oz. That's $3 savings per small tub. Instant pot cost me $115, so $115/$3 is 38 batches. Right now we're around 30 batches made, in about 6 months. And the yogurt I make is actually better than the store yogurt, at least per everyone that has tried it. I think it's because I strain it longer, so its even thicker/creamier than the Fage.
Do you make the yogurt directly in the steel inner pot? I've been making it inside of pint mason jars which is nice, but limits our capacity to 7 pints per batch.
Also, do you use a new Fage yogurt to seed all your batches, or do you carry the old batch of yogurt into the next batch to seed it?
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Do you make the yogurt directly in the steel inner pot? I've been making it inside of pint mason jars which is nice, but limits our capacity to 7 pints per batch.
Also, do you use a new Fage yogurt to seed all your batches, or do you carry the old batch of yogurt into the next batch to seed it?
Just dump a quart of milk into the steel interior pot. And I use leftover yogurt from the last batch. Although I will buy a small Fage to use as a seed every 8 batches or so. Usually because someone ate all the yogurt and there's nothing to seed the next batch with :P
Edit - I should note that the key to successful yogurt in the Instant pot is to pull out the steel pot and give it a nice ice bath to get the temp below 100 before putting the seed yogurt in there. I use my hand meat thermometer to take instant readings so I know right away when it's ready.
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I've been using one for a few months now and it has allowed me to cut grocery spending considerably. And having such a wide variety of meals to choose from, it hasn't gotten old yet.
I have a collection of recipes started but need to dig through this thread and find some new ones.
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I got an Instant Pot with the yogurt maker function. It's almost paid for itself just from the $$ we save by making our own yogurt. Fage full fat greek yogurt is the only yogurt we like at the store, and it's $4 for 17oz. I can make my own greek style yogurt for less than 1/4th the cost.
So, $1 per 17oz vs $4 per 17oz. That's $3 savings per small tub. Instant pot cost me $115, so $115/$3 is 38 batches. Right now we're around 30 batches made, in about 6 months. And the yogurt I make is actually better than the store yogurt, at least per everyone that has tried it. I think it's because I strain it longer, so its even thicker/creamier than the Fage.
Do you make the yogurt directly in the steel inner pot? I've been making it inside of pint mason jars which is nice, but limits our capacity to 7 pints per batch.
Also, do you use a new Fage yogurt to seed all your batches, or do you carry the old batch of yogurt into the next batch to seed it?
Yep, I've done up to 4.5 quarts in a batch (a gallon of milk, pint of yogurt and some leftover cream).
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I've been using one for a few months now and it has allowed me to cut grocery spending considerably. And having such a wide variety of meals to choose from, it hasn't gotten old yet.
I have a collection of recipes started but need to dig through this thread and find some new ones.
How does it save you money?
Just more likely to eat in?
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I've been using one for a few months now and it has allowed me to cut grocery spending considerably. And having such a wide variety of meals to choose from, it hasn't gotten old yet.
I have a collection of recipes started but need to dig through this thread and find some new ones.
How does it save you money?
Just more likely to eat in?
We save money for this reason.
Want a snack? It makes amazing popcorn for like $0.30.
We used to eat out more when feeling lazy, now we can just do one of the lazy meals in the instant pot. For example, I made spaghetti last night with the following recipe:
Add 1/2 bag of frozen meatballs
Add 1 jar of pasta sauce
Add 1 lb of spaghetti noodles
Add 1 jar of water
Stir very slightly
Start instant pot, set at HP for 1/2 the normal cook time of the noodles
Spaghetti is already pretty easy but it used to involve more moving parts and work and dishes pulling the components together and straining the noodles etc. That took roughly 60 seconds of effort with only 1 dirty pot.
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Do you make the yogurt directly in the steel inner pot? I've been making it inside of pint mason jars which is nice, but limits our capacity to 7 pints per batch.
Also, do you use a new Fage yogurt to seed all your batches, or do you carry the old batch of yogurt into the next batch to seed it?
Just dump a quart of milk into the steel interior pot. And I use leftover yogurt from the last batch. Although I will buy a small Fage to use as a seed every 8 batches or so. Usually because someone ate all the yogurt and there's nothing to seed the next batch with :P
Edit - I should note that the key to successful yogurt in the Instant pot is to pull out the steel pot and give it a nice ice bath to get the temp below 100 before putting the seed yogurt in there. I use my hand meat thermometer to take instant readings so I know right away when it's ready.
Thanks for the input!
I did about a quart and a half of milk in the inner pot but may have messed up a bit, I initially set it to pressure cook for 1 min but then altered the settings to steam for a minute. After the minute was up I had quite a bit of milk that wanted to jet out of my quick release valve so I just let it calm down and naturally released pressure for a bit. I did the ice bath, skimmed the top, let it sit over-night for a 9 hour incubation period, and now I've got a big ol' pot full of yogt!
One last question - how to do you strain your yogurt? Cheese cloth?
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Has anyone done a large batch of baked potatoes in an Instantpot? I'm finding a number of different recipes online, all with very different times.
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Edit - I should note that the key to successful yogurt in the Instant pot is to pull out the steel pot and give it a nice ice bath to get the temp below 100 before putting the seed yogurt in there. I use my hand meat thermometer to take instant readings so I know right away when it's ready.
I don't use an Instant Pot for for yogurt, but here's my technique for cooling.
I used a thermometer the first 2-3 times to get the exact temperature, while
timing how long it took to get to 95F. The results are pretty consistent, so
now I just set the timer for 21 minutes instead of using the thermometer.
I also cool with room temperature to instead of the ice bath, but using a
kitchen timer to calibrate the cool down period should work in either case.
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Do you make the yogurt directly in the steel inner pot? I've been making it inside of pint mason jars which is nice, but limits our capacity to 7 pints per batch.
Also, do you use a new Fage yogurt to seed all your batches, or do you carry the old batch of yogurt into the next batch to seed it?
Just dump a quart of milk into the steel interior pot. And I use leftover yogurt from the last batch. Although I will buy a small Fage to use as a seed every 8 batches or so. Usually because someone ate all the yogurt and there's nothing to seed the next batch with :P
Edit - I should note that the key to successful yogurt in the Instant pot is to pull out the steel pot and give it a nice ice bath to get the temp below 100 before putting the seed yogurt in there. I use my hand meat thermometer to take instant readings so I know right away when it's ready.
Thanks for the input!
I did about a quart and a half of milk in the inner pot but may have messed up a bit, I initially set it to pressure cook for 1 min but then altered the settings to steam for a minute. After the minute was up I had quite a bit of milk that wanted to jet out of my quick release valve so I just let it calm down and naturally released pressure for a bit. I did the ice bath, skimmed the top, let it sit over-night for a 9 hour incubation period, and now I've got a big ol' pot full of yogt!
One last question - how to do you strain your yogurt? Cheese cloth?
Oh, you don't need to get the milk up to steam pressure. Don't you have the "Yogurt" button on your unit? If so, just press that button and then press the "Adjust" button till it says "Boil" on the readout. It'll do the initial heating for you, the exact amount of time and temp needed and it'll beep at you when it's done. That's when I do the ice bath. Then dry off the water and put the steel liner back into the instant pot, press "Yogurt" again and then press "Adjust" until is reads "8" which means 8 hours. Close the lid and it starts the countdown for you and beeps at you when it's done.
I don't strain with a cheesecloth, that's too fancy for me - I use a paper towel lining big metal mesh sieve that I also use to strain my veggies. Just dump the yogurt on top and have a big bowl underneath that'll catch the liquid that drains out. I put the whole thing in the fridge overnight and have awesome greek yogurt in the morning. Dump it into a container. It'll be a bit thick/hard in some places, just stir it vigorously with a spoon and it becomes ultra-creamy. Yum!
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Awesome, great idea with the paper towel I'll give this a shot when I get home with my big batch in the frig!
I never used the yogurt boil setting before this since the recipe I used called for high pressure steaming the milk for 1 minute in glass jars with a cup of water in the cooker, so this one threw me for a loop when I thought I had the first step down already. I eventually found the correct setting, but I have a feeling I may have put the milk under pressure and heated it a bit more than I should have. I took a taste this morning and the consistency seemed right, no odd flavors, so I think in the future I'll be more efficient but this wasn't a wasted batch at all.
Sharing my dinner from last night in the Instant Pot (and todays leftover lunch!!) and hoping I didn't actually get the recipe from here to begin with (oops if thats the case!)
1 kielbasas, about a foot and a half long
1 yellow onion, sliced
2 apples, chunked
1 beer
2lb sauerkraut
yellow mustard (a wad, the more the better IMO, maybe 3-4tbs)
caraway seed (1/2 tsp)
Sliced kielbasa into 1/2 inch thick chunks and browned the top/bottom with onion. Once thats browned, I tossed in mustard and caraway seed, top with sauerkraut and apples, add 3/4 of the beer I was drinking, and cook under pressure for 12 mins. I allowed it to naturally release pressure, and served with a straining spoon. Excellent flavor! I re-heated the leftovers with a bit of cheese on top which was even more decadent.
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I've been using one for a few months now and it has allowed me to cut grocery spending considerably. And having such a wide variety of meals to choose from, it hasn't gotten old yet.
I have a collection of recipes started but need to dig through this thread and find some new ones.
How does it save you money?
Just more likely to eat in?
Besides more likely to eat in, I buy almost no packaged food anymore because pressure cooked vegetables are so delicious. I end up buying fresh, in-season vegetables, which are cheapest when they are most flavorful.
I avoid restaurants now that I see how much rice, pasta, and bread they give instead of vegetables, which is what I want. They're disappointing in comparison.