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Instant Pot (2009-) - "Third-Generation" Pressure Cooker Designed in Ottawa, Canada


Genevieve

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InstantPot users, do you have any favorite recipes you've been using?  I'm still very new at this and enjoying it but haven't got a lot of things to put in our regular rotation yet. We've done crock-pot cooking before, but the pressure cooker is very new to us, and we like it for the time it saves.

Also, how do you keep food from sticking and burning? We cooked a honey garlic chicken that was very easy and we all loved the taste, but each time we've made it, some of it has stuck and burned. We followed the recipe and set it for a particular time - should we be setting it on "Poultry" instead of manually setting the time - does the 'burn protection' only activate then?

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The two main resources I turn to are the Instant Pot Facebook Group which is fairly high traffic, and this site:

Pressure Cooking Today

You should be able to find recipes for most anything between those two locations. The single recipe that has been go-to is probably the basic but crowd pleasing Mac and Cheese:

"Pressure Cooker Macaroni and Cheese" by Mike Vrobel on dadcooksdinner.com

I do not know that there is any benefit to using the Poultry setting. I've only ever set it on Manual.

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My favorite dish is chicken soup- onions, celery, carrots, garlic, 1/2 hot pepper, sometimes mushrooms & green beans, chicken thighs, water & various seasoning- lately it's been golden paste that I also give to my dogs-turmeric, cinnamon, black pepper, & coconut oil.

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I've had my Instant Pot for almost a year now and love it.  All of the recipes that I've posted have been made using it and I like the Nom Nom Paleo blog because all of her recipes are made using an Instant Pot. Haven't had any burning issues, but also haven't really cooked anything that is low moisture.

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We made the honey garlic chicken last night (it has plenty of moisture so that wasn't the issue), and used the "Poultry" setting instead of the "Manual" setting, and that worked much better. A tiny bit got a little burned, but nothing like we had the previous two times we'd made this dish.

I'll look on Nom Nom Paleo and Pressure Cooking Today, thanks!

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The joke was made earlier, but the facebook group regularly refers to themselves as Potheads.

A cookbook that was recommended to me previously but was out of print has just come back. I haven't picked it up yet, but if you prefer working from a recipe book rather than a website, it's an option.

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We have braised short ribs and made chicken stock in the Instant Pot.  The short ribs were really tender and had a surprisingly rich flavor.  The chicken stock turned out a little cloudy.  If you don't care about that, it is an easy and fast way to go. 

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Well I can't believe there is only 1 scant page on Instant Pot... I want to know what you all make in your instant pot and your favorite recipes.  I just got mine for Christmas, and what I like about it so far is that it can bring down some cooking times on some things to make a weeknight meal of certain items more do-able. Has anyone made yogurt?  Is it worth it?  Is it that much better than store bought yogurt?  

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I have made yogurt and do so when I need it for a party or such. Since I am by myself, I just grab some from TJ's when I want some. What kind of recipes are you looking for? I use my IP several times a week. Just last weekend, I made  Jamaican oxtail stew from the NYT food section. Adapted it to the IP. Let me know if I can help. 

 

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The three websites that I refer to the most for InstantPot recipes are:

I like this recipe (https://www.hippressurecooking.com/pressure-cooker-oatmeal-how-to/) for pot-in-pot cooking of steel cut oats. It allows you to cook a single serving of oatmeal in your serving bowl (so no need to clean the instant pot liner).

 

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Thank you @curls, I will try the pot-in-pot method for oatmeal!

@ktmoomau, I would be happy to see this thread be more active!

We've used both the slow-cooker and the pressure-cooker aspects of the Instant Pot. I'll pull up some recipes over the weekend and put them here. One simple one we like is honey spiced chicken: 

2 tsp. kosher salt

1/2 tsp. cardamom
1/2 tsp. cumin
1 tsp. allspice
1 tsp. nutmeg
1 tsp. paprika (optional)
2 tsp. garlic powder
1/2 cup honey
1/2 cup water
2 T. apple cider vinegar
2 lbs. chicken thighs (we tend to use boneless skinless)
 
  1. Mix spices together and set aside.
  2. Mix honey, cider vinegar and water. Set aside.
  3. Untuck the chicken thighs so they lie flat.
  4. Cover all sides in seasoning and place the chicken in the inner pot.
  5. Pour the honey mixture over the chicken.
  6. Lock the lid in place and seal the steam nozzle.
  7. Select the poultry setting and adjust to 12 minutes, or set manually to 12 minutes.
  8. Natural release for 5 minutes then quick release any remaining pressure.
  9. Serve the chicken with the excess glaze.

We've modified this by pouring in 1 cup rice and 1 cup water after step 5 - make sure to get the rice wet. The rice absorbs all the flavors and is delicious.

 

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My son's favorite is this one, which I freely admit is not the healthiest thing we cook. I have modified it lately by adding a little rice vinegar and a little toasted sesame oil, but I'm sure the amount of ketchup could be cut down, or tomato paste could be used.

3 pounds boneless, skinless chicken thighs 
1/2 teaspoon dried minced garlic (we use bottled chopped garlic)
3/4 cup soy sauce
3/4 cup ketchup
3/4 cup honey
2 tablespoons cornstarch
2 tablespoons water
1 tablespoon chopped fresh basil (optional)
Directions

Add garlic, sauce, soy sauce, ketchup and honey to pressure cooking pot. Stir to combine. Add chicken to the pot. Cover pot and lock lid in place.
Select High Pressure and 9 minutes cook time. (It will take about 10 minutes to reach high pressure.)
After 9 minutes cook time, turn off pressure cooker and use a quick pressure release.
In a small bowl, dissolve cornstarch in 2 tablespoons water. Add cornstarch mixture to the sauce in the pot stirring constantly. Select Simmer and bring to a boil, stirring constantly. After sauce thickens, add fresh basil to the sauce.
Serve over rice.

As discussed in a previous post, for this and the previous recipe, we've found that using the Poultry setting instead of Manual has been better - when we were using Manual, some of the chicken would stick and burn. This might be because of the honey in the recipes?

Hugh Acheson has an IP cookbook which I will get from the library when my number comes up on the waitlist.

We made hard-boiled eggs in it this weekend and they peeled much more easily than when we make them on the stovetop.

I have a number of recipes we haven't tried yet (including something for wild rice that supposedly gets creamy like risotto?).

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I bought the InstantPot Mini (3 qt.) a few months ago, which seems just the right size for one or two people, or for doing side dishes. Cutting recipes in half to make them work isn't too tricky. I've cooked the Trader Joe's Cabernet pot roast in a couple of times now. Once I had to cut it in two to make it fit, but the one I made last night was just the right size, though I should have cooked it for 5-10 minutes less to account for the smaller size. I just bought a glass lid for it (which has been out of stock pretty often), so now I want to see how it does as a slow cooker. Pretty pleased so far.

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I made white basmati rice per the "recipe" in the guide they give you, except I added a little salt.  It came out beautifully.    There is probably only one meal this week that I didn't use my instant pot for at least a small part of it.  So week one was pretty exciting.  

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On 1/24/2018 at 9:10 PM, Pool Boy said:

I have no desire at all for another gadget in my kitchen. I may be missing out, but that's how I roll.

Do you have a slow cooker? If so, replace it with an IP. Results from a pressure cooker are SO much better and if you want to slow cook something the IP has that feature.

 

Can't post now, but wanted to mark the thread so I can come back. Always looking for new ideas, especially paleo ones.

Has anyone made yogurt with goat's milk? Hoping to try to soon to see if it will be more cost effective than the $7 container at Whole Foods.

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On 1/24/2018 at 9:10 PM, Pool Boy said:

I have no desire at all for another gadget in my kitchen. I may be missing out, but that's how I roll.

For my wedding I was given a Cuisinart slow cooker, that also made rice, etc.  It was I think a precursor to the instant pot, it looks a heck of a lot like it, but didn't pressure cook.  It was wholly abysmal in all its functions in my mind compared to an instant pot, and I just have had mine since Christmas.  I would rate my instant pot up there with my kitchenaid stand mixer as the two appliances in my kitchen (other than the stove, dishwasher, fridge) that I would not want to go without.  Take my sous vide, toaster, blender, waffle maker, nespresso, automatic can opener, sodastream, food processor and even my microwave before you take my stand mixer or my instant pot (Ok, you also can't take the electric kettle, so three appliances in my kitchen are crucial to my daily happiness).  I actually got two for christmas and sent one back, I am lamenting that I didn't just keep it to give to my Mom or MIL as a gift.  But I also am not a good planner, so I am bad at remembering to do a lot of pre-steps that I need for a normal weeknight dinner and the instant pot is great for those things.  This weekend I am going to make congee.  I also plan on just making some chicken breasts for dinners next week.

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@Pool Boy, if space-limited, as many in the DMV are, get rid of your slow cooker and rice maker, and get an instant pot which does both of their duties, plus the pressure cooking. I think it slow cooks as good as a dedicated slow cooker, but doesn't make rice as good as good as a rice cooker, though. It's really great that you can saute aromatics and then make a curry or a sauce or whatever. I have a very limited kitchen space, and can agree that this can take over for other appliances and has an additional function. The best $80 you can have in the kitchen, for serious, do. 

I think another good space saver with good function is the original Ninja. Not as good as a Cuisinart/KitchenAid food processor, and certainly can't make a margarita or a velvety soup like a Vitamix, but man it gets so much done for prep work. If I have a lot of garlic, onions, other vegetables to chop, or want to make a salsa quick, or need to have a course blend for a pesto or something like that - it's so fast and easy to clean. 

-S

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On 1/19/2018 at 10:35 AM, Genevieve said:

My son's favorite is this one, which I freely admit is not the healthiest thing we cook. I have modified it lately by adding a little rice vinegar and a little toasted sesame oil, but I'm sure the amount of ketchup could be cut down, or tomato paste could be used.

3 pounds boneless, skinless chicken thighs 
1/2 teaspoon dried minced garlic (we use bottled chopped garlic)
3/4 cup soy sauce
3/4 cup ketchup
3/4 cup honey
2 tablespoons cornstarch
2 tablespoons water
1 tablespoon chopped fresh basil (optional)
Directions

Add garlic, sauce, soy sauce, ketchup and honey to pressure cooking pot. Stir to combine. Add chicken to the pot. Cover pot and lock lid in place.
Select High Pressure and 9 minutes cook time. (It will take about 10 minutes to reach high pressure.)
After 9 minutes cook time, turn off pressure cooker and use a quick pressure release.
In a small bowl, dissolve cornstarch in 2 tablespoons water. Add cornstarch mixture to the sauce in the pot stirring constantly. Select Simmer and bring to a boil, stirring constantly. After sauce thickens, add fresh basil to the sauce.
Serve over rice.

As discussed in a previous post, for this and the previous recipe, we've found that using the Poultry setting instead of Manual has been better - when we were using Manual, some of the chicken would stick and burn. This might be because of the honey in the recipes?

Hugh Acheson has an IP cookbook which I will get from the library when my number comes up on the waitlist.

We made hard-boiled eggs in it this weekend and they peeled much more easily than when we make them on the stovetop.

I have a number of recipes we haven't tried yet (including something for wild rice that supposedly gets creamy like risotto?).

I've made this one, too and it is addictive how sweet it tastes. My wife gave me an eye roll when I made it a weeks in a row.

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On 1/26/2018 at 12:25 AM, Choirgirl21 said:

Do you have a slow cooker? If so, replace it with an IP. Results from a pressure cooker are SO much better and if you want to slow cook something the IP has that feature.

 

Can't post now, but wanted to mark the thread so I can come back. Always looking for new ideas, especially paleo ones.

Has anyone made yogurt with goat's milk? Hoping to try to soon to see if it will be more cost effective than the $7 container at Whole Foods.

That is true - I had not thought of swapping that out. Hmmm. How big are they?

19 hours ago, Simul Parikh said:

@Pool Boy, if space-limited, as many in the DMV are, get rid of your slow cooker and rice maker, and get an instant pot which does both of their duties, plus the pressure cooking. I think it slow cooks as good as a dedicated slow cooker, but doesn't make rice as good as good as a rice cooker, though. It's really great that you can saute aromatics and then make a curry or a sauce or whatever. I have a very limited kitchen space, and can agree that this can take over for other appliances and has an additional function. The best $80 you can have in the kitchen, for serious, do. 

I think another good space saver with good function is the original Ninja. Not as good as a Cuisinart/KitchenAid food processor, and certainly can't make a margarita or a velvety soup like a Vitamix, but man it gets so much done for prep work. If I have a lot of garlic, onions, other vegetables to chop, or want to make a salsa quick, or need to have a course blend for a pesto or something like that - it's so fast and easy to clean. 

-S

I do not have a rice cooker - perhaps I am missing out there? I make pretty good rice otherwise.  I have a good blender and a food processor that I use mainly for days where I am really cooking (or cooking alot). For every day cooking, I have pretty darn good knife skills that is faster and easier to clean up from that making a food processor dirty.

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I made some delicious shredded chicken tonight.  I put chicken breast in the pot with 1/2 cup of sauce I had made as a dipping sauce for dumplings (soy, seasame seed oil, I think some sirracha, etc) and maybe 3/4 cup chicken broth, I let it marinade for 30 minutes delay start then cooked with pressure for 9 minutes.  I then shredded the chicken and put it back in the pot and slow cooked for 30 minutes, I then put it on saute for about 10 minutes to almost completely reduce the sauce.  Minus the fact that I forget where I got the sauce recipe- I think off some pinterest dumpling recipe I saved, but it could have been a cookbook- will definitely do this again with sauce variations.

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22 hours ago, Simul Parikh said:

@ktmoomau

Whats your congee recipe?

Well I haven't used it yet, it was planned for this weekend, but then life got in the way and we ended up eating out for a few more meals than expected.  I was going to use this one: https://thecuriouscoconut.com/blog/how-to-make-congee-in-the-instant-pot-pressure-cooker

It makes a lot of congee though.  And as Hubby said he didn't know that he liked congee (as an aside, I don't know how you don't like congee, but Hubby always baffles me with his food preferences) I might try to half the recipe.  If you have a better one, let me know.  As this is likely getting punted to next week.   

I am going to make Palak Rajma Masala (curried kidney beans) in the pot tonight, as I have all the ingredients and Hubby is more excited about it.  It is going to be a light-ish cooking week, tomorrow night I have a meeting, Wed night I am making Hubby's favorite pasta for his birthday, Thursday we are going out for his birthday, Friday- Saturday I/we will be in Naptown, and Sunday is the superbowl I think.  I might make some more shredded chicken for nachos... 

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Quote

Use short grain rice (like sushi rice) when making congee - longer grained rice does not work well in congee and does not produce the correct silky texture. 

:rolleyes:

I guess I've been making congee/jook wrong all this time by using long-grain rice even though that's the method that was taught to me by my mom and her mom...

PS. Jook is typically made with long-grain rice since it's Chinese in origin. Okayu which may be what that food blogger was originally thinking of is Japanese congee made with short-grain rice. Congee is also common in southeastern Asian countries like Vietnam, Cambodia, Laos and the Philippines. In the PI, it's known as arroz caldo and it's prepared differently. A little fact checking goes a long way. ETA arroz caldo is also typically made with long-grain rice...but can be made with short-grain rice, glutinous rice and other types of rice.

PPS. 6 cups of water to 1 1/2 cups rice is way off w/r/t a liquid to solid ratio. It should be more like 9-10 cups water to 1 cup rice, although having said that, my understanding is that you don't need as much liquid when cooking with an Instant Pot. Also, depending on what it is you're making, the cooking times and ratio of liquid to solid can vary.

PPPS. The texture of the rice shown in her pictures isn't congee - the rice hasn't broken down and is too solid.

20140828-ground-pork-and-corn-congee-shao-zhong-2.jpg.3206b607de9b2d949b73f3536da6b70d.jpg

This is more like it.

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On 1/27/2018 at 9:56 AM, Pool Boy said:

That is true - I had not thought of swapping that out. Hmmm. How big are they?

I have the 6 quart IP and it is smaller and lighter than my crockpot, but my crockpot has 3 inserts. I would say generally speaking they're about the same size so it's an even swap space-wise, but with much better features. If you get one, I also recommend a few accessories:

-The clear glass lid for storage so you don't have to transfer food ( http://a.co/iu6aOIV )
-The silicone mitts ( http://a.co/h8X8rnh )
-The silicone steamer basket ( http://a.co/2Vlpxxj )

It comes with a metal steamer basket, but the silicone one is useful for a lot of things, especially "hard boiled" eggs. 6 minutes and you have eggs that are SO easy to peel and don't crack. Given that I eat a lot of HB eggs, the IP might have been worth it for that alone for me. :D

For anyone considering buying one, set up a price watch for the one you want on Amazon as the price drops significantly periodically.

 

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Last night I made a pasta sauce for Hubby that cooks for about 45 minutes in the pan... if I wasn't worried about ruining his bday dinner, I would have totally thrown it in the pot and seen how fast I could get the same results on the sauce.  I thought about it a lot while that sauce cooked.

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So I made that congee- I only had either basmati rice or charleston gold, so I used the charleston gold, and I didn't have ground beef thawed, so I used ground pork.  I used 8 cups of stock/water.  I also used kale at the end instead of cabbage because it needed to be used.  I thought it turned out well.  I thought it had good flavor and was very homey and comforting.  Hubby didn't like it, he thought it was "gelatinous".

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15 hours ago, Ericandblueboy said:

Boil left over rice with water is how my family makes congee.  No instant pot necessary.  

The instant pot just means I can leave it and walk Max and etc without a pot on the stove and I don't have to worry about rice porridge boiling over or etc.  I don't like leaving my house with something on the stove or in the oven.  You  are correct, it doesn't really save any time to do it in the pot.

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On 3/3/2018 at 9:22 AM, Smita Nordwall said:

I'll wait for your results..... 

Hahha, well I said I wanted to learn how to make wine and cheese.  I guess I need to shut up and do it at some point.  Sounds like a summer project to me.

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23 hours ago, ktmoomau said:

Hahha, well I said I wanted to learn how to make wine and cheese.  I guess I need to shut up and do it at some point.  Sounds like a summer project to me.

Cheese has been on my bucket list for years as well. Actually, an almost-100% homemade pizza. home-grown tomatoes and basil, home-made sausage, cheese and tomato sauce. Although, I will not be growing and grinding wheat for the dough. 

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I just made this chickpea and spinach rice pilaf (Simul, I think it is vegan or can be vegan if you omit the feta to be precise) and it was delicious, I did add a little salt and pepper and I don't measure spices a lot, and think I was probably generous.  I didn't add the feta because Hubby isn't a big fan, although that would have been good to me.  I did add a pudd of hummus to each bowl, and that was very tasty with it.  

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