Why should I get a pressure cooker?

[JCBBQ]

And why should it be an Instant Pot?

OK Pitmasters, do your thing and make me spend money. What do you use yours for and what brand and size do you recommend, and why?

Thanks in advance.

[RonB]

If ya don't have one, you need at least one whether or not if you use it - more than one if you actually use it.

[Johnny Booth]

Strangely true. 🤔

[Jerod Broussard]

Cause I don't have one......lost it in the divorce. So if you are married, you need one.

[Johnny Booth]

As a bargaining chip? 😉

[Dewesq55]

Stock, stews, beans, chili Verde, rice, cheesecake . . .

Get the biggest one you have a place to store it. I have a 10 quart. Unfortunately they no longer make it nor support it so I can't seem to get replacement sealing rings, but that's a different story. Get the 8 quart.

An electric pressure cooker, like instant pot, is pretty automatic. It does most of the work for you. Personally, I only ever use 2 of the modes: saute and pressure cook, with which you can do everything you need (except make yogurt, which I don't do) but some people use other modes as well. Instant pot is the most well known and ubiquitous brand of electric pressure cooker. I believe it has the most number of accessories and replacement parts available. I don't know much about alternative brands, but I believe Ninja makes some.

[JCBBQ]

Thanks for the info. I appreciate it.

[Michael_in_TX]

Because, like all of us, deep down, you need an excuse to sing the 1981 Queen/David Bowie song, "Under Pressure" while using a kitchen appliance. (See, now it is in your head so you just have to get an Instant Pot.)

I have the 6 quart Duo model and it was a gift, so I didn't particularly pick out that model.

It spends 85% of its time as a rice cooker, 10% of its time as a stock pot (both for which it excels) and 5% everything else. I've done the typical stuff you'd expect, breaking down big chunks of tough meat. I tend to do these when the weather outside wasn't conducive to a long smoke. They turn out good. The wine-braised short ribs I did last year turned out fantastic.

A pressure cooker is basically an accelerated braiser as it needs liquid to work. It makes good food, but it is braised and to me that always misses that certain something that grilling and smoking provide.

It does have a place in my kitchen and I would like to start using it more for those weeknight one-pot meals.

Like Ninja's products, you'll see the Instant Pots marketed as 7-n-1 or 10-n-1 or some other silliness like that. It's marketing. 95% of the time you'll just use the high/low pressure settings and set the timer yourself. (Although I have found the auto rice functions works great for sushi rice.)

[JCBBQ]

Great info. Thanks

[WI Bubba]

Never once have I sung that song while using mine, and now I won't ever be able to use it again without that song running through my head. Thanks. NOT!

[shify]

Pretty much how I use it. Worth it as a rice cooker alone (and how I used it tonight) and the ability to make stock super easy is just a secondary benefit! Probably use it every other week for rice and once every 4-6 weeks for something else.

I also don’t think I’ve used any of the Instant Pot preset buttons and don’t really expect that to change.

[Michael_in_TX]

( Dewesq55 reminded me of the sauté function, which is very nice and I do use it quite a bit. It is one of the things that lends itself to one-pot meals...you can sauté then add in liquid for a long braise. It is also vicious.....it gets hot on my model. Don't walk away lol.)

[58limited]

Why? MCS of course. You may never use it but at least you'll have one.

[MBMorgan]

A pressure cooker is basically an accelerated braiser as it needs liquid to work. It makes good food, but it is braised and to me that always misses that certain something that grilling and smoking provide.

Actually (don't you hate it when someone starts a sentence this way?), I routinely use a trivet or (even better) a steamer basket to keep certain foods above the liquid while pressure-steaming:

Most often that's artichokes:

... or Pork Loin Ribs:

... hard "boiled" eggs, too ... but I can't prove it without pics.

[Michael_in_TX]

MBMorgan I have one of those....and most importantly, know where it is. I'll have to experiment with this. I do need to use my 'Pot more; it does take up a lot of space on the counter.

[MBMorgan]

SheilaAnn - I've got a recipe that I've been working up (and that I'm pretty happy with) in Paprika. I need to update it a bit with some minor tweaks I've made over the past couple of years and I'd be happy to share any time you want. Just let me know.

[hoovarmin]

This post marks a turning point in my kitchen life. Never thought about doing that.

[SheilaAnn]

Beans, rice, bone broth, one whole chicken for meal prep, beans, stews, beans…..

Once I even used it for collard greens. Made quick work of them!

I have the IP Duo 6 qt which is fine for us.

[MBMorgan]

Beans are great in the IP ... and they typically don't need pre-soaking.

[JCBBQ]

Excellent

[LA Pork Butt]

We have an Instant Pot and quite honestly we use it almost exclusively for beans. I grew up with red and beans and rice almost every Monday and my mother cooked the beans in a pressure cooker. IMO there is no better way tho get creamy beans. I soak them overnight add 4 1/2 cups of liquid (Chicken stock) cook them for 20 minutes and let the steam release naturally. Perfect every time.

[JCBBQ]

That sounds real good

[Carolyn]

Small Red Beans or Kidney Beans? I found I like the small Red Beans better.

[Panhead John]

Me too, small red beans are the way to go IMO. Kidney beans….🤮

[Jfrosty27]

The wifey bought an Instapot 6 qt Duo a few years ago. Insisted she had to have it. I do 95% of the cooking though. She’s never used it. Not even once. I’ve used it two or at most three times. It did what it is supposed to do. To be honest, I could use it much more. I forget about it really. I just to things using other methods. 🤷♂️

[Mosca]

Same.

[Draznnl]

We got ours as a gift. Have had it at least three years now and used it twice. But it does look good in the pantry.

[Mosca]

I use mine for short ribs. But that is the only thing I use it for. I would make short ribs in the Dutch oven, but there’s something about being at the grocery at 4PM, thinking “Short ribs would be nice tonight,” and having them on the table at 6:30.

There are two things that keep me from using it more.

The first one is habit. I just have my way of doing things, and it never included a pressure cooker, so I learned how to telescope my processes (when I chop, when I start certain things, when I season, etc) to make them efficient without one. I would have to revise all that, and by the time I think about using the pressure cooker I’ve usually already started stuff.

The second one is that I’m a bit of a “clean kitchen” freak. I’m not stupid about it, but I’m thorough. And cleaning that sucker is a pain in the ass. It might not require taking all that little stuff apart, but that’s what I do, including taking out the gasket, the valves, clips, etc.. I can put the lid, gasket, and pot in the dishwasher, but the little stuff needs to be hand washed and dried. And once you factor in that, the entire process isn’t really that much faster. All you’ve done is swapped cooking time for cleaning time… and that cooking time is actually just down time. Oven time. So the IP is actually more work.

[Jfrosty27]

Interesting take on the whole thing. Now I want to toss the thing in the trash. But the wifey would go ballistic. So it will continue to take up cabinet storage space. 🙄🤷♂️

[Panhead John]

A pressure cooker, along with a rice cooker, are two things that I’ve never had an interest in obtaining. Maybe because I cook for one, but I don’t really see a need.

[JCBBQ]

I use my rice cooker all the time. But yeah way less so now that the kids aren’t living here. Rice was half the battle keeping them full.

[Panhead John]

JC, you need to get one of these….

https://slowood-interior.com/20830-pressure-cooker-lacor-silver?variant%5B131%5D=76237&gad_source=1&gad_campaignid=21051153058&gbraid=0AAAAApd0YvDz4mYGloMSSnSiXzW2M2CQr

[Panhead John]

rodkeary And he probably needs 2 of em.

[JCBBQ]

Ordered 2. Thanks bro!

[Panhead John]

Sure you did JC……😂😂

[Skip]

Broth/Stock, Frozen Boneless Chicken Thighs, Stew, Rice, Oatmeal, Soup, Boiled Eggs

[MBMorgan]

As to why an Instant Pot, those things are simply bullet proof. They are so over-engineered and well made that I can't see ever having to replace one ... except when my own case of MCS kicks in again.

A note on an electric/automatic vs. a good ol' fashioned manual stovetop pressure cooker: I have both. Almost 12 years ago I bought an expensive (almost $300) 8.5 qt. Fissler and it's been wonderful. It's also been sitting unused in the pantry ever since we got the Instant Pot as a gift. The various safety features, set and (kinda) forget cooking, and really easy cleanup make it difficult to drag out the Fissler. It's just too nice to get ride of, but it's realistically just ornamental these days.

When (not if) you start shopping seriously for your new IP, there are a few things to consider:

• Capacity: Mine is an 8-qt Duo. It was a gift and I'm pretty sure I would have chosen a smaller one (probably 6 qt) if I had bought it myself because there are only two of us. After using it extensively for several years, I am equally sure that buying a smaller pot would have been a mistake. Like smokers, no one has ever said, "Gee I wish I had gotten the smaller one".
• Special Presets: Yes you can get models with all kinds of special presets but, as was mentioned in a previous reply, you're mainly going to use various combinations of "pressure high/low, time, temp", and on some models, "manual vs automatic" pressure release. Basically, you can do anything manually that a special preset will do. You just need to think about it a little more.
• Rice Cooker Mode: I've used it a few times ... and it works ... but not as well as a dedicated rice cooker (assuming, of course, that you have one).
• Sous Vide (SV) Mode: No. Just No. Since your IP will not have either a way to circulate water fairly vigorously or an extremely accurate immersed water thermometer (e.g., +- 1°F or better), it can NEVER be a full replacement for a proper SV setup. I'm sure it will work for some things but when you're cooking certain foods within a degree or two of potentially making yourself sick if it's not hot enough ... it's just not worth the risk.
• Cleaning: I know that Mosca mentioned that he finds cleaning the IP to be a royal pain (I'm paraphrasing). He's not wrong ... IF you do what he does every time you use it. Personally I approach cleanup a little differently. The pot (liner) itself goes into the dishwasher. The lid gets wiped down inside and out, and the valve gets tested for gunk/stickiness and disassembled/washed separately by hand ONLY if there's a problem. The gasket is typically removed and washed every few cooks ... and since it is made of silicone and will pick up pungent odors, I keep a few spares on hand for dedicated cooks ... like when I don't want my rice pilaf to taste like the pork loin ribs that were cooked previously. I find that doing a "Full Monty" cleaning job is only necessary a couple of times per year ... but that's just me.

I'm sure there are other things to consider and there are plenty of folks around here that will chime in.

[JCBBQ]

Thanks for your comprehensive response.