Why should I get a pressure cooker?

[mrteddyprincess]

Goat. Curried goat. You can spend hours trying to make goat tender, or you can get a pressure cooker and make the goat meat tender in about an hour.

+19 on beans. One pound of dry beans, no soaking, 75 minutes. Done.

Whole chicken for chicken soup. Thirty minutes and that bird is cooked. No Maillard reaction, mind you, but there are ways to roast the bones and or skin after the pressure cooker.

Fresh veggies like green beans. Twenty minutes and those puppies are ready to go!

I'm not a fan of the set it and forget it models. I like the one Panhead John suggests above. Mine is a Presto. Same size.

Good luck!

Brian

[Dewesq55]

Curry Goat +1. I used to make it on the stove top for 2 hours plus. Now I use the IP.

[Trunkmonkey]

They're great for speeding up long process, crock-pot type cooks, especially if it involves things like dry beans (navy, pinto, red, etc.). I use mine mostly late-Fall to early Spring for stews, chilis, and pot roasts. I can make a chili or stew in about 1.5-2 hours (using dry beans). It also shaves time off rice (which I make regularly). I have a 6 quart Instant Pot that barely does the job, volume-wise (it was a gift I received). I'll get a bigger one when it bites the dust. They're handy to have around.

[Mosca]

Start to finish, how long for a cup of dry white rice? Mine cooks on the stovetop in 17-20 minutes.

[SheilaAnn]

Mosca 3 minutes + 10 natural release

https://www.pressurecookrecipes.com/instant-pot-rice/

[jayjordan]

The white and brown rice recipes by Amy+Jacky are what I use. I set my Thermoworks timer to 13 minutes (for white rice) then start it when the IP reaches pressure and starts counting down. Then I can do whatever else needs to be done without having to watch a pot of rice.

[Donw]

Makes a decent risotto. When I was cooking for larger crowds and filing up my smoker with butts I’d cook a pork butt or two in the pressure cooker and then add that meat to those I smoked on the smoker when pulling. Added nice moist meat into the mix. Also use it for other quick pork dishes.

[JCBBQ]

Awesome. What size and brand do you have?

[Donw]

JCBBQ Instant Pot 8 qt.

[Spinaker]

You sold that penthouse and now you have money burning a hole in your pocket, eh?

I hear they make really good rice and stuff like that.

[JCBBQ]

Just a condo. If it was a penthouse we’d be talking watches. 😂

[Spinaker]

hahahaha JCBBQ

[jayjordan]

+1 on Instant Pot. I have an 8 quart and a 3 quart. The small one replaced a rice cooker and that’s what it is used for 90% of the time. Big one for one pot meals, beans, etc.

[SheilaAnn]

jayjordan there’s a 2-qt?

No…. Move away, young lady…… you do not need it…..

[JCBBQ]

😂😂

[jayjordan]

SheilaAnn - sorry it’s a 3 quart.

[LA Pork Butt]

Carolyn and Panhead John I cook kidney beans, but not every kidney beans will cream up. If they are dark red they won’t cream up. They need to be light red.

This is the brand that works every time.



I hope you can see how much lighter in color they are than typical kidney beans.

[Carolyn]

LA Pork Butt Yeah, Popeyes does tend to mush up their beans. I downloaded their ingredients list a while back, and all kinds of stuff is in those beans. Pork fat is on the list along with all the stuff needed for a commercial product, like soy lechithin, and MSG.

Here is a link to the red beans. Free shipping over $30.

https://www.camelliabrand.com/products/small-red-beans/

JCBBQ Copeland's cheesecake. Oh man, that was the stuff. It had that chocolate sauce dripped on it. Yum.

[LA Pork Butt]

@CarolynThanks much

[fzxdoc]

Rancho Gordo Domingo Rojo beans make delicious red beans and rice.

Kathryn

[LA Pork Butt]

JCBBQ If you haven’t ordered it yet what’s holding you back? Do you really need more reasons to get one? LOL The electronic instant pot has more safe guards than the traditional ones, but cost more. As MBMorgan noted they are kind of set it and forget it.

[bbqLuv]

We have an Instant Pot with an air fryer attachment. Really don't use the air fryer.
But the Instant Pot get used 2-3 times a month, chicken, stews, soup, casseroles and Sous Vide
Works great for Sous Vide. We use zip lock bags.

[fzxdoc]

I may have mentioned this before, but when you sous vide, make sure you check the temperature of the water throughout the cook. Several people here have reported that the temperature varies a lot on the Instant Pot's sous vide setting. You don't want it dipping below 129° for food safety reasons.

FWIW.

Kathryn

[Carolyn]

I wonder if I would use an electric pressure cooker for something other than beans. I really don't have room for another appliance. Hmmmm. 🤔

[bbqLuv]

No room, so true

[bardsleyque]

Now I want a pressure cooker/insta pot!

[JCBBQ]

Hahaha

[Brian_M]

Boiled eggs and rice have already been mentioned.

How about home made yogurt? I’ve been making yogurt for about 9 months now. SWMBO eats it also. We flavor it either with berries or fruit and local honey or a sugar-free coffee sweetener (Jordan’s Skinny Mixes is our go-to brand). I got behind a couple weeks ago and she had to buy yogurt at the store. We couldn’t hardly eat the store version, it was too sweet/artificial.

Health food fanatics will also talk about probiotics and such in homemade yogurt.

[JCBBQ]

Cool. Thanks

[Michael_in_TX]

Every time I see the Yogurt button on the 'Pot, I think that one day I need to try that....

[smokenoob]

because you love artichokes?!? 😁

[klflowers]

Just get it already. You know you are going to - you knew it when you posted this. Like we were going to say noooooo, don’t do it

I use mine for boiled eggs, beans when I don’t feel like breaking out the big pots, and especially tough, thin cuts of meat for stuff like beef and broccoli. I don’t use it often enough, actually. I have a 6 qt instant pot.

[Michael_in_TX]

One thing you can do is have different gaskets for different purposes. For example, I have a red gasket that I only use for rice (red for rice) and a white one I use for everything else. While, I've never really detected smells/odors transferring from one dish to another, this does prevent it.

[jayjordan]

Yeah, I bought a couple of extra colored gaskets for the same reason when I first got the big IP. Hardly ever use a different one, just take the gasket off after every cook, wash thoroughly and leave it on top of the IP to “air.”

[fzxdoc]

I'm an Instant Pot devotee for its ease of use, it's multifunction capabilities and the fact that it turns out great hardboiled eggs as well as perfect Rancho Gordo beans, no soaking necessary.

I use the Instant Pot as a slow cooker often, and let me tell you, it's so nice to use the Sauté function for the aromatics, meat searing, spice blooming, etc. before going into Slow Cook mode. One pot cooking from start to finish that way. My "real" Crock Pot seethes with envy on the sidelines.

Of course the same goes for pressure cooking. Starting out in Sauté mode to brown the meats, etc. is so handy, followed by pressure cooking.

I don't use any of the other buttons on the Instant Pot. I have the 6 quart and the 10 quart models; the 6 quart size gets the lion's share of use. The 10 quart is wonderful for making stocks or broth and for cooking for 8 or more people.

I don't find cleaning the IP a problem at all. I wash the silicone gasket, the float valve and the valve shield by hand, and put the inner pot and the lid into the dishwasher. Easy peasy.

The Instant Pot can take upwards of 20-40 minutes to reach pressure, depending on the amount of food and what temperature the food is to start with. If I use the Sauté mode, the contents are already pretty hot, so it doesn't take long to come to pressure. Alternatively, if most of the contents are frozen, it can take much longer. That pressurizing time, when added to the cook time, means that the IP is not as snappy as it seems. But it is set/forget and will hold the food warm when done.

I particularly like cooking Indian food in the Instant Pot. Many authentic Indian recipes are based on the use of the pressure cooker, more so than many other cultures I know of. My Indian food, made in the IP, tastes closer to good restaurant Indian food than my making it any other way. Something about the pressure infusing the food more completely with all of those spices is what I tell myself.

I like stocks better when made in the IP.

I like hardboiled eggs better when made in the IP. They literally slip right out of their shells when dunked in an ice bath for a few minutes after their sauna in the pressure cooker.

I like knowing that I can dump a frozen solid block of chicken breasts or thighs into the IP and within 30-45 min or so have food on the table, using the resulting pulled chicken in soup, Mexican dishes, stir fry dishes etc. It's my go to technique on Desperation Dinner nights. My daughter puts boneless skinless frozen chicken pieces into the IP and dumps a jar of salsa over them, sets the pressure, and when done, calls that the entree. Come and get it. Tortillas optional. May end up on loaded nachos. You get her drift.

Kathryn

[JCBBQ]

Fantastically informative! Thank you Kathryn!

[fzxdoc]

...continued for Carolyn
The first link is the one I found many years ago. It originally was only for frozen chicken breasts but it has since been updated to include thawed poultry.

The second link is the most scientific of the three. I trust all Amy and Jacky IP recipes because of their methodical approach and their umami-based ingredients.

The third link is just for additional info.

K.

[Carolyn]

fzxdoc Thanks a bunch. I had no clue. I tried to cook frozen breasts with no luck. This has me seriously thinking about getting an electric pressure cooker. It was one of those things I wasn't so sure I would use.