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The Instant Pot and I are not destined for Instant Pot greatness..

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  • Frozen Smoke
    commented on 's reply
    The pressure cook cycle never got started I got the "Burn" message before the pressure cycle. When i released the pressure I didn't get much out and could easily open the pot in about 30 seconds. And again the pasta was not on the bottom nor did it fall down there everything was still in the place in which I placed it with the pasta on top and the stewed tomatoes over the top of the pasta. It was clearly the chili that burned to the bottom.

  • Buck Flicks
    replied
    I find this happens when I sautee something, then add an ingredient that can get sticky and cook. It happened a couple times with my Orzo pasta dish that I love making. What was happening was that dumping the pasta in while the burner was still hot, was the pasta started to cook and it would stick to the bottom (like pasta does if you don't stir it up in the early stages) then start to burn. Then I decided to let the pot and burner cool down before adding the pasta and starting the cook. That seemed to prevent the burn. So now, when I sautee something, once I sautee, I add the water or broth that I'd cook the rice or pasta in and let it sit for a few minutes, then add the pasta, let THAT sit for a minute, stir it up real good, then lock on the lid and start cooking.

    Seems like 7 minutes would be too long to basically cook pasta, since everything else is already cooked. I would think it would only need 3-4 minutes at the very most, but probably less. This might have also contributed to your burn notice. I think my best pasta has been cooked for 1-2 minutes and then allowed a 4-5 minute natural pressure release (letting the pot cool without actually venting pressure), then a quick release (pressing the release valve to let the steam release quickly.) So the pasta is really cooking at pressure for 5-6 minutes or so, but doesn't need a full quick-release which can negatively affect the texture of your food, especially pasta.

    Leave a comment:


  • Murdy
    replied
    If all else fails, read the instructions!

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  • MBMorgan
    replied
    I agree with Potkettleblack that the pasta (and specifically the penne pasta) is the likely culprit. If you google "Instant Pot Chili Mac", you'll find a bunch of recipes ... every one of which that I checked out uses elbow macaroni. I'm guessing that the size and shape of macaroni makes it less likely that it will sink to the bottom and form a mat.

    Based on your experience, if I ever try something similar in the instant pot and I've got no elbow macaroni on hand I think I'll cook the pasta separately and just stir it into the finished chili once the pot's done with everything else.

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  • Attjack
    replied
    You might consider following some recipes designed for the Instant Pot until you get the hang of it and then try winging it later on.

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  • Frozen Smoke
    replied
    I concur Potkettleblack that the time it takes this thing to get up to pressure you can cook your pasta in a sauce pan and have better control. Once this thing is locked down for pressure your pretty much in it until the end of the game, no stirring things so they don't stick to the bottom!

    I keep hearing how good it is for rice. We don't make much rice but when we do it is local wild rice that is harvested locally and hand parched. It cooks differently than any other rice I have made. I use a steamer with a rice basket so i can always see what's going on with it. I need to be able to shut it down when I see it's the exact time it's ready the instant Pot won't allow for that.

    It's going to be awhile but i'm sure I will tangle with this thing again or let the wife have at it. if she don't like it it will be a give away to one of the kids.

    Leave a comment:


  • Frozen Smoke
    commented on 's reply
    Chili and broth were both on the bottom of the pot. Then pasta then stewed tomatoes over them. The first dish I did also had pasta so I knew that pasta needed something under it. It was actually the chili that burned to the bottom so i'm guessing this must need to produce enough heat to build steam there is a potential of bottom scorching some things.

  • DoubleUpOrQuit
    replied
    I have had mostly good experiences with our Instant Pot so far. I have run into issues cooking frozen chicken breasts with broth. I had to use the wire rack to get the chicken breasts off the bottom of the pot, otherwise the machine just kept 'burning' them. We use it a lot for potatoes, rice, and pasta. I did manage to cook a full turkey breast in it for Thanksgiving. I did that just because I needed to see if it would work. It did work, but my smoked turkey blew it out of the water.

    Leave a comment:


  • Potkettleblack
    replied
    I would guess the pasta got on the bottom, and was burning because there was no liquid under it. Not sure how that happened. I have a breville fast/slow, which is a much better engineered Instant Pot, and haven't had that happen. But I've never done a pasta in it, as the pasta takes about the same in a 3qt sauce pan as it takes to bring the pot up to pressure and let it go for half the boil time.

    It's a rice wizard though, but not worth the time for instant rice. For basmati, and other rices that want 20 minutes of simmer, much better to bring to pressure and go, even though you only save about 5 minutes or so. quinoa, other grains, same thing. risotto.

    Made the base of my T-day gravy in it. Amazing pressure cooked drippings, then turned into gravy in a pan. Great stocks, soups, broths, stews.

    Leave a comment:


  • Thunder77
    replied
    Some things are great for Instant Pot, some not. I love potatoes, beans, rice, etc. Also, the best boiled eggs (actually steamed) I have ever had. Pot roast, chili, etc. Best broth I ever made was in the Instant Pot. I have never tried a noodle dish. I tried a whole chicken, but the time in the recipe must have been off, because the chicken literally fell apart when I pulled it out. It was moist and delicious, but just fell apart. I might try it again, with the time adjusted. Pork and sauerkraut in the Instant Pot; OH MAN!!!

    Leave a comment:


  • jfmorris
    replied
    Haha. My wife SO wanted one of these. We picked one up on sale at Sam's Club on Black Friday, and a 3 crock serving thing she said she would use throughout the holidays for parties. Guess what? They are both still sitting in the box, in the spare room where she stuck them when we got home on Black Friday. She has yet to open the things, and continues using her 3 old crock pots, two 6 quarts and a 4 quart that must be 30 years old...

    I should try and sneak them back to Sam's Club for store credit and buy meat with the credit...

    Leave a comment:


  • FireMan
    replied
    As Elvis would say, thank you vera much. I know there will be others to help you through your travails but, I question the hassle. Insta Pot college? I’m thinking not.

    Leave a comment:


  • The Instant Pot and I are not destined for Instant Pot greatness..

    So second attempt with this thing. The first go around was largely my fault because I didn't take the time to learn how it operates. I thought I learned enough the first go around to be able to master a simple recipe without going to Instant Pot college but I guess I was wrong again.

    Going on another fishing excursion tomorrow so I just wanted some simple comfort food that can be thrown in the crock pot that can just be heated in the crock pot all day and eaten at will. Sounds like the perfect job for Mr. Instant Pot. The lid locks on so I don't have to worry about transporting it.

    Went through the pantry to see what I had on hand. Had everything for a nice chili mac. Perfect. I started out by sauteing onions and garlic in the Mr. Instant. That went great just as it did the first time. Done sauteing so I hit cancel to stop the process and shut it off. Fine. Add my other ingredients. Can of chili, can of stewed tomatoes, can of whole kernel corn and 2 cups beef broth and a box of penne pasta.

    Ok lets cook this stuff. Hit pressure cook set to high for 7 minutes. Mr Instant says "I'm on" ok I now know from last time that it's building pressure and the timer will start when the pressure is right. Everything is rolling along fine for about 10 minutes and I'm expecting the timer countdown to start soon. Next thing Mr. Instant says is "Burn"! WTH? What can be burning there's all kinds of liquid in there! Turns out things were burning to the bottom. Seriously? Instructions say to remove food, deglaze Mr. Instant and return food to pot and try again.

    I don't think so. If anything is getting returned it's Mr (I do everything perfectly) Instant Pot back to Amazon!!
    So I dump the food into my old standby crock pot to which I have to duct tape the lid on for transport in the car but that's fine with me. So now I have the pot sitting in the sink with hot soapy water waiting for me to scrub it clean.

    I'm sure there is some little step I missed that caused this and it's operator error. But for now Mr. Instant Pot is relegated to the laundry room to reside and collect dust on top of the laundry detergent cabinet.

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