This question has come up on Facebook: "How many husbands are absolutely thrilled you've become obsessed with your Instant Pot?" It seems most of them are. In fact many of them have either taken over the cooking job or declared themselves official tasters. I did have to laugh when one woman said her husband has pleaded for a pork chop cooked in a frying pan though. I'm not obsessed (yet) but I am discovering how easily that could happen.
On Christmas morning my son said to me, as I was opening my presents, "If you don't want this, or think you might never use it, just say so and I'll take it back." He was somewhat concerned about what he referred to as my phobia concerning pressure cookers. Okay, true I never used one because I was sure I'd blow up the darn thing. My mom loved hers but she never taught me to use it, and they didn't teach us about them in home economics where we learned most other housewifely duties either. (Okay, so I guess I just aged myself).
I accepted the gift, though it took me a little while to get brave enough to use it. I really didn't like the sound of any of the recipes in the book that came with it so I wasn't tempted at first. For a couple of days I was actually thinking I really should have turned this rather expensive gift down. What do I need this thing for anyway? Then I decided I better run the test cycle and figure out what to do next. Testing involves putting some water in it and bringing it up to pressure, just to make sure the seals work. So far, so good.
I went online and looked for recipes and also discovered a group on Facebook called Instant Pot 101 for Beginners. That sounded like a good place to start. From there I found a really good newsletter that lists several tried and true recipes each week. Wondering what to start with, someone suggested I practice by just boiling eggs. There is a chart available that shows all the different stages of cooked eggs and you can decide how long to leave it in there by matching the picture of the egg that looks like your idea of perfect to the time to cook it. So, I tried that. I can't say that it was any faster than boiling one as the water had to heat up enough to build the pressure up before the timer would start. But the egg did come out perfect and I had finally cooked something in there. It won't become the way we do boiled eggs here though as I like a nice runny yolk and my hubby likes everything super firm. In a regular pot, I can just take mine out after 3 minutes and have it all gone before he is even thinking of removing his. In an Instant Pot, you can't exactly take the cover off to take out the one I consider done as it will let the pressure out.
So next I decided we could try some pulled pork. The instructions told me to cut the roast into 3 or 4 pieces and use the Saute setting to brown the meat first. After de-glazing the pan I added the rest of the ingredients and cooked the meat. Since it was already cut into 4 pieces, I just shredded one of them for the pulled pork, and we ate the rest as roast pork. That's great for us as the individual pieces can become separate meals, and I can even freeze portions if I want for some other time.
The next thing I made was a mix of chicken thighs, rice and black beans and salsa. It had chili in it and was really tasty. That also lasted us a few days.
Then this week I brought home both ribs and chicken legs from the grocery store. I thought I'd cook one of those up and freeze the other, but I ended up cooking the ribs the first night, and cooking an entire meal of chicken, potatoes, celery, carrots and onions the next. Everything came out perfectly cooked and very tasty. The trick is in the stacking. Apparently you have to put the stuff that will take the longest to cook at the bottom. I'm getting so brave I even changed the spices I used and cut down on the onions.
Last night we ate the left over ribs with the left over potatoes and carrots from the chicken dinner. Tonight we can eat the left over chicken which I will likely pair with some rice. As I see it, this gadget should cut down on my electric bill as it only takes minutes to cook a meal that could take an hour or more in the oven and on the stove. Since there are only two of us, there is always enough for another night or two. That means I don't even have to cook as often, which should cut the electric bill even further. I'm not obsessed with this gadget yet though, as I still have a lot of favourite recipes that I will cook the way I always did. In fact, I like my old way of cooking ribs better, because I like to put sauce on rice to go with them and that didn't happen with the Instant Pot recipe I used. Maybe I just need to try a different recipe next time.
With Instant Pot, I am still at a stage where I have to follow the directions step by step. It's not like you can just take the lid off and check on how things are doing or adjust the spices. Or maybe you can, but then I wouldn't know how much longer to put it back in for. I'm learning as I go though, and it's rather fun to see how things turn out. I know others have had failures and I will keep following the facebook page page as the people there are quick to give guidance if you need it. Right now, I'd say it's the biggest time saver since the microwave, and may soon be used here just as often. As for my husband, I'm not sure if thrilled is the word, but he is enjoying the food that comes out of this gadget, and that's all that matters.
On Christmas morning my son said to me, as I was opening my presents, "If you don't want this, or think you might never use it, just say so and I'll take it back." He was somewhat concerned about what he referred to as my phobia concerning pressure cookers. Okay, true I never used one because I was sure I'd blow up the darn thing. My mom loved hers but she never taught me to use it, and they didn't teach us about them in home economics where we learned most other housewifely duties either. (Okay, so I guess I just aged myself).
I accepted the gift, though it took me a little while to get brave enough to use it. I really didn't like the sound of any of the recipes in the book that came with it so I wasn't tempted at first. For a couple of days I was actually thinking I really should have turned this rather expensive gift down. What do I need this thing for anyway? Then I decided I better run the test cycle and figure out what to do next. Testing involves putting some water in it and bringing it up to pressure, just to make sure the seals work. So far, so good.
I went online and looked for recipes and also discovered a group on Facebook called Instant Pot 101 for Beginners. That sounded like a good place to start. From there I found a really good newsletter that lists several tried and true recipes each week. Wondering what to start with, someone suggested I practice by just boiling eggs. There is a chart available that shows all the different stages of cooked eggs and you can decide how long to leave it in there by matching the picture of the egg that looks like your idea of perfect to the time to cook it. So, I tried that. I can't say that it was any faster than boiling one as the water had to heat up enough to build the pressure up before the timer would start. But the egg did come out perfect and I had finally cooked something in there. It won't become the way we do boiled eggs here though as I like a nice runny yolk and my hubby likes everything super firm. In a regular pot, I can just take mine out after 3 minutes and have it all gone before he is even thinking of removing his. In an Instant Pot, you can't exactly take the cover off to take out the one I consider done as it will let the pressure out.
So next I decided we could try some pulled pork. The instructions told me to cut the roast into 3 or 4 pieces and use the Saute setting to brown the meat first. After de-glazing the pan I added the rest of the ingredients and cooked the meat. Since it was already cut into 4 pieces, I just shredded one of them for the pulled pork, and we ate the rest as roast pork. That's great for us as the individual pieces can become separate meals, and I can even freeze portions if I want for some other time.
The next thing I made was a mix of chicken thighs, rice and black beans and salsa. It had chili in it and was really tasty. That also lasted us a few days.
Then this week I brought home both ribs and chicken legs from the grocery store. I thought I'd cook one of those up and freeze the other, but I ended up cooking the ribs the first night, and cooking an entire meal of chicken, potatoes, celery, carrots and onions the next. Everything came out perfectly cooked and very tasty. The trick is in the stacking. Apparently you have to put the stuff that will take the longest to cook at the bottom. I'm getting so brave I even changed the spices I used and cut down on the onions.Last night we ate the left over ribs with the left over potatoes and carrots from the chicken dinner. Tonight we can eat the left over chicken which I will likely pair with some rice. As I see it, this gadget should cut down on my electric bill as it only takes minutes to cook a meal that could take an hour or more in the oven and on the stove. Since there are only two of us, there is always enough for another night or two. That means I don't even have to cook as often, which should cut the electric bill even further. I'm not obsessed with this gadget yet though, as I still have a lot of favourite recipes that I will cook the way I always did. In fact, I like my old way of cooking ribs better, because I like to put sauce on rice to go with them and that didn't happen with the Instant Pot recipe I used. Maybe I just need to try a different recipe next time.
With Instant Pot, I am still at a stage where I have to follow the directions step by step. It's not like you can just take the lid off and check on how things are doing or adjust the spices. Or maybe you can, but then I wouldn't know how much longer to put it back in for. I'm learning as I go though, and it's rather fun to see how things turn out. I know others have had failures and I will keep following the facebook page page as the people there are quick to give guidance if you need it. Right now, I'd say it's the biggest time saver since the microwave, and may soon be used here just as often. As for my husband, I'm not sure if thrilled is the word, but he is enjoying the food that comes out of this gadget, and that's all that matters.
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