Instant pot----first try was a success

[Ottakee]

I gave in to the peer pressure and bought an Instant Pot on Prime day.

 

Today I made black beans in it and they turned out quite well.  I didn't soak them ahead of time and set it to 26 minutes high pressure and let the steam release naturally.  They were perfectly done but I had added a bit too much water (because of all of the warnings about NOT adding enough).  I needed a bit more salt and garlic but the beans themselves were cooked perfectly.

 

Now to figure out what to try next.

[anneinco]

I just used mine for the first time but somehow messed up hard boiled eggs lol. They are yellowish... Maybe cooked too long? Don't know.

 

Black beans is one thing I am looking forward to using it for.

[ktgrok]

I made beef stew (perfect) and 15 bean soup (needed a few extra minutes, but I like my beans pretty soft). And steel cut oats, which I think are better at 4 minutes than the 3 advised. 

[Mrs. Tharp]

Took me a moment to realize what kind of pot. Ha. I need to buy one someday. They sound great!

[MotherGoose]

Mine is waiting for me at home....went out of town unexpectedly. :(

[anneinco]

I made beef stew (perfect) and 15 bean soup (needed a few extra minutes, but I like my beans pretty soft). And steel cut oats, which I think are better at 4 minutes than the 3 advised.

Can you tell me more about the steel cut oats? How much oats/liquid and what setting? I make a big batch on the stove every week so this would be quicker!

[JudoMom]

I'm attempting yogurt.  Sunday night I'm making this Mocha Rubbed Roast.  I'm looking forward to making hard boiled eggs, but I already have 9 in the fridge.

[ktgrok]

Can you tell me more about the steel cut oats? How much oats/liquid and what setting? I make a big batch on the stove every week so this would be quicker!

 

1 cup oats, 3 cups water. It says 3 minutes, but I didn't think they were done enough, so I did another 2 minutes. At that point some were starting to brown on the bottom, and a few spots were a bit mushy, but I like mushy, lol. 4 minutes would probably be about right. Natural pressure release, as it keeps cooking for a while as the steam calms down. 

 

Oh, and it takes longer than it seems, as it does take quite a while to come to pressure and to cool off. But you don't have to stir or monitor it at all which is worth it right there. 

[JFSinIL]

Can you tell me more about the steel cut oats? How much oats/liquid and what setting? I make a big batch on the stove every week so this would be quicker!

 

I do a cup of steel cut oats (Bob's Red Mill) and four cups water.  A dash of salt, a blurb from the bottle of olive oil (just use a bit of something to prevent foaming) and give it 15 minutes on High ( I do Manual setting, never have messed with any other settings except Saute once in a while), then turn off and let natural cool 20 minutes, then open and there  you are. I use potholders to take the inner pot out and set it on the stovetop to cool, stirring when i remember, until it is cool enough to stick in a container in the 'fridge.

 

I think you could do 1 and 1/2 cups oats and 6 cups water.   Or two cups and 8 of water...if it doesn't go over the inner "do not go over" line.  Haven't tried this myself.

 

Sure beats hovering in the kitchen to stir a pot on a stove every couple minutes for 20 - 25 minutes.  You might not save time itself, as the pot has to heat up and cool down, but you are free from STIRRING as it cooks,  and can go start laundry or do a spelling test or nurse a baby - whatever needs doing. 

 

Oh, I find I end up stirring in a bit more water as it cools, too, to get it to be the texture I like. 

 

Note sure how ktgrok got by with just a few minutes cooking time - were they regular oats or the steel cut oats that look like little gravel?

 

Edited July 16, 2016 by JFSinIL

[cjzimmer1]

I made beef stew (perfect) and 15 bean soup (needed a few extra minutes, but I like my beans pretty soft). And steel cut oats, which I think are better at 4 minutes than the 3 advised. 

 

So did the Beef Stew suitably impress your DH so he didn't mind the purchase?

[Ellie]

I made rice, then pork chops, last night, then eggs this morning. So far, so good.

[UnionJack]

I bought an Instant Pot on Prime Day as well! Kind of an impulse purchase, although I'd been curious about them for a while. I made: http://nomnompaleo.com/post/143765161843/pressure-cooker-salsa-chicken-tacos tonight... My family of six all loved them! I added sautéed onions and a chopped up fresh Serrano pepper on top of the salsa before cooking the meat. I'd been a little intimidated by the machine but it was so simple! We're leaving town for a while but think I'll make the mocha rubbed roast next! Or maybe hard-boiled eggs to take with us...

[Guest]

I made beef stew (perfect) and 15 bean soup (needed a few extra minutes, but I like my beans pretty soft). And steel cut oats, which I think are better at 4 minutes than the 3 advised.

No explosion??? Is your DH feeling better about it?

[ktgrok]

I do a cup of steel cut oats (Bob's Red Mill) and four cups water.  A dash of salt, a blurb from the bottle of olive oil (just use a bit of something to prevent foaming) and give it 15 minutes on High ( I do Manual setting, never have messed with any other settings except Saute once in a while), then turn off and let natural cool 20 minutes, then open and there  you are. I use potholders to take the inner pot out and set it on the stovetop to cool, stirring when i remember, until it is cool enough to stick in a container in the 'fridge.

 

I think you could do 1 and 1/2 cups oats and 6 cups water.   Or two cups and 8 of water...if it doesn't go over the inner "do not go over" line.  Haven't tried this myself.

 

Sure beats hovering in the kitchen to stir a pot on a stove every couple minutes for 20 - 25 minutes.  You might not save time itself, as the pot has to heat up and cool down, but you are free from STIRRING as it cooks,  and can go start laundry or do a spelling test or nurse a baby - whatever needs doing. 

 

Oh, I find I end up stirring in a bit more water as it cools, too, to get it to be the texture I like. 

 

Note sure how ktgrok got by with just a few minutes cooking time - were they regular oats or the steel cut oats that look like little gravel?

 

Wow, that's a cup more water and much longer time. (although I did 3, cool down, then 2). They were definitely steel cut,and that was the directions that came with the pot (3 minutes). I did find it kind of chewy, but cooked. Do you like it more mushy than chewy? I think I might do some extra water next time, because at 5 minutes they were starting to stick to the bottom. 

[ktgrok]

So did the Beef Stew suitably impress your DH so he didn't mind the purchase?

 

He refused to eat it that night. On principal, although he didn't say so until later when I called him on it. Went on and on, babbling about how I brought a bomb into our house. Finally I said, well, good, now if we ever need a bomb, we have one! That kind of shut him up :)

 

The next night we had bean soup and leftover stew to choose from for dinner. Both made in the Instant Pot. He stood there, glaring, eating bread for a few minutes and then finally ate the soup. 

 

I think he's over it now.  :lol:

 

Seriously though, I seldom go against him like this, but I am a grown woman and can have a pressure cooker if I want to! I actually googled and found zero cases of one exploding. He's just going to have to deal with it. 

[MeaganS]

I got one. I had hoped Prime day would have them, so was happy it was an all day deal! Originally I wanted the bluetooth one for better customization, but I didn't want one almost $100 more. :)

 

Already I've made read beans and rice, a family crockpot favorite. I need to tweak it a little to get the water ratio right, but it was really good. Dh and I both thought it was more flavorful than in the crockpot.

 

I also made pulled pork shoulder and steel cut oats. The oatmeal turned out ok, but after it was done I realized I had forgotten to turn off the vent thing so the pressure part didn't work. Oh well, at least it was only for oats. :)

 

So yeah, I'm having fun so far. :)

[anneinco]

Thanks for the info on the oats. While the time might not be be shorter (for the longer time) I won't have to remember they are on the stove (I don't stir except near the end when I'm checking how much time is left. Could almost set it up and go back to bed for a few minutes lol

[momacacia]

I got one on Prime Day, too. :-)

 

I am fairly HFLC. I'm curious what happens if I add some fat (not called for in recipe) to a dish in the Instant Pot. E.g., do something like the salsa chicken, but add 2 Tbsp. or so of more coconut oil or bacon fat...does that somehow ruin it or do something bad since it's under pressure, etc. Can I add freely add fat before cooking, or should I mix in once everything is done?

 

I don't want to break anything or make nasty food. ;-)

 

ETA: I just found the Crème Brulee recipe in the Instant Pot recipe book. My life is complete!

Edited July 16, 2016 by momacacia

[JFSinIL]

Wow, that's a cup more water and much longer time. (although I did 3, cool down, then 2). They were definitely steel cut,and that was the directions that came with the pot (3 minutes). I did find it kind of chewy, but cooked. Do you like it more mushy than chewy? I think I might do some extra water next time, because at 5 minutes they were starting to stick to the bottom. 

 

I searched on INSTANT POT Recipe Swap on Facebook and seems there are a lot of potential variations when cooking steel cut oats. Note, my oats do seem "soupy" at first, but since I let them cool down, portion them into small containers (one per day) and eat them over the next five days, they do firm up a lot (and stay thick when nuked to reheat).   If you are eating them freshly cooked, then less water than I use would probably be better.  But I really do not see recipes that cook for less then ten minutes on high.

 

PS my oats never stick or burn.  Have been cooking them every five days for over a year.  And I stir in salted, roasted sunflower seeds after they are cooked (shelled of course) since I like my oats savory, not sweet. But I am odd.....;-)

Edited July 16, 2016 by JFSinIL

[JFSinIL]

I got one on Prime Day, too. :-)

 

I am fairly HFLC. I'm curious what happens if I add some fat (not called for in recipe) to a dish in the Instant Pot. E.g., do something like the salsa chicken, but add 2 Tbsp. or so of more coconut oil or bacon fat...does that somehow ruin it or do something bad since it's under pressure, etc. Can I add freely add fat before cooking, or should I mix in once everything is done?

 

I don't want to break anything or make nasty food. ;-)

 

ETA: I just found the Crème Brulee recipe in the Instant Pot recipe book. My life is complete!

 

Many recipes do call for a bit of fat since in some cases (ahem, oatmeals) it can reduce any foaming that might otherwise occur.

[ktgrok]

I searched on INSTANT POT Recipe Swap on Facebook and seems there are a lot of potential variations when cooking steel cut oats. Note, my oats do seem "soupy" at first, but since I let them cool down, portion them into small containers (one per day) and eat them over the next five days, they do firm up a lot (and stay thick when nuked to reheat).   If you are eating them freshly cooked, then less water than I use would probably be better.  But I really do not see recipes that cook for less then ten minutes on high.

 

PS my oats never stick or burn.  Have been cooking them every five days for over a year.  And I stir in salted, roasted sunflower seeds after they are cooked (shelled of course) since I like my oats savory, not sweet. But I am odd.....;-)

 

I like mine savory too...I put on salt and butter. although I did recently discover some sugar free pancake syrup can be good too. 

[ktgrok]

Just to prove I'm not crazy...this one says 3 minutes, as do the Instant Pot people themselves. But I did think they were a bit undercooked, so I'll do longer next time! I just figured I had been overcooking all my life, and maybe they were supposed to be that chewy, lol. http://myplantbasedfamily.com/2016/01/13/instant-pot-oatmeal/

[Forget-Me-Not]

I've had mine for a year (last Prime day!) and I love it. The hard boiled eggs are so easy to peel! I made refried beans a few nights ago with dry pinto beans and it took less than an hour! Tonight I'm going to make a Kalua pulled pork recipe. It's actually for Sunday dinner, but we have company coming after church and I'm afraid I won't have enough time to get it cooked (especially since it's a new recipe), so I'm going to make it tonight and reheat tomorrow. Fingers crossed.

[JFSinIL]

Just to prove I'm not crazy...this one says 3 minutes, as do the Instant Pot people themselves. But I did think they were a bit undercooked, so I'll do longer next time! I just figured I had been overcooking all my life, and maybe they were supposed to be that chewy, lol. http://myplantbasedfamily.com/2016/01/13/instant-pot-oatmeal/

I do see that recipe in the booklet that can with the pot - but also in the chart on page 32 (grain cooking times) it says to cook 10 minutes. So even the Instant Pot folks can't make up their mind! hahahahah!

[Pippen]

I've not used this, but the Kindle version of an Instapot cookbook is on sale at Amazon for 99 cents:

https://www.amazon.com/Instant-Pot-Cookbook-Pressure-Delicious-ebook/dp/B01DI2QP8W/ref=tmm_kin_title_0?_encoding=UTF8&qid=1468727957&sr=8-7#nav-subnav

 

 

[AngieW in Texas]

The Instant Pot I bought on Prime Day hasn't arrive yet. I was hoping it would at least come today, but no luck. Now it says it should arrive by July 18th.