Meat in instant pot....what am I doing wrong?

[Ottakee]

Tonight I made a recipe for 40 garlic clove chicken in the instant pot.  The chicken wasn't nice and tender even after following the recipe times.

I know the chicken is good as I made some from the same package yesterday in the crock pot and it was delicious.

I have had this same issue with trying to cook beef roasts, pork roast and other meats in the instant pot.

I LOVE the instant pot for mac and cheese, eggs, veggies, beans,..... basically everything but meats.

It is frustrating to wait the 10 minutes of natural release, then open the pot to find that it isn't done/tender and have to reseal it, being up to pressure, cook more and hope I guessed right on how more time.

[Elizabeth86]

IDK, but following. I recently tried out my Mom's instant pot and nothing I made was as good as the usu method of cooking imo. I wasn't thrilled. 🤷‍♀️

[katilac]

Even though I haven't used my pressure cooker much, this would make me suspect a faulty Instant Pot. Especially if you have upped the time a bit from one try to the next. 

[Ottakee]

4 minutes ago, katilac said:

Even though I haven't used my pressure cooker much, this would make me suspect a faulty Instant Pot. Especially if you have upped the time a bit from one try to the next. 

But it does veggies, rice, beans, pasta, etc perfectly.   I love it for those things and timing on those is correct.

[mlktwins]

I have had luck converting my MIL’s beef stew recipe for the Instapot.  So good and the meat is melt in your mouth. We also have great luck with boneless pork spare ribs in it. We love baked potaotes in the Instapot too  and do some veggies.  My rice didn’t turn out in it though.

[Katy]

I think they’ve gone downhill. Great for vegetarian foods, meat not so much. My first one was ok with meat but the replacement is terrible. 

[mlktwins]

Just now, mlktwins said:

I have had luck converting my MIL’s beef stew recipe for the Instapot.  So good and the meat is melt in your mouth. We also have great luck with boneless pork spare ribs in it. We love baked potaotes in the Instapot too  and do some veggies.  My rice didn’t turn out in it though.

Want to add that our chicken wings turn out well too.  I use my crock pot for roasts, etc.

[marbel]

I have good results with fatty cuts of meat - beef chuck, pork shoulder, chicken thighs, ribs - that benefit from longer cooking/cooking in liquid.  I did a "roast beef" once using (I think) a bottom round roast, which I usually roast (dry heat) in the oven just to medium rare, was a total failure in the IP. It was just gray and tough. 

Was your recipe just chicken breasts, or a whole chicken, or ?   I think it would be hard to get a whole chicken timed right. 

 

 

[kirstenhill]

I find I always have to cook meat much longer than IP recipes call for in order to get truly tender/"fall apart" meat.  I always chalk it up to being tested on a different model than my specific pot, or due to my meat weighing more.  Most recipes I use are for 4-6 servings, and I am aiming for 6-8 serving (six eaters including teens, plus leftover). 

[SanDiegoMom]

I always add a couple of extra minutes for meat.  I have had too many instances like that, and it's so frustrating!

[Arcadia]

For five to six pieces of chicken drumsticks, I add two cups of water and half a cup of Mirin. Then I press the meat function to cook. 

[Sneezyone]

I have MUCH better luck with meats when I use the sauté function to first brown the meats. WRT meat, I only use it for chicken thighs and breasts, pork shoulder, or beef roasts.

Edited November 3, 2020 by Sneezyone

[katilac]

Did you remember to change the setting from "I like my possum with a little fight left in it" to "I like my possum falling off the fork"? 

[PeterPan]

If you had said squirrel, I'd be with you that the IP might not be the best choice. I had some squirrels I cooked in there and NO MATTER how long, those boogers were TOUGH! Turns out you have to brine the meat and use https://www.mccormick.com/lawrys/flavors/adolphs/adolphs-original-meat-tenderizer , pan sear, and pop in a crockpot, boom perfect.

But for chicken breasts? Yeah the problem is the stupid recipes. Apparently as Katilac says, I like my possum falling off the fork. I just automatically add time to any blog recipes I find, because the times never work out. And of course the thickness of the meat, etc. matters. 

Also,  don't NPR on meat. You really need to quick release, pop it open, make sure it's actually done. You're going to get a feel for how long cuts of meat take. If you want it more reliable, try chunking the chicken like for white chicken chili. 

[Familia]

The only meat I make in the IP is ribs...fall of the bone tender.  My pot is subject to giving a BURN warning and shutting down, so I cannot brown meat in it first, and all meat goes on a trivit or in basket.  I love my IP now for things it can do better than all my former ways of cooking the item, so ribs, eggs, Mac & cheese, pasta with meat sauce, thawing/browning ground beef (in basket) only.  

[klmama]

How much chicken did you put in, and how long was the cook time?  My machine automatically sets poultry for 20 minutes cook time and it is always tender, but I don't stop the natural release at 10 minutes.  I usually leave it for 20 or more because I forget or get busy with something else.  Maybe that's the difference?

 

 

[klmama]

Also, you mentioned beef roasts.  They take 90 minutes in mine and turn out great.  I do sautee them in the pot first, then deglaze and cook for 90, with full natural steam release.

 

Edited November 3, 2020 by klmama

[klmama]

double post

Edited November 3, 2020 by klmama

[Spy Car]

15 hours ago, Elizabeth86 said:

IDK, but following. I recently tried out my Mom's instant pot and nothing I made was as good as the usu method of cooking imo. I wasn't thrilled. 🤷‍♀️

 

Usu?

Bill

[Clemsondana]

I have an Italian Beef recipe that I do in the instapot all the time.  It uses 3-4 lbs of beef  cut into a few pieces, and then only has 2 T Worstershire sauce as liquid and a few T of dried spices.  It's fall-apart shreddable every time.  I cook it for an hour.  I've tried doing chicken plain, mostly for shredding for casseroles, and don't think it's as soft as when it's boiled or crock-potted, but I may just need to do it longer.  For a lot of things, I do meat in the crock pot and rice or potatoes in the instapot, so I don't do meat as often as some. ' I've had great luck using it for applesauce, and this weekend learned that if you forget to put in the seal and start it, then leave it for a few hours, you'll come back with a lot of water on the counter but the applesauce turned into apple butter and is really tasty.  We want to do it on purpose but are afraid we'll break something.  🙂  

[Ellie]

I don't know how to advise you; I've been very happy with the meats I've cooked in my IP. I don't saute first unless the recipe calls for it. I've cooked whole chicken, turkey breast, and Mississippi pot roast, all of which were tasty.

[Elizabeth86]

2 hours ago, Spy Car said:

 

Usu?

Bill

Usually. Sorry, when I

post here I'm usually doing at least 3 different things and I suck at multitasking.

Edited November 3, 2020 by Elizabeth86

[Spy Car]

1 minute ago, Elizabeth86 said:

Usually. Sorry, when ai post here I'm usually doing at least 3 different things and I sick at multitasking.

LOL. I thought I was missing out on the "Usu method."

Seriously.

Bill

[Elizabeth86]

6 minutes ago, Spy Car said:

LOL. I thought I was missing out on the "Usu method."

Seriously.

Bill

Bwahaha, I thought you were being a smartie pants. Trust me, if it's a new way to do anything, I'm clueless. I don't even own a toaster. 

[Ottakee]

It likely just needed more time.  I do like my chicken falling apart.   It was 2 pounds of skinless boneless breasts...maybe 6 of them.

It was in for 12 minutes and 10 minute natural release.   

[ktgrok]

7 hours ago, Clemsondana said:

I have an Italian Beef recipe that I do in the instapot all the time.  It uses 3-4 lbs of beef  cut into a few pieces, and then only has 2 T Worstershire sauce as liquid and a few T of dried spices.  It's fall-apart shreddable every time.  I cook it for an hour.  I've tried doing chicken plain, mostly for shredding for casseroles, and don't think it's as soft as when it's boiled or crock-potted, but I may just need to do it longer.  For a lot of things, I do meat in the crock pot and rice or potatoes in the instapot, so I don't do meat as often as some. ' I've had great luck using it for applesauce, and this weekend learned that if you forget to put in the seal and start it, then leave it for a few hours, you'll come back with a lot of water on the counter but the applesauce turned into apple butter and is really tasty.  We want to do it on purpose but are afraid we'll break something.  🙂  

Um, what kind of beef? That sounds yummy!

3 minutes ago, Ottakee said:

It likely just needed more time.  I do like my chicken falling apart.   It was 2 pounds of skinless boneless breasts...maybe 6 of them.

It was in for 12 minutes and 10 minute natural release.   

Oh, i do more like 15 minutes at least for chicken. Sometimes more like 17 if they are thick. 

[Clemsondana]

@ktgrok We buy 1/2 cow at a time so we have a lot of weird cuts.  We tend to use round roasts for this because they're not particularly flavorful on their own, but you could use a nicer one if you wanted.  We just cut it into a few pieces, add 2-3 T of sauce, and 1T each of garlic salt, ground mustard (the spice, not the prepared kind), and pepper...I think thats it.  We've found that we usually do better with just 1/2 T of pepper or the kids think its spicy.  It was originally a crock pot recipe that I adapted to the instapot.  We use it for sandwiches or serve with rice and a veggie as a bowl.  I tend to avoid cuts with bones because it's a pain to shred them.