Tell me why I need an Instapot?

[Sue46]

I use the stove top, toaster oven, barbecue and insta-pot. We don't have an rv oven.Just depends on what I am making. Looked into an air fryer 1-2 years ago, for us, not worth the storage space.

[Cypressloser]

Originally Posted by Dee744

Not sure that I am glad I asked this question . You guys are a wealth information, now I am overwhelmed! I saw the Ninja thing at sams then 3 days later they were sold out, so hope they like them.
So it seems few use the cook top in your units, why odors and grease? Sure is a lot to think about and learn. That gal that posted pics of the stuff she cooks I want to know where they go so we can set up next to them!

The "gal's" name is John .

My wife and I both enjoy cooking equally, she usually takes care of the main course and I make the yogurt, cheese cakes and other sweets. She is away for a few weeks visiting her 98 year old mother but I'll see if I can give you a few tips.

No moisture - no steam - no pressure - no cooking.

Take notes and take pictures for later reference.

To get the same results every time use the same amount of liquid at roughly the same temperature every time - ie. for medium boiled eggs pour 1 cup cold tap water into the pot, pierce the eggs and place them on trivet, close the lid and set the valve to sealing, press 'Pressure Cook' and set the time to 4 minutes (for hard boiled eggs add a minute), it will take a few minutes til the pressure builds up and the valve seals, the timer will start shortly after, when cooking is finished set the valve to venting, remove the lid when the pin drops, remove the eggs and cool them in ice cold water.

Tip: This is not recommended by Instant Pot and you can get burned, so be careful! When you put a damp dish cloth over the valve and then open it almost all of the steam and cooking smells will be trapped in the dish cloth - but be careful the steam is hot, use a spoon or something to turn the valve!!!


Goulash for two:
Press 'Saute' on the panel add some oil (we use canola oil) and wait until the display shows 'Hot', saute the beef cubes until they turn color (not for to long) then remove them from the pot. Leave the pot on, saute 1/2 large onion, next add a can full of mushrooms with the juice, add 1 tbsp tomato paste, salt, pepper, 3/4 cup red wine, 1 tbsp Hungarian paprika powder, 1 bay leaf, 1 or 2 cubed potatoes. The amount of liquid is just right when the potatoes are almost but not entirely covered. There is no need to keep it all cooking for any length of time, just leave the pot on while you add your ingredients, that's it. Next, have your steamer basket ready with green beans, cauliflower or broccoli. Place a trivet in the pot on top of the meat/potato "slop", set the steamer basket on the trivet, turn the pot off, put the lid on and set the vent to sealing, press 'Pressure Cook' and set the timer to 25 minutes, when cooking is complete release the steam, remove the vegetables, press 'Saute' and add some flour to thicken the goulash to your liking, turn the pot off and dig in.
If the veggies are to soft you can remove them after 20 minutes, or 17 or whenever, but then you should increase the overall cook time by an additional 5 minutes or so. Adjust the recipe or seasoning to your liking.


In one pot you brown and cook the meat, the potatoes and the vegetables and there is only one pot to clean, not three.

It may sound difficult but it's super easy and every recipe can be personalized.

Tip: When cooking is done and you remove the lid rinse it immediately under hot tap water. That's all it takes to clean the lid, no need to remove the silicon ring or to disassemble anything, don't wait until after dinner.

[Cypressloser]

Pasta in Alfredo Sauce
This is one dish that only my wife knows how to cook and she makes it from scratch, I have no idea what ingredients she uses - well, except onions, mushrooms and pasta .


Press 'Saute' on the control panel, saute your onion, then add all other ingredients as you normally would to get to the right consistency for your sauce.

Next, this is very important and you should use a kitchen scale for this step, weigh 1 part water or water mixed with milk for every 1.25 parts of dry pasta.

Add the liquid to the sauce which isn't fully cooked yet, give it a quick stirr and then add the dry pasta. Don't push the pasta into the liquid or try to mix it all together, just gently level the pasta in the top layer of the sauce. If you do get pasta on the bottom of the pot it will burn. Put the lid on, set the vent to 'Sealing', press 'Pressure Cook' and set the timer for 6 minutes. When cooking is finished turn the pot off, again cover the vent with a damp dish cloth and carefully open the vent but this time, since there is so much milk and/or cream in the sauce, the pot may be full of foam. If it splatters to much leave it alone and let the foam settle for 5 minutes and then try again. If the Alfredo sauce is to thin you can certainly thicken it with some flour (or sour cream), however the pasta may still absorb liquid at this stage.

Rinse the lid under hot tap water immediately, however this time you may have to clean the vent separately if you had excess foaming.

[Cypressloser]

Yogurt
Most Instant Pots have a 'Yogurt' setting, I had not the best success with the 'Boil' function, I rather do this 1st step manually.

In the Instant Pot heat an amount of milk either on 'Saute' or 'Pressure Cook' until the temperature reaches 180F - 185F, keep stirring the milk and use a cooking thermometer for this step. Next, turn the pot off remove the insert from the pot and let the milk cool to around 110F, make sure there are no hot spots, whisk about 1 1/2 tbsp natural yogurt per quart milk in from a newly opened container. Return the insert into the pot and select the 'yogurt' function, press the 'Yogurt' button until the display shows 8 hours or so. We like our yogurt best between 8 and 8 1/2 hours. Put the lid on but leave it on 'Venting' this time, you do not want to pressurize the pot or simply use a regular lid from another pot. When the time is up carefully remove the lid, wipe the condensation off of the lid, place a paper towel over the pot and put the lid back on. Cool the yogurt in the fridge overnight. If you feel there is to much whey in the yogurt strain it through a paper coffee filter, but this can take a full day.

Another way to finish the yogurt is to let the milk cool, pour it into a 1 qt 'Ball' freezer jam jar (I guess any jar would do), whisk 1 1/2 tbsp starter yogurt in, pour 1 cup of 110F warm water into the Instant Pot insert, set the freezer jar with the milk in it into the water bath but on a trivet, place a lid on the pot and press 'Yogurt' set the time and let it do it's thing. But this time when it's done put the lid on the container and set it in the fridge overnight. Next time I want to try and cook some strawberry sauce, let it cool then pour a 3/4" layer in the freezer jar, add the prepared milk/yogurt starter to it and see if this works.


The absolute easiest way (it's kind of cheating but not really) to make yogurt is to buy a container of pasteurized milk (it must be cow's milk), you can find it in the grocery store where they have almond milk, soy milk, coconut milk ...., add your starter yogurt, select the yogurt function, set the timer for 8 - 9 hours, let cool in the fridge - done.

[Cypressloser]

Rice Pudding
100 grams white Basmati or Sushi Rice, 500 milliliters milk or 1:5 by weight.
Dump both ingredients into the pot, select 'Pressure Cook' or 'Saute', stir, stir, stir...... until it's just about starting boil (maybe 10 minutes in or so), turn the pot off, put the lid on, set the vent to 'Sealing' and make sure the pin pops up and seals!!!! Shake the pot 2, maybe 3 times gently to prevent the rice from sticking to the bottom, leave it alone for about 30 minutes, the pin should drop by it self after 30 minutes or you can vent manually. Remove the lid, if it's burned on the bottom you haven't stirred enough, however I rather stir the rice for 10 minutes instead of 30 in a conventional pot on the stove top. You can add your salt, sugar, cinnamon, honey, syrup, fruit or whatever you want now. I find the risk of it burning is lower when the sugars get added after cooking.

[Dee744]

Well John, you are quite the cook. Still wish to know where you stay so we can taste test for you! Thanks for the recipes and pics very helpful. Think I wait and see what Santa brings

[Cypressloser]

Originally Posted by Dee744

Well John, you are quite the cook. Still wish to know where you stay so we can taste test for you! Thanks for the recipes and pics very helpful. Think I wait and see what Santa brings

I apologize for the late reply, we are stuck for the 2nd year here in the Alberta winter due to ongoing health problems of our youngest daughter. If we get lucky we may be able to sneak out toward Quartzsite AZ after Christmas at the earliest, fingers crossed.



Anyway, for those interested there are still a few amazing Black Friday killer deals out there like on this top of the line model. https://www.canadiantire.ca/en/pdp/i...-3993904p.html

[Dee744]

Okay, so my Insta Pot arrived yesterday, today my Blackstone tailgater arrived. Almost ready to go do the shakedown. Anyone with recipes that would like to share I'm sure many would be thankful.

[SkiSmuggs]

Originally Posted by Dee744

Okay, so my Insta Pot arrived yesterday, today my Blackstone tailgater arrived. Almost ready to go do the shakedown. Anyone with recipes that would like to share I'm sure many would be thankful.

There are lots of videos on YouTube for both devices. I love my Blackstone 17" for both ease of cooking and ease of cleanup. I ordered some Instant Pot cookbooks from Amazon and picked up a couple more at Costco.

[yogus]

I broke down and purchased an Instant Pot a couple of months ago. So far I've made pot roast and pulled pork. Lots of both. What used to take hours in the oven for pot roast, takes 90 minutes in the Instant Pot. It's so much more tender and the gravy is unbelievable!

As for pulled pork; I've cooked it on the Big Green Egg for years. It doesn't compare...however it also doesn't take 12 hours either!! Season it, pop it in the IP and 2 hours later you've got pulled pork. Obviously not the same as the BGE but it's a time thing.

I'm experimenting with other recipes and so far they are all working...vegetables cook in minutes which is amazing!

[Sue46]

You need to try dry beans. I made pea soup in the insta pot and WOW!


I also premake shredded chicken using the insta pot, so much easier to shred.

[JohnH12]

The real reason to get one is because everyone else has one.
Lemmings must flock together!

[UTTransplant]

I am reading the updates as I have a gorgeous pork butt in the IP. We will have great pulled pork tonight! We then package the remaining meat in 10 oz packages with a vacuum bagger and freeze it. More pulled pork sandwiches plus loaded baked potatoes in the future. Last night I made a pot roast that will also be going into the vacuum bagger in the same quantities. We will be heading to Death Valley and then Quartzsite in a few days, and good food is either expensive or hard to come by.

[Dee744]

Finally got the guts to use it and we did country style ribs 3 lbs for 35 min and they were wonderful. Sauced and ran them under the broiler to caramelize a bit and soooooooooo tender and tasty. Thank you all for your input and suggestions.