Instant Pot. Multi-function cooker (Part 4)

[jmolinari]

i guess it's not really that big of a deal, and for $68 vs the revile $225 not worth the difference!

 

Question, i thought i had noticed with my stovetop PC that if i quick release meats they tend to be much drier, and from a physics standpoint it makes sense. When it's under pressure the liquids in the meat are in liquid form. When you quick release the liquid instantly boils, including the liquid in the meat itself and would tend to "blow out" of the meat pieces. 

Has anyone noticed this quick releasing stews and chicken and stuff?

 

[Anna N]

33 minutes ago, jmolinari said:

i guess it's not really that big of a deal, and for $68 vs the revile $225 not worth the difference!

 

Question, i thought i had noticed with my stovetop PC that if i quick release meats they tend to be much drier, and from a physics standpoint it makes sense. When it's under pressure the liquids in the meat are in liquid form. When you quick release the liquid instantly boils, including the liquid in the meat itself and would tend to "blow out" of the meat pieces. 

Has anyone noticed this quick releasing stews and chicken and stuff?

 

Not all things lend themselves to quick release.  Most recipes will make a recommendation as to whether it should be slow or fast release.  I seem to recall that quick release is not recommended for meat nor for beans and legumes.  The latter may foam up and cause all kinds of trouble.  For some vegetables though, slow release will surely lead to over cooking. 

[jmolinari]

yeah , makes sense.

 

[lindag]

It was nice to see the big price drop on Friday on Amazon.  Too bad I paid almost twice as much for mine.

[rotuts]

yep.   I paid 2x myself.   however  Ive used it for quite some time, and that use over that time was worth it to me.

 

of course   if Id paid 2 x 10 days ago  ...........................

 

 

I wonder how many mason sold      didn't some one report last year that it was over 50, 000 ?

Edited November 28, 2016 by rotuts (log)

[gfweb]

I finally succumbed and bought a cyber monday IP on AMZN. 

 

My excuse is that I'm going to have a kitchen re-do in January and will be cooking in the cellar with the CSO,  BSO, induction plate,  SV and now the IP. 

 

Woo Hoo.

[Shelby]

On November 27, 2016 at 3:10 PM, jmolinari said:

i guess it's not really that big of a deal, and for $68 vs the revile $225 not worth the difference!

 

Question, i thought i had noticed with my stovetop PC that if i quick release meats they tend to be much drier, and from a physics standpoint it makes sense. When it's under pressure the liquids in the meat are in liquid form. When you quick release the liquid instantly boils, including the liquid in the meat itself and would tend to "blow out" of the meat pieces. 

Has anyone noticed this quick releasing stews and chicken and stuff?

 

Sigh.

 

'Bout time.  Took ya long enough to succumb.

 

 

 

 

[FauxPas]

3 hours ago, gfweb said:

I finally succumbed and bought a cyber monday IP on AMZN. 

 

My excuse is that I'm going to have a kitchen re-do in January and will be cooking in the cellar with the CSO,  BSO, induction plate,  SV and now the IP. 

 

Woo Hoo.

 

Your cellar is going to be very well equipped! 

 

Do you have a sink down there? If so, you'll be in pretty good shape while the reno is underway. 

 

 

[gfweb]

Just now, FauxPas said:

 

Your cellar is going to be very well equipped! 

 

Do you have a sink down there? If so, you'll be in pretty good shape while the reno is underway. 

 

 

Sink, fridge and freezer.  Cramped but it'll work for a month or two.

 

[ElsieD]

First time making risotto in the IP.  This is a curried shrimp one which got made up on the fly because I wasn't sure about what I was doing.  Every recipe I looked at seemed to have different cooking times.  In the end I went with 10 minutes which I think should be no more than 9 with quick release.  I then turned it to normal sauté and added the shrimp and the peas.  We were happy with the result.  That is my plate in the picture.  Hubby's plate had more food on it.

[blue_dolphin]

4 hours ago, ElsieD said:

First time making risotto in the IP.  This is a curried shrimp one which got made up on the fly because I wasn't sure about what I was doing.  Every recipe I looked at seemed to have different cooking times.  In the end I went with 10 minutes which I think should be no more than 9 with quick release.  I then turned it to normal sauté and added the shrimp and the peas.  We were happy with the result.  That is my plate in the picture.  Hubby's plate had more food on it.

Mmmmmm.  IP risotto is so good. I need to make some soon.  

[MelissaH]

13 hours ago, gfweb said:

Sink, fridge and freezer.  Cramped but it'll work for a month or two.

 

I hope the sink is larger than the one we used when we did our kitchen reno. After a while, my back went into full rebellion because so many things were large enough that they needed to get washed in the bathtub.

 

I don't think the Instant Pot existed when we renovated, but it's going to be a great tool for you.

[Maison Rustique]

I had bought one of the knock-off IPs at Aldi a couple of months ago. I haven't used it all that much as I found it "difficult" to learn and with no previous experience, I wasn't sure if IP instructions could be followed exactly. Long story short, yesterday I bought the cyber Monday deal on Amazon (DUO). One of the things I want to try is yogurt and the other is cheesecake. A friend had recommended a Fat Daddy push pan rather than springform, as she said she found the latch on the springform made the pan more difficult to get into/out of the IP. I meant to order a push pan yesterday, too, and then forgot.

 

My question is, do any of you have experience with this? Do I really need the push pan or can I manage with springform?

[Anna N]

16 minutes ago, Maison Rustique said:

I had bought one of the knock-off IPs at Aldi a couple of months ago. I haven't used it all that much as I found it "difficult" to learn and with no previous experience, I wasn't sure if IP instructions could be followed exactly. Long story short, yesterday I bought the cyber Monday deal on Amazon (DUO). One of the things I want to try is yogurt and the other is cheesecake. A friend had recommended a Fat Daddy push pan rather than springform, as she said she found the latch on the springform made the pan more difficult to get into/out of the IP. I meant to order a push pan yesterday, too, and then forgot.

 

My question is, do any of you have experience with this? Do I really need the push pan or can I manage with springform?

Pretty sure we all used spring form. 

[Shelby]

35 minutes ago, Maison Rustique said:

I had bought one of the knock-off IPs at Aldi a couple of months ago. I haven't used it all that much as I found it "difficult" to learn and with no previous experience, I wasn't sure if IP instructions could be followed exactly. Long story short, yesterday I bought the cyber Monday deal on Amazon (DUO). One of the things I want to try is yogurt and the other is cheesecake. A friend had recommended a Fat Daddy push pan rather than springform, as she said she found the latch on the springform made the pan more difficult to get into/out of the IP. I meant to order a push pan yesterday, too, and then forgot.

 

My question is, do any of you have experience with this? Do I really need the push pan or can I manage with springform?

I used springform.  I set it on top of the rack with handles that comes with the IP so that it was easier to get out.  If you don't have one of those, consider making a "sling" out of foil that goes under the pan to make it easier.

[ElsieD]

46 minutes ago, Maison Rustique said:

I had bought one of the knock-off IPs at Aldi a couple of months ago. I haven't used it all that much as I found it "difficult" to learn and with no previous experience, I wasn't sure if IP instructions could be followed exactly. Long story short, yesterday I bought the cyber Monday deal on Amazon (DUO). One of the things I want to try is yogurt and the other is cheesecake. A friend had recommended a Fat Daddy push pan rather than springform, as she said she found the latch on the springform made the pan more difficult to get into/out of the IP. I meant to order a push pan yesterday, too, and then forgot.

 

My question is, do any of you have experience with this? Do I really need the push pan or can I manage with springform?

 

I use springform.

[BetD]

On 9/18/2016 at 1:12 PM, Anna N said:

 So I am not totally afraid of using a little elbow grease to clean a pan if needed but on the other hand I'd rather not. I found a lovely stainless steel, deep bowl in a thrift store. It will comfortably hold 6 cups of liquid and still fit inside the instant pot with room to spare.  Armed with this I attempted to make polenta using the bowl in bowl technique.  4 cups of stock, 1 cup of coarse cornmeal into the newly acquired pot, a cup of water into the instant pot to provide the steam and then 15 minutes (HP) with slow release did the trick. No sticking!

 

I just finally got around to trying this for lunch... a little powdered New Mexico chile mixed in before cooking and a bit of butter and cheddar stirred in to finish, it was delicious and almost criminally easy!  Thanks!

[blue_dolphin]

@ElsieD, thanks for the risotto reminder.  Lemon, artichoke and shrimp risotto in the IP:

And for the starch-on-starch police, there was a slice of ciabatta, lightly crisped to add a bit of crunch.

[ElsieD]

29 minutes ago, blue_dolphin said:

@ElsieD, thanks for the risotto reminder.  Lemon, artichoke and shrimp risotto in the IP:

And for the starch-on-starch police, there was a slice of ciabatta, lightly crisped to add a bit of crunch.

 

How long did you cook your risotto for?  It looks delicious.

[ElsieD]

@Mmmpomps  I made your cabbage/sausage/perogie dinner tonight.  I used Savoy cabbage because that's what I had, but I think regular cabbage would retain more texture.  I added fresh thyme and nutmeg to the cabbage.  I used smoked pork sausage that I get at The Dutch Store because I grew up on that and love it.  I used two trivets, one on top of the other so the perogies  would fit.  When it was finished, I decided to brown the sausage and perogies in a frying pan and finished the cabbage in the IP.  Served with sour cream for the perogies and TJ's Dijon for the sauage.  This was a very tasty dish and we'll be having it again so thank you for your post.

[blue_dolphin]

36 minutes ago, ElsieD said:

How long did you cook your risotto for?

I followed the recipe:  6 min, high pressure with quick release.  After I added the artichokes, shrimp and lemon zest,  I put it on sauté for a minute or 2 as I added the cheese.

[ElsieD]

24 minutes ago, blue_dolphin said:

I followed the recipe:  6 min, high pressure with quick release.  After I added the artichokes, shrimp and lemon zest,  I put it on sauté for a minute or 2 as I added the cheese.

 

Thank you.  I've made a note to try 6 minutes next time rather than the nine I was planning on.   Where is your recipe from?

[blue_dolphin]

It's this one:  Lemon, artichoke and shrimp risotto 

The only thing that has vexed me about that recipe is that the quantities in the list of ingredients are for the stovetop version while slightly different amounts are called for in the text of the pressure cooker version.  Minor quibble.

I used frozen artichoke hearts instead of canned but otherwise followed the recipe.

 

[quiet1]

I blame all of you for the fact I just put this thing on my list for 'Santa' this year. You keep making such tasty looking food in such little time.

[Kerry Beal]

 

Had a bit of a break in my day today - ran to the grocery store and grabbed a halal rotisserie chicken and some celery. Raced home, chopped up carrots, celery and onion - sautéed for a bit, added a couple of containers of stock that I'd made from previous rotisserie chicken carcasses, two minutes high pressure, rapid release. Set up the rice cooker so that there would be rice cooked when I got home - chopped up half the chicken. When I got home added the rice and chicken into the stock with veg. 

 

Gotta love what you can do with an IP.