Instant Pot. Multi-function cooker (Part 4)

[JeanneCake]

Oh my goodness, I'm late to the party!  I just today ordered an Instant Pot and it will arrive Wednesday.  It's not wedding season (I'm a baker) so I am looking forward to learning all about this over the course of the next two winter months! I originally thought I wanted a slow cooker but I just could not get past the leaving food in it for a few hours before it actually started to cook (assuming an 8 hour cycle); several people recommended the IP so I took the plunge!  I'll be going through the entire thread(s) this weekend and thanking you all in advance for helping me to shorten the learning curve.

 

And, I did buy a glass cover, but not an extra gasket so that's on the wish list for next time.

[rotuts]

I made stock for the first time in the iPot , w turkey breast trimmings .  I took @Shelby's  advice and used the 120 min HP  / NR :  

 

 

here is one carcass from an 8 lb fz TB , from the Clean Out your Freezer topic.  I used a chinese cleaver and mallet to chop up the carcass so it was

 

as flat as possible to minimize water hoping for a more concentrated stock.  the pyrex bowl holds trimmings from the breast.

 

 

here is the stock from the first TB after natural release.  I fished lout all the solids and put them on a medium jellyroll pan ( w lip ) to cool a bit.  

 

I tasted the meat and there was still a little turkey flavor on the bits so they went back into the pot w chopped up carcass II.

 

then a second 1`20 min NR.

 

here is the final product after removed all the bits and let it cool in the iPot pot  then it went into a plastic container and spent the night outside 

 

to completely chill :

 

 

its on the L.   its about 1.5 liters.   the stock on the R is the combined ' drippings ' from the two sessions on the CSB for 2 breasts on Steam bake  30 - 35 min

 

one had Penzey's Chicago Steak on two and Sauer's  Prime Rib Rub on the second two.  its very flavorful but a bit salty.  the turkey stock does not have

 

any seasonings in it at all .  no aromatic as I didn't want to go to the store to buy two carrots etc.

 

Ill freeze each into bricks  and vacuum seal and freeze.

 

while the second carcass was in the iPot  I had an idea :  somewhere I have a stainless steel potato ricer I got some time ago.  its of good quality .

 

I though the next time I do this Id take out just the meat sans bones while still hot and use the ricer to smoosh the meat extract even more flavor !

 

and next time for the final cook Ill add some aromatics.

Edited January 24, 2017 by rotuts (log)

[rotuts]

over here I discussed my take on the stock above :

 

 

what Im doing now is adding 

 

 

these to the upon , quarter's for the onion , rough chop in the cuisinart for the carrot and Cellery (  )

 

N.B.: it will be completely removed after done.  celery flavor is OK in small doses , but the slimy stringy stuff is poison itself.

 

a market near me sells these as individual stalks , for Celery Sticks  just in case the Swells can't deal with a whole head.

 

$ 3.99 and lbs.

 

 

Ill roast the next set of turkey bones as and make sure there is no skin in the iPot on initial " HP-Infusion "

 

I just don't lie Ck nor Tk fat as a taste sensation.

 

eventually , after the Empty your Freezer  winds down   Ill get a fresh generic chicken and make stock from that

 

saving the breasts and their skin for a CSB  Roast Ck Br   and even the two thighs.

 

the leg and all the rest sans  fat will go into the iPot for a Chicken Stock Trial  

 

for gravy on the CSB's CkBr and CkTh dinners.

 

do you feel the HP  added through emulsion significant  Tk or Ck  fat flavor to your stock ?

[blue_dolphin]

On 1/23/2017 at 11:12 AM, kayb said:

I did my chicken stock with a single carcass for 90 minutes, then ran it through three saute cycles (30 minutes each) with no lid to reduce it by half.

Thank you for the idea of using the sauté function to reduce the stock.  I made some chicken stock in the IP yesterday and after skimming and straining, I was going to put it on the stove to reduce but this is working nicely.

No fiddling to adjust the flame to avoid wild boiling!

[kayb]

6 hours ago, blue_dolphin said:

Thank you for the idea of using the sauté function to reduce the stock.  I made some chicken stock in the IP yesterday and after skimming and straining, I was going to put it on the stove to reduce but this is working nicely.

No fiddling to adjust the flame to avoid wild boiling!

I did the first cycle on low temp, because I was a little nervous about it; went with the normal saute the second and third. Two trips through the cycle might do it. Or just adjust the time (not sure how long you can make it go).

 

There's a post going around Facebook linking to an article on "how to use all those buttons" on the IP. Some good info there. I'll bookmark the next one I run across and share it.

 

[blue_dolphin]

From Melissa Clark in the NYT food section:  Why Do Cooks Love the Instant Pot? I Bought One to Find Out

There are a handful of recipes, too.  

Bottom line - she liked it enough to keep it.

 

[Anna N]

34 minutes ago, blue_dolphin said:

From Melissa Clark in the NYT food section:  Why Do Cooks Love the Instant Pot? I Bought One to Find Out

There are a handful of recipes, too.  

Bottom line - she liked it enough to keep it.

 

Thanks.  She should join us here to find out what it can really do.

[Shelby]

Had some limes that needed using up so I made a key lime pie in the IP.  Easy and good.  I had just plain 'ole limes.  Key limes would have been better--more zing probably.  

 

[Anna N]

@Shelby

 Key lime pie in the Instant Pot. Now that is quite a feat!  You must tell us more about it. Graham cracker crust? Pan size and type?   Filling? 

[Shelby]

1 hour ago, Anna N said:

@Shelby

 Key lime pie in the Instant Pot. Now that is quite a feat!  You must tell us more about it. Graham cracker crust? Pan size and type?   Filling? 

Nah, doing it the regular way would be a feat for me lol.  The recipe called for graham cracker crust but I didn't have any so I used melted butter, crushed Ritz type crackers and a tablespoon of sugar.  The pan is one of these --it's 6 1/2" and fits nicely in the IP:

 

 

The filling was 4 egg yolks, a 14 oz. can of sweetened condensed milk, 1/3 cup of sour cream, 1/2 cup lime juice and all the zest that I could extract from my sad limes.  Whisk the milk slowly into the yolks and then add the other stuff.  One cup of water in the IP, cover the pan with foil.  Manual, high pressure for 15 mins.  Turn pot off.  Natural release for 10 mins.  Quick release after that, pull it out and let it cool for a bit.  Uncover and pop it in the fridge for a few hours.  If the middle isn't set you can put it back into the IP for 5 mins doing the quick release right after time is up.  My middle was set, though.

Forgot to add:  The recipe says to spray the pan with Pam so that's what I did.  Next time I'd put a piece of parchment down to make it easier.

 

Edited February 6, 2017 by Shelby (log)

[Anna N]

@Shelby

 

Many thanks. Heaven only knows what else you'll think to do in the Instant Pot. 

[natasha1270]

Yesterday I made a sort of Guinness Beef Stew in the instant pot. The time savings was great but the taste not quite as good as the regular method in the oven I use. It could be from my mods to the recipe. I left out some of the stock and flour and made a light roux/gravy which I added towards the end to thicken while reducing  on the sauté function.

 

Which led me to wondering if anyone had tried making roux in the IP. I found a post on ideas in food where they describe their method which was included in the Modernist Cuisine cookbooks. Anyone do this regularly or even the microwave method and could share any tips?

 

https://myyearwithchris.wordpress.com/2013/11/09/guinness-beef-stew/

 

http://blog.ideasinfood.com/ideas_in_food/2010/02/roux-in-a-jar.html

 

[quiet1]

I conducted an IP trial today for dinner, a riff on @Anna N's mention of doing mashed potatoes milk and everything all together. I wasn't doing a large batch so I put cut up potatoes, a touch of milk, a touch of butter, and some chicken stock in a glass bowl and put that on the trivet above some water in the IP. High for 12 min with quick release wasn't quite enough, for some reason. Next time I'd try 15. Also, I over-estimated the amount of stock needed so I ended up with something more like potato soup than mashed potatoes. However it was pretty tasty potato slop.

 

Definitey something I will try again, especially while I am on this stupid restrictive diet. Next time I may actually aim FOR potato soup and put some onion and carrot and celery in also (just a little) since with the pressure stuff does cook to mush if you leave it go long enough. I find it difficult to get good potato soup around here and not everyone in the house likes it, so being able to make a bowl or two just for me would be very nice.

[Shalmanese]

13 hours ago, quiet1 said:

I conducted an IP trial today for dinner, a riff on @Anna N's mention of doing mashed potatoes milk and everything all together. I wasn't doing a large batch so I put cut up potatoes, a touch of milk, a touch of butter, and some chicken stock in a glass bowl and put that on the trivet above some water in the IP. High for 12 min with quick release wasn't quite enough, for some reason. Next time I'd try 15. Also, I over-estimated the amount of stock needed so I ended up with something more like potato soup than mashed potatoes. However it was pretty tasty potato slop.

 

Definitey something I will try again, especially while I am on this stupid restrictive diet. Next time I may actually aim FOR potato soup and put some onion and carrot and celery in also (just a little) since with the pressure stuff does cook to mush if you leave it go long enough. I find it difficult to get good potato soup around here and not everyone in the house likes it, so being able to make a bowl or two just for me would be very nice.

 

For Mashed Potatoes, it's as important to get the water from the potatoes out as it is to get the milk in so this method seems destined to result in watery, bland potatoes. I've found the best way by far is steaming in the microwave. Put them in a covered container with the lid cracked a tiny bit and a 1/2 inch of water in the bottom and let them go for 10 minutes. Then leave uncovered and let the steam flash off until it's no longer steaming. You get ultra dry, well cooked potatoes with virtually no effort.

[ElsieD]

I recently cooked potatoes à la Anna and had a perfect result.  Nothing watery about those spuds.

[quiet1]

6 minutes ago, ElsieD said:

I recently cooked potatoes à la Anna and had a perfect result.  Nothing watery about those spuds.

 

'What quantities did you use? I couldn't find anything with measurements.

[ElsieD]

16 minutes ago, quiet1 said:

 

'What quantities did you use? I couldn't find anything with measurements.

 

750 gm russets, cut into 1" pieces

45 gm butter

200 ml 2% milk

salt to taste

 

melt butter, roll spuds around in it, add milk, cook hp 7 minutes, quick release, mash.  Works like a charm.

 

credit to Anna N

Edited February 8, 2017 by ElsieD
Credit to Anna N added (log)

[Shelby]

Ronnie went to the Asian market yesterday and came home with a bag of beef bones.  Lovely bones, they were.

 

 

 

 

 

I salted them and then put them in the CSO to roast for about 20 mins, then I turned them over and did about 20 more.  *****side note-the cook took a small spoon and had a lovely treat of marrow...heavenly****  Anyway, I split the bones evenly between my two IP's.  Threw in onion, carrot and garlic.  Covered with water and let 'em do their thing.  I did 240 mins and then kept it on warm all night because I was sleepy and ready for bed.  The house smelled really good and I dreamed about food all night lol.

 

 

Can't tell from the picture but it's a lovely dark brown color and it's very rich.

 

[Shelby]

Beef broth out, chicken feet goin' in.

 

[chefmd]

A little article about IP.  I think these applications were all discussed on eG.

https://www.tastingtable.com/cook/national/genius-recipes-instant-pot-hacks?utm_medium=email&utm_source=TT&utm_campaign=Weekend&utm_content=Editorial

[curls]

When grocery shopping and saw turkey necks and backs for sale at a good price. They came home with me to make turkey soup!

 

turkey parts in the Instant Pot with an onion, bay leaf, carrots, garlic clove, peppercorns, and a healthy pinch of salt. Let it cook on the soup setting for an hour & it went into keep warm mode for about an hour and a half more (was running errands while the IP was doing its thing).

 

soup after its initial cook, then I removed the solids and let it boil on the saute setting to reduce. Separated the turkey meat from the bones and added it back into the reduced soup. Looking forward to turkey soup for lunch a couple of days this week.

[rustwood]

On 12/6/2016 at 0:30 PM, blue_dolphin said:

I had a very basic, very old rice cooker.  I am very happy with IP rice, particularly using the pot-in-pot method for small quantities, so my old rice cooker is out in the garage, awaiting donation.....or placement in a museum !

 

I just retrieved my old school rice cooker from the garage and was reacquainted with the crusty mess that is left in the pot.  I don't know if that is just my cooker or if that is typical, but I am hoping that an IP would be relatively easy to clean up after making rice.  Can anyone comment? 

 

I have read that some don't think the IP is an especially good rice cooker, but I am not very fussy about my rice so that doesn't concern me.

 

[Shelby]

1 minute ago, rustwood said:

 

I just retrieved my old school rice cooker from the garage and was reacquainted with the crusty mess that is left in the pot.  I don't know if that is just my cooker or if that is typical, but I am hoping that an IP would be relatively easy to clean up after making rice.  Can anyone comment? 

 

I have read that some don't think the IP is an especially good rice cooker, but I am not very fussy about my rice so that doesn't concern me.

 

I have a rice cooker and would get the crusty mess every single time I tried to use it.  The IP has improved my rice 100%.  I, too, am no rice expert and am not picky about it.  I just want the rice to not be gummy or on the flip side too al dente.  I use plain ole Uncle Ben's.  1 cup of rice to 1 1/2 cups of water.  Manual, high pressure, 8 minutes, quick release.  Works every time.

[rotuts]

older on-off rice cookers were cheap and many had containers that were flimsy and cheap.

 

it you scratched the containers things only got worse.

 

I have a fuzzy rice cooker , and it supplanted my on-off which worked well at that time.

 

I got the fuzzy specifically for groats cooked w milk , which took 50 minutes but did not scorch the milk nor burn the bottom

 

it also makes all sorts of rice dished

 

Im pleased that the iP does a fine job w rice , but quicker.

 

everything Ive read suggest iP's don't do well w milk , including  " Hip "

 

i still use the Fuzzy for groats as i like them cooked w milk l, not water.

[blue_dolphin]

I usually cook smaller volumes of rice (1 cup or less of raw rice) so I use the pot in pot method - no mess to clean.