Instant Pot. Multi-function cooker (Part 5)

[weinoo]

Maybe the Instant Pot just isn't the greatest tool for cooking eggs?

[Shelby]

1 hour ago, weinoo said:

Maybe the Instant Pot just isn't the greatest tool for cooking eggs?

😳  How dare you, sir!

 

 

🤣

[weinoo]

41 minutes ago, Shelby said:

😳  How dare you, sir!

 

 

🤣

 

Hey - I've used my Instant Pot this year!! 

[JAZ]

On 4/15/2023 at 12:25 PM, Anna N said:

I am of the opinion that eggs are just  fickle. Just when you think you have it all figured out they make a fool of you.

 

I agree. Even though I included hard cooked eggs in most of my Instant Pot books (and tested them successfully each time), I never use a pressure cooker for eggs unless I'm testing a recipe for a book. Regular steaming is just as fast and much more reliable.

[Anna N]

3 hours ago, JAZ said:

 

I agree. Even though I included hard cooked eggs in most of my Instant Pot books (and tested them successfully each time), I never use a pressure cooker for eggs unless I'm testing a recipe for a book. Regular steaming is just as fast and much more reliable.

Even careful sous vide cooking didn't always work. I have sworn by many methods and every one of them has let me down at some point. I have decided that eggs are like snowflakes -- no two are exactly alike. 

[Tropicalsenior]

It's really strange that everyone has had problems with boiled eggs. I bought my imitation instant pot in August 2017. I know the exact time because this very topic is why I joined eGullet. The first thing that I made was boiled eggs and I've been making them almost every week since and have never had one problem. I do them 5 minutes on high with natural release. That's usually less than 5 minutes. One thing that I do differently is that I put about a cup and a half of water instead of one cup so that it does take a bit longer to come to pressure.

[JAZ]

31 minutes ago, Tropicalsenior said:

It's really strange that everyone has had problems with boiled eggs. I bought my imitation instant pot in August 2017. I know the exact time because this very topic is why I joined eGullet. The first thing that I made was boiled eggs and I've been making them almost every week since and have never had one problem. I do them 5 minutes on high with natural release. That's usually less than 5 minutes. One thing that I do differently is that I put about a cup and a half of water instead of one cup so that it does take a bit longer to come to pressure.

 

That is the thing with pressure cooking eggs, I've found. If you find a time and method that works, then do exactly that, with no changes, and you'll be fine. Change one thing -- amount of water, number of eggs, height of the rack, whatever -- and that's what seems to cause problems.

[Kim Shook]

On 4/15/2023 at 12:25 PM, Anna N said:

I am of the opinion that eggs are just  fickle. Just when you think you have it all figured out they make a fool of you.

My mother used to say that chickens and eggs had minds of their own and cooked how they wanted to at any given time!  😄

[Tropicalsenior]

14 hours ago, JAZ said:

amount of water, number of eggs, height of the rack, whatever

As I said, I do use a little bit more water and the number of eggs varies from 3 to 12. Another thing that I do differently is that I put them all together in a small colander, I don't use a rack. Once in a while I quarter a couple potatoes and lay them on top to have for potato salad. They all turned out perfect in just 5 minutes.

I might add that I was a line cook for years and I have cooked thousands of eggs and I never found one to be any different than the one just beside it.

I should add that the freshness of the egg makes a difference when frying or scrambling them, but I haven't found any difference in the way that they cook or peel using the instant pot. They have all been cooked to the same degree and they all peel beautifully.

Edited April 17, 2023 by Tropicalsenior (log)

[Anna N]

1 hour ago, Kim Shook said:

My mother used to say that chickens and eggs had minds of their own and cooked how they wanted to at any given time!  😄

I think she was a very wise woman. 

[rotuts]

i haven't iPot'd in a while

 

and my Red books are around somewhere 

 

Id like to be reminded for two pressure steaming times :

 

low pressure pressure steamed eggs , from erfurt    yolks beginning to set

 

potatoes , large cut pieces , HP  steamed until just done .  

 

many thanks .      

 

I know @Shelby  et al  in the egg thread had a LP trimming ( from refrigerator , rapid cool ) 

 

that worked very well for me .

 

thank you again.

[OlyveOyl]

@rotuts  I frequently steam, low pressure for hard boiled eggs  and 1/2 “ cubed potatoes,  four minutes.  Eggs are from fridge on a rack, if cooked with potatoes, potatoes are in a colander, eggs on a rack on top of colander.   I use a 3 qt. IP, 3/4 cup  water from faucet..whatever the cold water temperature is.

[rotuts]

@OlyveOyl

 

thank you .  

 

 

Ive been thinking of both the eggs  then the potatoes 

 

but Id like to also use both ingredients 

 

for the two main elements , for a potato salad like concoction 

 

that Im going to use as a sub for commercial mashed potatoes 

 

as a topping for my Turkey Shepherd's pie .  with variants evolving 

 

as a project to see if its possible to  eliminate some exogenous NaCL 

 

easily ,   so why not.

 

 

[OlyveOyl]

@rotus I think as long as the potatoes are not larger than 3/4” they should cook within he 4 minute time frame, and inch might be a little too large.  I haven’t tried larger tho’. Very convenient to be able to do both together!

[OlyveOyl]

@rotus Here’s a potato salad that was cooked simultaneously, I don’t know if you can get an idea of the size of potato pieces.

[rotuts]

@OlyveOyl

 

doing this tomorrow AM  in the 3 qt

 

the potatoes might be larger by a bit

 

but the whole connection , eggs peeled  all cooled 

 

is going to be chopped together , then seasoned some how 

 

and go on top of my current slab of ground turkey .

 

and baked as usual in the CSO.

[rotuts]

PS  how many eggs do you use ?

 

these cubed potatoes to  ' measure '

 

via the 3 qt.

 

thank you

[OlyveOyl]

Usually four large eggs placed atop the colander with potatoes.  If I’m just doing the eggs, generally the same amount of time for 4 eggs. Two eggs to be incorporated with the potatoes, the other two, either plain or deviled.

Edited August 30, 2023 by OlyveOyl (log)

[JAZ]

On 8/30/2023 at 2:22 PM, rotuts said:

@OlyveOyl

 

thank you .  

 

 

Ive been thinking of both the eggs  then the potatoes 

 

but Id like to also use both ingredients 

 

for the two main elements , for a potato salad like concoction 

 

that Im going to use as a sub for commercial mashed potatoes 

 

as a topping for my Turkey Shepherd's pie .  with variants evolving 

 

as a project to see if its possible to  eliminate some exogenous NaCL 

 

easily ,   so why not.

 

 

 

Sorry I'm late to the conversation, but I developed a potato salad recipe with eggs and potatoes cooked at the same time for my book Instant Pot Obsession. (I can post it if anyone is interested.) Like@OlyveOyl, I cooked them for 4 minutes. In my case, I used smallish red potatoes quartered. To make the salad, I crushed the potatoes into smaller pieces.

[Smithy]

1 hour ago, JAZ said:

 

Sorry I'm late to the conversation, but I developed a potato salad recipe with eggs and potatoes cooked at the same time for my book Instant Pot Obsession. (I can post it if anyone is interested.) Like@OlyveOyl, I cooked them for 4 minutes. In my case, I used smallish red potatoes quartered. To make the salad, I crushed the potatoes into smaller pieces.

 

Yes, please! I have that book, but it isn't always available to me (as now). Having it online would be wonderful.

[rotuts]

here are my results , including the final dish , not iPot'd :

 

my 3 qt iPot seems to not have ordered the usual required accompaniments :

 

basket insert , etc .  That has been taken care of , and they arrive next wednesday .

 

I dusted off my 6 qt , and used 32 oz of red bliss potatoes , and two eggs .

 

I chose 32 oz as that's the weight of the commercial mashed potatoes I use for Turkey Shepherds Pie.

 

I didn't wasn't to make more than I could use for one unit.

 

I chose 4 min pressure steam , low pressure .  I wasn't sure the potatoes were cut small enough 

 

to be properly  cooked  so I added one minute ' natural release '  then released the pressure.

 

 

potatoes

 

 

eggs.  cooled in cold water .  both potatoes and eggs were refrigerated over night

 

eggs peeled easily .  the picture above needed more light .  the eggs whites were tender

 

and the yolks moist and very creamy .  no green , which the picture is trying to imply.

 

excellent eggs for deviled Id say

 

the potatoes were mashed in a bowl w a hand masher , the chopped eggs added

 

along w a Tbs of mayo , and a couple of Tbs of water , as the mashed potatoes were a little dry 

 

added some Window green onions

 

for seasonings I decided to go a bit Continental .  I used some whole dried Rosemary and Thyme

 

from Penzeys , that I ground in the M&P.  

 

 

this was very tasty and would have made a very interesting potato salad.

 

Ill finish up the dish here in this thread  , the rest is not iP.:

 

Turkey slab , seasoned w Rosemary , Thyme , granulated garlic   350 F  CSO 12 minutes :

 

 

I then added a reduced cup ++  of TJ's red table wine I had 

 

 

then the topping

 

 

baked in a similar fashion to my other TSP 's    350 F  40 minutes .  the goal is to get the turkey temp to

 

between  125 F and 130 f .  the dish finished that  ends up around 135 F  is very tender .

 

higher final cooking temps end up with the beginnings of slightly tough turkey .

 

after 40 min :

 

 

there was a lot of bubbling Jus , which initially I thought might be ' free ' gravy !  the TSP temped at 172 F

 

that Jus came from the turkey , and wine ,  so the turkey is going to be tough .  Ill let it rest and try it tomorrow

 

hoping for some improvement .   it looked a little bland , so I torched it a bit :

 

 

looks worse ,  this topping burns easily.

 

but I know its going to ge tasty .  and the oven timing will be improved next time , and no torching.

 

Its refreshing to use the iPot again , as its been lonely for too long.

 

this sort of topping is very easy to make w the iPot

 

so thank you  @OlyveOyl and @JAZ 

 

making the topping in the 3 qt next time is going to be easy  and the seasonings will be my own

 

 I have about 1/2 doz or more of Penzey's salt free seasoning mixtures .

 

Singapore might be next.

 

Edited September 1, 2023 by rotuts (log)

[rotuts]

the 3 qt iPot has been very helpful for making my 8 x 8 CSO'd dishes 

 

potato // egg :

 

 

32 oz cut up bliss potatoes , and 4 eggs just fit in the iPot.

 

 

one bag of Fz generic mixed veg , thawed in cold water , drained :

 

iPot'd low pressure .   it takes 14 - 15 min for the pressure valve to pop up

 

and another 2 minutes or so for the count-down to start.  I turn the iPot off when the count down starts

 

and do a rapid release .  chill the veg in cold water , the into a 1 qt container and refrigerate for future use.

 

the veg cooked this way are fine , w a little resistance left in the green beans.

 

not iPot related , but the TJ's sausage i sometimes use for the completed dish :

 

 

 

in a utility pan for torching .  thus no plates are cracked from the torch etc 

 

 

torched ., ready for an 8 x 8 ' dish ' , as noted in previous posts .

 

the iPot gets the major ingredients done very easily .

 

 

[OlyveOyl]

Quick egg salad, aka egg cake.  This was a popular way to cook eggs for egg salad.  I haven’t done it in a bit, so could not remember whether I covered it or not.

This was made in a 2 cup Pyrex container, I loosely covered it with foil, but won’t next time as it wasn’t quite done at 4 minutes (4eggs). I brought it back to pressure for zero and did a quick release. This took about 30 seconds to chop with the pastry blender/masher which gives a clean dice to the eggs.

[rotuts]

@OlyveOyl 

 

very interesting .

 

I do 4 eggs ( in their shells , directly from the refrigerator ) LP  3 min , rapid release

 

then quickly chill

 

for my ' 8 x 8  ' Turkey shepherds pie

 

I have to peel them , its not that difficult 

 

but since I paid the HB eggs through an egg ' slicer '

 

I might as well try the eggs in the pot w/o the shell

 

you used HP ?  was the pyrex container pressure steamed ?

 

or in the  cup of water ?   how did you cool the pyrex container ?

 

any info on the pastry blender/asher would be appreciated .

 

P.S. :  did you coat the pyrex container w anytime to prevent sticking ?

Edited October 7, 2023 by rotuts (log)

[OlyveOyl]

Low pressure steam, same as I do in the shell. Three qt. IP 3/4c tap water.I have used the Pyrex container(s) repeatedly without a problem. .. on a rack. Sometimes I spray and wipe, sometimes not, it sticks a little if I don’t spray. I remove the container ( quick release) with canning tongs onto a wooden board and then just give it a shake out. I’ve also used a SS container, sprayed.
I have had that blender a long time, will take a full picture of it so you can possibly track it down (Amazon?). I’ll be back with a picture in an hour or so.