Instant Pot/Pressure Cooker grits?

[weedy]

Anyone doing this successfully?

 

I could use some hints.

 

I've tried to do Anson Mills quick grits in the IP a few times and I'm still struggling to get it really right.

 

for one thing, the typical recipes (including online pressure cooker recipes) have resulted in WAY too much liquid being left after the recommended times, and often undercooked grits.

 

So more time? less liquid? both?

 

I'm curious what formulas people here are finding work for them.

 

 

 

 

[blue_dolphin]

I haven't tried Anson Mills quick grits but I believe it depends on the grind.  For me, coarse grind works in the IP.  Finer grinds, which would include quick grits, really need to be stirred occasionally and don't work well in the IP, at least for me.

 

I've had good success with Bob's Red Mill grits (also labeled polenta) and with stone ground corn polenta/grits from a local place, Roan Mills.  Both these products have a relatively coarse, fairly uniform grind.  I generally use the pot-in-pot method, 1 part grits + 4 parts water, 15 min high pressure followed by 10 min natural release. 

 

I have NOT had success with grits purchased from Barkley's Mill that are a finer and somewhat more uneven grind, with some small hull particles that need to be skimmed off.  These cook up to be delicious, creamy grits when I make them on the stove top but in the IP, I get a result similar to what you described - excess liquid on top, a gluey middle layer and undercooked grits on the bottom.  I concluded that these finer grits really need to be stirred, at least occasionally during cooking so the IP's not going to work. 

 

I'll be interested to hear what other's experiences are.

[weinoo]

In Sean Brock's cookbook Heritage, he suggests to always soak grits for at least 6 hours. (He also insists that the hulls and chaff be skimmed off after soaking, saying that they will never soften, and will make your grits taste undercooked).

 

I wonder if soaking and skimming will give you a better end product?

[weedy]

I did the presoak overnight (as Anson suggests)

 

and online recipes varied from 3-4 times liquid to grits.

 

based on the idea that in a pressure cooker less liquid is 'lost', I did them yesterday with 3 cups stock to slightly less than 1 cup grist.

 

the result after high pressure for 30 minutes was soup with undercooked grits sitting in the bottom (pot within pot)

 

I ended up staring them and returning the lot to a pot with about an extra cup of the liquid and finishing on the stove.

took almost another 1/2 hour  and still was never "right"... way soupy and yet oddly underdone.

 

It;s hardly ESSENTIAL, but i'd like to be able to do it in the IP to have it 'cooking itself' out of the way sometimes.

 

 

 

thanks in advance for continuing advice!

[weedy]

oh, I was;t ignoring you

5 hours ago, blue_dolphin said:

... For me, coarse grind works in the IP.  Finer grinds, which would include quick grits, really need to be stirred occasionally and don't work well in the IP, at least for me....

 

...These cook up to be delicious, creamy grits when I make them on the stove top but in the IP, I get a result similar to what you described - excess liquid on top, a gluey middle layer and undercooked grits on the bottom.  I concluded that these finer grits really need to be stirred, at least occasionally during cooking so the IP's not going to work. 

 

 

that might be the clue...

 

that the 'quick' grits won't work that well.

 

I'll have to try the 'regular' grind

 

thanks

 

 

[weinoo]

Maybe there are just some things the IP isn''t that great at?

[Anna N]

22 minutes ago, weinoo said:

Maybe there are just some things the IP isn''t that great at?

 It’s true. There are times when I hate to admit it but it’s not the perfect tool for every job. Few appliances are!   Still I persist in trying until I prove that it just won’t work.

[weedy]

most things

 

but it SHOULD be good for rice, grains, beans, etc

[blue_dolphin]

I mentioned that I can make excellent IP polenta but I've failed completely with the Barkely's Mill grits.  I took a look at their website to see if they had any suggestions and indeed, they give two methods:  Basic Pressure Cooker Grits.

 

They say that with the first method, "The grits retain a bit of toothsome texture. It takes a few minutes for the grits to smooth out and thicken once they're done."   That sounds like a sub-optimal result to me.  Maybe adding a pre-soak step as @weinoo referenced from Sean Brock might help with that.

 

The second method requires par-boiling on the stove top for long enough that the grits get suspended in the cooking liquid and don't sink to the bottom.  Sounds like that should solve the issue I had but also negates the "set and forget" charm of the IP. 

[weedy]

What I did is almost exactly that ‘method one’ PLUS with a pre soak (as Anson Mills recommends.)

 

still total soup. 

It was MUCH too much liquid. 

 

 

[weinoo]

what about the IP on the slow cooker setting - has anyone tried that?

 

I cooked a nice hunk of pork shoulder in the IP last week, and it sure works great for those stocks.

 

But I continue to cook things like polenta/grits/risotto, etc. on the stove top, since I just feel they come out so much better that way.  Though I have updated my methodology...I don't stir constantly, just whenever I feel like it, and it still works fine.