One of the hottest kitchen gadgets this year is an instant pot.
It is versatile, functional, and can make cooking quicker, simpler, and easier.
You can do such a variety of different things with an Instant Pot, but many owners, or potential owners of the machine, only know some of the basic steps of use.
Just because of how versatile it is, there is so much more to cooking with a pressure cooker.
The more that you know what to do with it, the more that you will want to use it all of the time.
If you are looking for some tips and tricks for an Instant Pot, then here are some of the things that you can do with it, to maximize the cooking process and get the most out of it.
Use plenty of liquid in an instant pot
An Instant Pot is a pressure cooker, and that means that it uses steam in order to cook the food as it builds pressure, ultimately cooking the food.
In order to create pressure, then the inside of the pot needs to have at least half a cup of liquid in there, up to one cup of liquid.
Without enough, it is not going to work well.
The liquid is the only way to create the right kind of pressure for cooking, so it is important to bear this tip in mind.
You can use water for this, of course, but using some flavorful liquids, such as broths and juices can help to add a lot of flavor to your pressure cooker dishes.
Using that with rice and taking something normally bland and creating something much tastier.
Adjust the temperature
Once you have selected a cooking function, then some people can think that that is all done. But you can actually adjust the temperature when you use the slow cooker or saute functions.
When you do this, it will help you to get the exact cooking temperature that you need, which can be adjusted to exactly what you need for the dish that you are making.
There are some dishes that might need a temperature that is higher, but for some other dishes, it can be a good idea to turn down the heat.
Do not overcook your food
An instant pot can cook meals really carefully, and really quickly.
Depending on what you are cooking, you can have a meal ready in ten minutes.
If you are using frozen chicken, for example, then it can take a little longer, but still a relatively quick time.
You can also cook most veggies in minutes, apart from veggies like potatoes and artichokes.
If you overcook things, then it can make things not turn out so well.
For example, if you make this crowd-pleasing pulled BBQ chicken Instant Pot recipe, you want to cook it exactly, otherwise, dinner will be inedible.
You can always add in more cooking time, so go with less first and then cook for longer if needed.
Be wary with dairy
Instant Pots do have a function to make yogurt which works well.
However, this pressure cooker appliance doesn’t always cook sauces that are cheesy and creamy, so they need to be used with caution with an Instant Pot.
Milk can burn quite easily, and when it does, it can get quite watery and lumpy.
Cheese can also get very hot in a pressure cooker and it can sputter out when the pressure is released.
So if you have any pressure cooker recipes with dairy, then it is a good idea to add that after the pressure cooker has been completed.
This way it will become a much creamier dish, rather than one with curdled dairy and something that resembles cottage cheese.
Thoroughly clean your instant pot
The top brim of an Instant Pot can get dirty really quickly, even after only a few uses.
Rice, sauces, and some juices can really easily accumulate.
This can not only look really bad, but it can make your Instant Pot smell really bad.
So cleaning after each use is really important.
After each use, it is a good idea to clean out all of the nooks and crannies, to help the pot to look good and keep working well as it should.
By the way…
Most models have some parts non-electrical parts.
These parts can be taken out and can go in the dishwasher, helping to make it such a simple and quick cleaning process.
The outside can be wiped down easily, but the other parts can be removed and cleaned in a dishwasher.
Best selling Instant Pots (according to Good Housekeeping Institute):
ButcherBox Chuck Roast Supreme
Ingredients
- 15 oz can Cream of mushroom soup
- 1 sweet onion
- 4 carrots
- 4 Yukon Gold Potatoes
- 1 Tbsp Port
- 2 Tbsp tomato paste
- 1/4 tsp Kosher salt
- 1/4 tsp black pepper
- 2 lbs ButcherBox chuck roast
- 1 Tbsp cornstarch
Instructions
- Mix port, cream of mushroom soup, and tomato paste together, sit aside
- Place roast on a plate and apply salt and pepper on all sides.
- Cut onion on a mandolin, forming rings. Break up rings and place in slow-cooker.
- Place roast on top of onions.
- Slice carrots on mandolin, in about quarter size. Set aside.
- Cut up potatoes into dice-size cubes. Place potatoes on top of the roast in the slow cooker.
- Add mushroom soup mixture.
- Place lid on slow cooker and set to high for one hour.
- After one hour of cooking, turn slow cooker to low and pour carrots on top of everything.
- Replace lid and continue to cook for an additional 6 -8 hours on low.
- Remove potatoes and carrots from the pot, placing them in a serving bowl.
- Remove roast from slow cooker and using two forks, shred. Place in a serving dish.
- Place cornstarch in a large measuring cup. Add about 1/2 cup of remaining gravy from the slow cooker to the cornstarch. Whisk together until no white color remains and the cornstarch is completely incorporated.
- Pour mixture back into the slow cooker. Whisk together. Pour gravy into a serving dish.
