# Instant Pot



## Danny (Oct 17, 2012)

Anyone have one of these> Thoughts on it?


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## My Own Advisor (Sep 24, 2012)

Not yet. Nice write-up here though:
https://ottawacitizen.com/news/loca...t-pot-is-coming-for-the-rest-of-your-kitchen/


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## james4beach (Nov 15, 2012)

I recently bought one and have been enjoying it. Created by ex Nortel employees, and very popular in the US. A significant % of my office owns one, enough that we swap recipes at work.

The very first thing I made was an entire 3 lb roast in this thing, and it only took about an hour. I couldn't believe a 3 lb roast was done (and tender) in an hour. I've also made meat stews, and recently started enjoying lentil soup... very easy in this. The IP doubles as a rice cooker, by the way. Tonight I plan to make chicken & rice together in a single pot, a technique a coworker tipped me off about. Apparently the rice cooks at the same time as the chicken. You just throw all of it into the IP and it comes out done.


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## m3s (Apr 3, 2010)

I originally got one on amazon days as it's cheaper than a rice cooker but does far more

I've been meaning to get a stackable pot to stack the main dish and side in one instant pot, is there a technique to use the original pot for that? I've cooked chicken with water/spices and rice just needs water.. so I suppose you could just throw it all together. It's very handy even just for rice or steamed veggies (need a steamer accessory) Anything you'd boil can just go in this instead

It has pretty much replaced my stovetop pots as it's just faster and easier. The only thing I really use the stovetop for now is frying


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## OptsyEagle (Nov 29, 2009)

Is it just a pressure cooker or is there more to it.


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## Spudd (Oct 11, 2011)

It's *mostly* just a pressure cooker. It is also a slow cooker, and it has a yogurt making mode where it keeps the yogurt at the right temperature. I haven't used the slow cooker mode as I also have a slow cooker from before I got the IP, but the yogurt making mode works like a charm. 

They claim it has like 10 features in one but most of the "features" are just presets so you just press "soup" or "rice" or whatever and it sets the timer/pressure to the right settings for you automatically. 

I haven't successfully made rice in it, I tried once and it didn't turn out very well, so I went back to using my rice cooker. If my rice cooker ever dies I will likely try again before buying a new rice cooker.


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## Longtimeago (Aug 8, 2018)

Here is some comparison testing done by Chatelaine.
https://www.chatelaine.com/food/kitchen-tips/instant-pot-slow-cooker-pressure-cooker-worth-the-hype/

I think it is like a lot of kitchen appliances, good for some things, not so good for others. Will it replace all the other appliances you might like using, no. It would if you only ate what it is better at doing. LOL

It's hard to think of any revolutionary kitchen appliance, the only one I can really think of is the microwave oven. And we all know it has its limitations as well. The Instant Pot isn't revolutionary.

I think of it this way. If you want to make the best dish possible, do it the way the best chefs do it. Do you think any of them are using an Instant Pot? It's appeal is in the word 'Instant'. Designed to appeal to people who don't want (think they don't have) the time to cook properly. Dare I say 'fad'.


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## Plugging Along (Jan 3, 2011)

I love my instant pots. I have one at home and at my cabin and its one of my goto gifts now. 

I found it has replaced my slow cooker, and it’s a huge bonus that I can sear directly into the same pot. It makes an efficient steamer, and I love the pressure cooker. I had astove too one but did not always have great results and had some safety concerns (more me than the pressure cooker). 

It has not replaced my rice cooker as I find I am making rice while I am using my instant pot to make the main. It does make a pretty good risotto which I could never do on my stove successfully. 

I haven’t done yogurt in it, or made a cake either. 

Because of the safety features, I have had my kids helping with dinner before I get home. I’d on worry about them burning themselves on the stove or forgetting to turn it off. 

I use it 2-4 times a week on average.


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## Plugging Along (Jan 3, 2011)

m3s said:


> I originally got one on amazon days as it's cheaper than a rice cooker but does far more
> 
> I've been meaning to get a stackable pot to stack the main dish and side in one instant pot, is there a technique to use the original pot for that? I've cooked chicken with water/spices and rice just needs water.. so I suppose you could just throw it all together. It's very handy even just for rice or steamed veggies (need a steamer accessory) Anything you'd boil can just go in this instead
> 
> It has pretty much replaced my stovetop pots as it's just faster and easier. The only thing I really use the stovetop for now is frying


I do have a steamer assessories, and would not recommend the silicon one. I had a steamer basket from my old pressure cooker that works well. Hoe Er, I do find cooking foods that take different times not as successful on the instant pot. I cook my meat in the instant pot, then have a second insert to steam the veggies while the meat is resting and the rice is in my rice cooker.


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## OnlyMyOpinion (Sep 1, 2013)

Sorry, no room in the deep depths of the cupboards for another cooking utensil. 
Besides, I'd be shot if that is what she found under the tree on Christmas morning.:love_heart:


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## Onagoth (May 12, 2017)

My wife likes it for steel cut oats

We don’t eat a lot of carbs so it doesn’t get used all that much


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## Spudd (Oct 11, 2011)

Onagoth said:


> We don’t eat a lot of carbs so it doesn’t get used all that much


It's great for meat so I don't really understand this.


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## m3s (Apr 3, 2010)

Spudd said:


> I haven't successfully made rice in it, I tried once and it didn't turn out very well, so I went back to using my rice cooker. If my rice cooker ever dies I will likely try again before buying a new rice cooker.


You probably just have to adjust the rice-water ratio. I have to adjust this when I change rice sometimes. There's other techniques on youtube I never bother with



Longtimeago said:


> I think of it this way. If you want to make the best dish possible, do it the way the best chefs do it. Do you think any of them are using an Instant Pot? It's appeal is in the word 'Instant'. Designed to appeal to people who don't want (think they don't have) the time to cook properly. Dare I say 'fad'.


I resist a lot of kitchen appliances as fads. I don't even use a microwave or a electronic coffee maker (I can make far better coffee the way the Italians taught me with a $20 bialetti)

If I was living in an RV I would consider having a power inverter just for the Instant Pot. It uses far less energy energy because it's insulated and also requires much less water (heats faster)

As for the professional comment.. I find anything homecooked is better than $$$$ "professional" food which is made just to "look" special compared to what you can do at home on purpose.


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## Prairie Guy (Oct 30, 2018)

Longtimeago said:


> I think of it this way. If you want to make the best dish possible, do it the way the best chefs do it. Do you think any of them are using an Instant Pot? It's appeal is in the word 'Instant'. Designed to appeal to people who don't want (think they don't have) the time to cook properly. Dare I say 'fad'.


It's a pressure cooker and slow cooker. Both of them have been used for decades and can't be called fads.


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## milhouse (Nov 16, 2016)

We've had our IP for about a year now and we find it ok, though we are still learning how to best utilize it.
Our best successes come from making various stock and also stew type dishes like basic stew, beef stroganoff, beef bourguignon, etc. where the beef cubes come out very tender and the flavours seem more melded. We've had less success with soups, spaghetti sauce, etc though it might be more of a setting config issue.

We're not saving much, if any time in initial prep or initial sauteing. The time gain we've seen is needing less time to let the ingredients simmer. 
However, you can also use meats direct from freezer into the IP. We've only done this once with meh results. We have to experiment with this more. 

IP's are pretty easy to clean too.


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## humble_pie (Jun 7, 2009)

_"It's a Useful Pot," said Pooh. "Here it is. And it's got 'A Very Happy Birthday with love from Pooh' written on it. That's what all that writing is. And it's for cooking things in!"

When Eeyore saw the pot, he became quite excited ... Eeyore picked Piglet's chili pepper up with his teeth and placed it carefully in the pot; picked it out and put it on the ground; and then picked it up again and put it carefully back.

"I'm very glad," said Pooh happily, "that I thought of giving you a Useful Pot to cook things in."

"And I'm very glad," said Piglet happily, "that I thought of giving you a chili pepper to cook in a Useful Pot."

But Eeyore wasn't listening. He was taking the chili pepper out and putting it back in again while figuring out the cooking controls, and he was as happy as could be._

.


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## james4beach (Nov 15, 2012)

I use it for steaming as well. I'm going to steam some dim sum style dumplings tonight.

I've had good results using the rice cooker mode with jasmine rice.

However, I had my first IP disaster last night when I attempted to make rice & chicken together. The rice turned into a goopy mess, absorbing all the water, and there wasn't enough steam created to pressurize the IP. I couldn't get the IP to pressurize and lock... it requires a certain amount of boiling activity for this to happen. Either the recipe I used was bad (not appropriate for the IP) or the kind of rice I used didn't cooperate.


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## m3s (Apr 3, 2010)

Yea that's what I was considering a "stackable pot" for. They're about $30 on amazon US. I tend to use the IP for the side and bake/fry/grill the main dish. 1 button perfect rice or steamed veggies is nice in a world of constant distractions


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## humble_pie (Jun 7, 2009)

james4beach said:


> I had my first IP disaster last night when I attempted to make rice & chicken together. The rice turned into a goopy mess, absorbing all the water, and there wasn't enough steam created to pressurize the IP. I couldn't get the IP to pressurize and lock... it requires a certain amount of boiling activity for this to happen. Either the recipe I used was bad (not appropriate for the IP) or the kind of rice I used didn't cooperate.



good cooks usually tell their students to advance beyond recipe stage ...

different kinds of rice need regular cooking time periods from instant to 45 minutes plus different amounts of water, they'd all react differently in a pressure cooker


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## heyjude (May 16, 2009)

I bought my Instant Pot on Black Friday in 2017, at Canadian Tire. It was a great deal: $69.99 for the 6 quart Duo. My goal was to make yogurt, and it does that so well! Over the past year I have experimented with everything from cranberry sauce to pot in pot cooking to cheesecake to soups and most recently, to proofing dough (Low yogurt setting, venting, no water, sit bowl on the trivet). Rice, risotto, cheaper cuts of meat, all do very well and are very flavourful. The Sauté function is great for getting dishes started. But if you are expecting the Instant Pot to cook something crisp, you will be disappointed, because moisture is key to its operation. One unexpected benefit has been the savings in electricity as I am using my stove and oven less often. 

I think that was the best $69.99 I have ever spent!


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## Onagoth (May 12, 2017)

Spudd said:


> It's great for meat so I don't really understand this.


We’ve never had much success with meat and we tend to use the grill or smoker


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## humble_pie (Jun 7, 2009)

just in time for the Xmas/new year holidays: quite possibly the most inspiring business story of the entire year. It's a great way to offset some of the 2018 horror stories.

inventor Robert Wang tells ottawa citizen journos how he built the Instant Pot to help with healthy dinner prep in his own family life, as he & his wife both held down demanding career jobs with long hours while raising two young children.

what the couple needed was "an intelligent cooking machine," says Wang, a computer scientist who worked in artificial intelligence.

the result was the now-famous Instant Pot, soon to become a bestseller all over canada & the US. Wang now intends to re-invent most kitchen appliances. He's just introduced a blender that cooks! (and why not, when you think about it)


https://ottawacitizen.com/business/...nt-pot-is-coming-for-the-rest-of-your-kitchen


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## Earl (Apr 5, 2016)

I loved mine at first but now I'm finding I prefer using the slow cooker. I like the way meat gets really tender and just falls apart in a slow cooker, you don't really get that same effect in a pressure cooker. Of course the instant pot can be used as a slow cooker too. But I don't think I use it enough to justify the price tag.


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## m3s (Apr 3, 2010)

Earl said:


> I don't think I use it enough to justify the price tag.


They go on sale on amazon for less than half the price tag

At that price if you were going to buy a rice cooker/slow cooker/pressure cooker etc why not just get this instead


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## Plugging Along (Jan 3, 2011)

So far since the holidays started (5 days ago), I have used my IP for the following

Soft boiled eggs 
Red bean and rice. I have to pressure cooked the dry beans , then the sauté function, the pressure cook, then when it was too watery, the sauté, now on warm.
Udon noodle bowls
Risotto
Roasted potatoes
Spaghetti sauce from scratch 
Started the pork belly on there too. 

Not to bad considering I have been out for dinner for two of the nights 

The instant pot saved my beans as I did everything in one pot and did it over night for it to blend and mellow the flavours.

Merry Christmas. Did anyone get an IP from Santa?


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## jdc (Feb 1, 2016)

Plugging Along said:


> Merry Christmas. Did anyone get an IP from Santa?


Merry Christmas. 

I bought an IP on black Friday and finally got around to using it this week. Made Chicken Tortilla Soup, recipe from twosleevers.com. Very good, will make again.

Looking forward to making beans and curried Indian recipes in it after the holiday season!

All the best


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## heyjude (May 16, 2009)

In the past 10 days I have used my Instant Pot for the following (not in chronological order):

Proofed dough for whey bread
Proofed dough for cinnamon rolls
Greek style yogurt
Hot and sour noodle soup
Cranberry sauce
Cranberry cheesecake
Lasagne
Pumpkin risotto
Steamed cod and vegetables
Jasmine rice
Reheated leftover lemon chicken and potatoes

Everything turned out delicious.


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## Plugging Along (Jan 3, 2011)

heyjude said:


> In the past 10 days I have used my Instant Pot for the following (not in chronological order):
> 
> Proofed dough for whey bread
> Proofed dough for cinnamon rolls
> ...


Curious on poof the dough. Do you find it better than and bread machine proofing? I never even considered itwith the instant pot, partly because I haven’t made yogurt yet.

Do think you can turn the IP into a sour vide machine?


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## james4beach (Nov 15, 2012)

heyjude said:


> Proofed dough for whey bread
> Proofed dough for cinnamon rolls
> Greek style yogurt
> Hot and sour noodle soup
> ...


Amazing! Can you point us to a good lasagne recipe? I had no idea this can be made in the IP.


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## Rusty O'Toole (Feb 1, 2012)

I got one a few months ago and I like it. It may not do anything your slow cooker, pressure cooker, or yogurt maker won't do. But I like the fact that it does it automatically. I can put the ingredients in, push a couple of buttons and go do something else, I don't have to be there to shut it off at exactly the right moment.

So far I have only used it as a pressure cooker but then, I am a pressure cooker fan from way back. I know it is a lot more versatile than that, I just haven't used it for anything else.

I got mine at Canadian Tire on sale. They seem to have them on sale at every holiday, there is no need to pay full price if you are patient.


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## Spudd (Oct 11, 2011)

Plugging Along said:


> Do think you can turn the IP into a sour vide machine?


You can, but you need an extra (not cheap) doohickey like this: https://amzn.to/2RjkeHz

My friend has one, and we made steaks sous vide with it. I wasn't overly impressed to be honest, but it was our first time trying sous vide so maybe we messed up.


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## Plugging Along (Jan 3, 2011)

Spudd said:


> You can, but you need an extra (not cheap) doohickey like this: https://amzn.to/2RjkeHz
> 
> My friend has one, and we made steaks sous vide with it. I wasn't overly impressed to be honest, but it was our first time trying sous vide so maybe we messed up.


I knew about that. It’s made by instant pot but you use it in a regular pot. I wanted it built into the IP not separate.


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## heyjude (May 16, 2009)

Plugging Along said:


> Curious on poof the dough. Do you find it better than and bread machine proofing? I never even considered itwith the instant pot, partly because I haven’t made yogurt yet.
> 
> Do think you can turn the IP into a sour vide machine?


I don’t own a bread machine, so I cannot compare the proofing ability of the two devices. My previous default method was either inside a (turned off) microwave, or inside a (turned off) oven, having previously had the oven on at the lowest setting (150 F or so). The Instant Pot is superior to both of those methods. 

I have no experience with sous vide cooking, and I’m not planning to get into it, because I don’t like the idea of cooking my food inside plastic bags. The Instant Pot company makes a sous vide device (https://instantpot.com/portfolio-item/accu-slim/#tab-id-1) but I do not own one.


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## Synergy (Mar 18, 2013)

Rusty O'Toole said:


> I got mine at Canadian Tire on sale. They seem to have them on sale at every holiday, there is no need to pay full price if you are patient.


Best Buy has the Instant Pot 9-in-1 Duo 6 Qt for $89.99 ($70 off boxing wk special). Would this be considered a good deal? I've been holding out and was surprised by the lack of boxing day / wk specials. I missed out on the Superstore no tax event / special on the 7 in 1 Duo on Black Friday.


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## heyjude (May 16, 2009)

james4beach said:


> Amazing! Can you point us to a good lasagne recipe? I had no idea this can be made in the IP.


Well, you cook lasagne using the “pot in pot” method. You can use any lasagne recipe you like; it just has to be assembled in an ovenproof dish that will fit! The dish can be ceramic, glass, or stainless steel. I have the 6 quart IP, and I used a 7 cup (1.65L) Pyrex dish. I covered it with foil, to ensure that condensation did not drip on the food. If I remember correctly, I just Googled “Instant Pot lasagne” and found this recipe. For convenience, I used fresh pasta lasagne sheets, which, being flexible, are easy to cut to shape. 

https://www.simplyhappyfoodie.com/instant-pot-lasagna/

There is a big community of Instant Pot users online, and many of them have YouTube channels. One excellent channel is Pressure Luck. Another is Flo Lum, and she lives in Vancouver. Here is Flo’s lasagne recipe for the Instant Pot:

https://youtu.be/b_Lqbf_jrSQ

There is even one video showing two lasagnas made simultaneously in stackable pans. 

https://youtu.be/v83IRfSafJQ

I have a set of these stackable pans (mine are from Ekovana) and they are very useful. For example, today I heated up some lemon chicken broccoli leftovers in one, while pressure cooking rice in the other. Hey presto, dinner! 

If you go to YouTube and search for “Instant Pot lasagna” you will get dozens of videos, many from home cooks. Here is a video from the Instant Pot YouTube channel.

https://youtu.be/Brzumpgvnmc

Instant Pot also has its own app, where they have compiled many recipes. If you search for “lasagna” (with an a) on the app, you will find 9 recipes.


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## heyjude (May 16, 2009)

Synergy said:


> Best Buy has the Instant Pot 9-in-1 Duo 6 Qt for $89.99 ($70 off boxing wk special). Would this be considered a good deal? I've been holding out and was surprised by the lack of boxing day / wk specials. I missed out on the Superstore no tax event / special on the 7 in 1 Duo on Black Friday.


Yes!


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## Synergy (Mar 18, 2013)

heyjude said:


> Yes!


Thanks for the encouragement!


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## heyjude (May 16, 2009)

Plugging Along said:


> I knew about that. It’s made by instant pot but you use it in a regular pot. I wanted it built into the IP not separate.


I believe the product in the link is not made by the Instant Pot company. Here is the link to the Instant Pot Accu Slim Sous Vide Immersion Circulator. You can use it in your Instant Pot, or in any other suitable pot. 

https://instantpot.com/portfolio-item/accu-slim/#tab-id-1


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## heyjude (May 16, 2009)

Plugging Along said:


> I knew about that. It’s made by instant pot but you use it in a regular pot. I wanted it built into the IP not separate.


I don’t believe a combined device exists. The Instant Pot company makes both devices separately.


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## STech (Jun 7, 2016)

Well this thread made me hungry, so I went out and bought an Instant Pot. The 8 quart big boy. I woke up planning on buying more VCN shares, but didn't like the price, so instead I ended up with a pressure cooker on sale :biggrin:

I dunno if it's gonna save any money, but I care more about healthier meals, and trying to cut eating out.


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## heyjude (May 16, 2009)

^^^ Congratulations! I hope you have lots of fun with it. I think the key is to start using it right away, with one simple recipe. Don’t be one of those people who are afraid of it and leave it in the box for six months!


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## badfish (Dec 17, 2018)

Have one of the earlier IP's for a couple years now. I cook a lot for a family of four and host many meals. Have lots of tools including smokers, kamado style grill, sous vide tools etc as I love cooking meat.

I use the IP almost exclusively as a pressure cooker though always with the saute function to brown meat in advance (and in the same pot). For the money, I think its great value and at as others say, for things like stews or stock its a huge time saver. I love being able to deliver falling apart pork shoulders or beef roasts in an hour instead of 8 hours in the slow cooker. I make lots of broths, bone and otherwise which are simply fantastic and good value too given this is the frugality forum. 

I'm sure it does a lot more, but for me its solid value and gets use at least once a week. No issues on reliability either and simple to clean.

B


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## Rusty O'Toole (Feb 1, 2012)

Synergy said:


> Best Buy has the Instant Pot 9-in-1 Duo 6 Qt for $89.99 ($70 off boxing wk special). Would this be considered a good deal? I've been holding out and was surprised by the lack of boxing day / wk specials. I missed out on the Superstore no tax event / special on the 7 in 1 Duo on Black Friday.


How good do you want it? That is a good deal. i doubt you will find one any cheaper. Even if you did see one later for $10 or even $20 less, so what? But I don't think you will.


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## m3s (Apr 3, 2010)

Black Friday/Cyber Week/Prime Days in the US is the best (no sale tax on amazon US) but it's not much lower considering the hassles and timing


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## heyjude (May 16, 2009)

m3s said:


> Black Friday/Cyber Week/Prime Days in the US is the best (no sale tax on amazon US) but it's not much lower considering the hassles and timing


At the time I bought my Instant Pot in November 2017, the Instant Pot App showed a list of the 2017 Black Friday deals in both Canada and the US. The attached picture shows a screenshot. The arrow points to the deal that I got, at Canadian Tire. It was clearly the best. (Walmart had a cheaper Instant Pot, but that was an older model without the Yogurt making function). 

I don’t see any deals currently on the Instant Pot app; perhaps they are no longer using that method of communication.


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## Synergy (Mar 18, 2013)

Rusty O'Toole said:


> How good do you want it? That is a good deal. i doubt you will find one any cheaper. Even if you did see one later for $10 or even $20 less, so what? But I don't think you will.


Agreed. Amazon had the same deal on the 6 qt duo plus so I placed my order the other day.


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## Mechanic (Oct 29, 2013)

We used our slow cooker lots and it died. Then I saw the 6qt one on a flyer in CT for 1/2 price, so suggested to the wife that we should get it instead. We have used it a couple times only so far but will be using it more in the new year. Our kids have them and say they are great. We have an old stovetop pressure cooker but lost the weight when we moved.


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## Prairie Guy (Oct 30, 2018)

Yesterday I took a frozen lump of stewing beef out of the freezer, put it in the Instant Pot for 15 minutes (30 minutes total with heat up/pressure and then some pressure release), and when I opened it up the beef was separated and almost fully cooked. I added potatoes, carrots, seasoning, etc., and put it on for another 12 minutes. I let it sit/depressurize for 15 minutes and when done had some very delicious stew.

From start to finish with a frozen lump of beef...great stew in an hour and 15 minutes.


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## james4beach (Nov 15, 2012)

Prairie Guy said:


> Yesterday I took a *frozen lump of stewing beef out of the freezer*, put it in the Instant Pot for 15 minutes (30 minutes total with heat up/pressure and then some pressure release), and when I opened it up the beef was separated and almost fully cooked. I added potatoes, carrots, seasoning, etc., and put it on for another 12 minutes. I let it sit/depressurize for 15 minutes and when done had some very delicious stew.
> 
> From start to finish with a frozen lump of beef...great stew in an hour and 15 minutes.


I didn't realize you can start from frozen beef! How big would you guess the lump of beef was? Approximately 1 pound?

I've done similar things with the IP but from non-frozen beef. This is what really "wow"ed me, just being about to pressure cook and soften up the beef that fast. Turns into a stew awfully fast!


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## Prairie Guy (Oct 30, 2018)

james4beach said:


> I didn't realize you can start from frozen beef! How big would you guess the lump of beef was? Approximately 1 pound?
> 
> I've done similar things with the IP but from non-frozen beef. This is what really "wow"ed me, just being about to pressure cook and soften up the beef that fast. Turns into a stew awfully fast!


I've only had an instant pot for a month and am still learning how to use it...so I had now idea how the frozen lump would thaw, I was just hoping to break it apart and then take it from there. I'm not sure of the weight, it was about a 4" round lump.


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## heyjude (May 16, 2009)

Google is your friend when it comes to questions like “I wonder if I can do X in my Instant Pot?” The answer is usually yes. 

http://www.leftyspoon.com/2016/03/17/can-you-pressure-cook-frozen-meat/


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## milhouse (Nov 16, 2016)

I think IP just came out with an 8qt IP with built in sous vide function instead of using a sous vide stick. Kind of pricey though at just under $300.


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## Plugging Along (Jan 3, 2011)

milhouse said:


> I think IP just came out with an 8qt IP with built in sous vide function instead of using a sous vide stick. Kind of pricey though at just under $300.


Unfortuntely, it doesn’t thabpve the pressure cooker fucntion which is one of the main reasons for IP. There are better soups vide machine out there for the same price.


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## milhouse (Nov 16, 2016)

Plugging Along said:


> Unfortuntely, it doesn’t thabpve the pressure cooker fucntion which is one of the main reasons for IP. There are better soups vide machine out there for the same price.


Ah, good catch. Thx.


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## Rusty O'Toole (Feb 1, 2012)

This may or may not mean anything but, I like to buy small appliances at thrift stores. I can buy foolish things like sandwich press, George Forman grill or electric wok, use it once or twice and give it away and it only cost me $3 instead of $59.95. I have seen rice cookers, crock pots, pressure cookers, ice cream makers, yogurt makers, small appliances of all kinds, but have never seen an Instant Pot. This suggests people keep them and use them and don't get tired of them.


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## heyjude (May 16, 2009)

Rusty O'Toole said:


> This may or may not mean anything but, I like to buy small appliances at thrift stores. I can buy foolish things like sandwich press, George Forman grill or electric wok, use it once or twice and give it back and it only cost me $3 instead of $59.95. I have seen rice cookers, crock pots, pressure cookers, ice cream makers, yogurt makers, small appliances of all kinds, but have never seen an Instant Pot. This suggests people keep them and use them and don't get tired of them.


I have seen a few on Facebook Marketplace. In fact I just looked now, and in my area there is one slightly used Instant Pot on offer for $100. It is the same model that I bought new for $69.99! It looks like it was a wedding present that the couple just didn’t use.


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## Prairie Guy (Oct 30, 2018)

heyjude said:


> I have seen a few on Facebook Marketplace. In fact I just looked now, and in my area there is one slightly used Instant Pot on offer for $100. It is the same model that I bought new for $69.99! It looks like it was a wedding present that the couple just didn’t use.


The day after a Black Friday sale here where they were half price ($64.99) you could find brand new ones in unopened boxes on kijiji for $90 or $100.


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## STech (Jun 7, 2016)

I finally had time to unpack my shiny new gadget. I looked at the included recipe book, and felt like roast beef today.

It took a few minutes to learn the functions, and took a bit to prep everything. I had no idea what to expect, especially since I'm not exactly known for my cooking skills. After an hour of cooking, I was pleasantly surprised I had made a meal worth talking about. The carrots and potatoes came out perfect, I wouldn't change anything about them. The roast beef was very good too, but next time I'll let it cook for another 2 minutes. I'll have to tweak the recipe to my liking, but I'd consider this a success. Overall I'm happy with the purchase, and it seems like a quality appliance that should last a while. I'm happy I went with the bigger 8 quart. I think the 6 would be usable as well, but the mini must be hard to work with, and limiting.


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## Mukhang pera (Feb 26, 2016)

A few months ago, my wife was given a knock-off Instant Pot by an outfit called Breville. Still in the box. This thread is making me curious to try it. Not sure it will work as well, since Instant Pot seems to be the runaway first choice in these things. The Breville appears to be priced higher, but that does not make it better. Hard to compare, though. My first look at these things online today revealed a bewildering array of Instant Pot models. A bit odd, for something premised on a couple of basic functions. Also, I suppose, no one pays the first price they see on a site like Amazon. No doubt with some investigation, the Breville can be found for 100 bucks or less.

https://www.amazon.com/Breville-Fas...en-20&linkId=1248130fb5cadfa42f0c813ef608f52e


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## fatcat (Nov 11, 2009)

i got the regular instant pot and i think paid 129 about a year go, now they are less ... i would recommend it because so many of the recipes feature it not that it isn't possible to translate to other brands

working on my instant pot pho and its coming along ok

this guy is nuts but a lot of fun: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GIbnikr791o&t=160s


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## OnlyMyOpinion (Sep 1, 2013)

Whenever I see this thread - Instant Pot - I momentarily think, "great, someone's come up with a solution to the cannabis shortage we read about." :smiley_simmons:


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## 30seconds (Jan 11, 2014)

Its on sale on amazon. If you use Ebates you can get 8% off as well https://www.amazon.ca/Instant-Pot-Ultra-Electric-Stainless/dp/B06Y1MP2PY


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## Rusty O'Toole (Feb 1, 2012)

Mukhang pera said:


> A few months ago, my wife was given a knock-off Instant Pot by an outfit called Breville. Still in the box. This thread is making me curious to try it. Not sure it will work as well, since Instant Pot seems to be the runaway first choice in these things. The Breville appears to be priced higher, but that does not make it better. Hard to compare, though. My first look at these things online today revealed a bewildering array of Instant Pot models. A bit odd, for something premised on a couple of basic functions. Also, I suppose, no one pays the first price they see on a site like Amazon. No doubt with some investigation, the Breville can be found for 100 bucks or less.
> 
> https://www.amazon.com/Breville-Fas...en-20&linkId=1248130fb5cadfa42f0c813ef608f52e


Breville is an Australian company best known for their Juice Fountain juicers which had quite a vogue a few years ago. They are a quality brand so it is not surprising they sell for a lot of money. I would expect their cooker to be heavy efficient and long lasting if it is like their juicers.


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## Plugging Along (Jan 3, 2011)

Mukhang pera said:


> A few months ago, my wife was given a knock-off Instant Pot by an outfit called Breville. Still in the box. This thread is making me curious to try it. Not sure it will work as well, since Instant Pot seems to be the runaway first choice in these things. The Breville appears to be priced higher, but that does not make it better. Hard to compare, though. My first look at these things online today revealed a bewildering array of Instant Pot models. A bit odd, for something premised on a couple of basic functions. Also, I suppose, no one pays the first price they see on a site like Amazon. No doubt with some investigation, the Breville can be found for 100 bucks or less.
> 
> https://www.amazon.com/Breville-Fas...en-20&linkId=1248130fb5cadfa42f0c813ef608f52e


Breville is a good brand, so I don’t think you will have any problems. The challenge may be that because I
Is more popular replace,ent parts for the breville May be more expensive. Not sure though I didn’t really reasearch the part costs. 

Also IP does have a lot of models. They try like iPhone to put a new one out every year. Just recently they put out the one for sous vide. I am seriously debating it but wait for the $280 price to come down. The feature I find morpst important. 

Pressure cook - high and low 
Sauté
Steam 
Slow cook
Yogurt (but I haven’t used this yet).


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## Rusty O'Toole (Feb 1, 2012)

Speaking of Australian cookers I recently made a soup recipe posted on Youtube by an Australian. It used a soup mix popular in Great Britain and Australia consisting of 50% barley, 20% yellow split peas, 20% green split peas and 10% red lentils. You can't buy it in Canada that I know of but it is easy enough to make using ingredients from the supermarket or bulk food store. I liked the soup and plan to use the mix again.


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## james4beach (Nov 15, 2012)

Rusty O'Toole said:


> Speaking of Australian cookers I recently made a soup recipe posted on Youtube by an Australian. It used a soup mix popular in Great Britain and Australia consisting of 50% barley, 20% yellow split peas, 20% green split peas and 10% red lentils. You can't buy it in Canada that I know of but it is easy enough to make using ingredients from the supermarket or bulk food store. I liked the soup and plan to use the mix again.


Could you post a link? I'm interested in soup recipes.


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## Rusty O'Toole (Feb 1, 2012)

james4beach said:


> Could you post a link? I'm interested in soup recipes.


There must be a thousand soup recipes on Youtube but the one I referred to was this winter vegetable soup.https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_UsZYhGrxbQ

Making soup is easy and fun especially if you have a slow cooker, instant pot or pressure cooker.


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## heyjude (May 16, 2009)

james4beach said:


> Could you post a link? I'm interested in soup recipes.


Pressure Luck has many great Instant Pot soup recipes, all with videos:
https://pressureluckcooking.com/recipes/soup/

I have tried a few. The roasted garlic soup is superb.


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## Rusty O'Toole (Feb 1, 2012)

Made some beef barley soup in the crock pot today. Browned a pound of stew beef in some olive oil with flour, tossed it in the pot with a packet of onion soup mix and 6 cups of water, and 2 cups of pot barley. Let it cook for 2 hours and added 6 stalks of celery and 6 carrots, chopped. Let it cook for 2 more hours and had a thick stew like dish which is what I wanted. Mix it 50/50 with hot water for a great bowl of soup, without the barley turning to mush. it didn't seem flavorful enough when diluted so I dissolved a couple of beef stock cubes in a cup of hot water and stirred them into the pot. Now it is just about perfect. Never made this soup before, made up the recipe and am pleased the way it turned out.


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## heyjude (May 16, 2009)

Some of my best soups happen when I am clearing out the fridge. I always keep some vegetable or chicken stock mix on hand. Quinoa or rice makes a great addition. Seasoning is key, as are herbs. One night I ended up with a Chinese style hotpot. It was absolutely delicious and kept me going for several days.


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## humble_pie (Jun 7, 2009)

Rusty O'Toole said:


> Made some beef barley soup in the crock pot today. Browned a pound of stew beef in some olive oil with flour, tossed it in the pot with a packet of onion soup mix and 6 cups of water, and 2 cups of pot barley. Let it cook for 2 hours and added 6 stalks of celery and 6 carrots, chopped. Let it cook for 2 more hours and had a thick stew like dish which is what I wanted. Mix it 50/50 with hot water for a great bowl of soup, without the barley turning to mush. it didn't seem flavorful enough when diluted so I dissolved a couple of beef stock cubes in a cup of hot water and stirred them into the pot. Now it is just about perfect.
> 
> Never made this soup before, made up the recipe and am pleased the way it turned out.



your recipe is cornerstone traditional though. Probably based on your good cooking knowledge & experience. The last thing cooks need for dishes like the above are measured ingredients & strict timing.

what i'm wondering is how the full flavour of a dish like this one ^^ might compare to an instant pot recipe? IP does have meat-browning capabilities but Plugging said IP is a bit weak with these. Yet the flavour of many meat dishes absolutely depends on slow-toasting those fatty molecules to their golden crisps.


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## Rusty O'Toole (Feb 1, 2012)

I used the crock pot because I had an appointment in town and wanted to start the soup before I left and finish it after I got home. I suppose I could have done the same with the instant pot but didn't think of it. Browning the meat only took a few minutes and then it was a matter of tossing things in the pot lol so it did not take long.

If I do it again I will use one less cup of water.


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## MrMatt (Dec 21, 2011)

Danny said:


> Anyone have one of these> Thoughts on it?


I've had 4 different electric pressure cookers. I love them
I use mine at least 3-4 times a week, and posted a few videos on youtube.

http://youtube.com/mattinthekitchen


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## Plugging Along (Jan 3, 2011)

humble_pie said:


> your recipe is cornerstone traditional though. Probably based on your good cooking knowledge & experience. The last thing cooks need for dishes like the above are measured ingredients & strict timing.
> 
> what i'm wondering is how the full flavour of a dish like this one ^^ might compare to an instant pot recipe? IP does have meat-browning capabilities but Plugging said IP is a bit weak with these. Yet the flavour of many meat dishes absolutely depends on slow-toasting those fatty molecules to their golden crisps.


IP is actually really good for browning smaller pieces of meat. I just find it doesn’t do the larger roasts as well, that why will still use my oven for a prime rib. It’s wonderful for stews like rusty posted.


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## Mukhang pera (Feb 26, 2016)

Plugging Along said:


> Breville is a good brand, so I don’t think you will have any problems. The challenge may be that because I
> Is more popular replace,ent parts for the breville May be more expensive. Not sure though I didn’t really reasearch the part costs.


Well, reading here and reporting to my wife motivated her to finally take the Breville machine out of the box and have a go. Her first experiment was with her Breville adaptation of a recipe from a Mme Jehane Benoit (I am a Mme Benoit fan) cookbook for braised beef roast. The cooker lived up to its positive reviews.


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## james4beach (Nov 15, 2012)

Here's a question for you IP owners. I'm cooking another stew tonight. When you have a large soup or stew, do you tend to keep it in the IP's inner pot, and put the whole big steel pot into the fridge? Or do you usually empty it out into smaller containers and clean the IP immediately?

If you are keeping it in the IP's steel pot, is there a setting that works well to reheat this without causing excessive extra cooking each time?


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## Rusty O'Toole (Feb 1, 2012)

I usually eat some right away and put the leftovers in a sealable plastic container after it cools. Then take out as much as I need and reheat on the stove or in the microwave. Heating on the stove is preferred.


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## STech (Jun 7, 2016)

james4beach said:


> Here's a question for you IP owners. I'm cooking another stew tonight. When you have a large soup or stew, do you tend to keep it in the IP's inner pot, and put the whole big steel pot into the fridge? Or do you usually empty it out into smaller containers and clean the IP immediately?
> 
> If you are keeping it in the IP's steel pot, is there a setting that works well to reheat this without causing excessive extra cooking each time?


I'd think the Keep Warm function would work best. I don't keep anything in pots or pans. I use glass containers and put in the fridge or freezer as soon as they cool down.


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## heyjude (May 16, 2009)

james4beach said:


> Here's a question for you IP owners. I'm cooking another stew tonight. When you have a large soup or stew, do you tend to keep it in the IP's inner pot, and put the whole big steel pot into the fridge? Or do you usually empty it out into smaller containers and clean the IP immediately?
> 
> If you are keeping it in the IP's steel pot, is there a setting that works well to reheat this without causing excessive extra cooking each time?


Sometimes I do store the leftovers in the fridge in the IP steel pot. I then use “steam” for 1-2 minutes to reheat them. It’s important to make sure that the leftovers contain some liquid. This method works best for a big pot of soup. It always tastes better the second day! 

For more solid leftovers, my favoured method is to put them into my Ekovana stackable stainless steel pans, and store these in the fridge. I then steam one or both pans in the IP for 1-2 minutes, putting water in the bottom of the IP steel pot. No microwaving involved.

Incidentally, these stackable pans can be used to cook in the IP as well. You can put your protein in one and veggies in the other. Or you can make lasagne or cheesecake. And they are convenient for boiling eggs. 

https://ekovana.com


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## peterk (May 16, 2010)

Wow I broke down and bought one. $99 for the large size, 8Qt, at Best Buy. Arrives this week.

I'm getting a bit tired of cooking elaborate recipes, which I enjoy, but sometimes it's too much work and time for a bit more flavor that I don't really need at every meal.

Hoping this IP will help with things like pulled pork, bone broth, stew. I doubt I can do pasta sauce or roast with it, but maybe. Mostly I'm hoping I can sometimes cook something on a weeknight in an hour that would take 4 hours normally.


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## STech (Jun 7, 2016)

peterk said:


> I'm getting a bit tired of cooking elaborate recipes, which I enjoy, but sometimes it's too much work and time for a bit more flavor that I don't really need at every meal.



Same here. I'm hoping to do more of the prep and toss a few things together and have decent meal in an hour. I definitely enjoy the more elaborate stuff once in a while, but I'm hoping to hone my cooking skills for more cook and run type of deals.


So far, I've had pretty good success with pressure cooking chicken breasts in chicken broth for 11 minutes, then throwing in potatoes and carrots and pressure cooking again on high for 3 minutes. I do this while making rice in a stove top pot at the same time. Tasty and healthy, but I'm still trying to figure out some seasonings for more flavour. If anyone knows of a package of something to throw in, please post up.


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## peterk (May 16, 2010)

STech said:


> Same here. I'm hoping to do more of the prep and toss a few things together and have decent meal in an hour. I definitely enjoy the more elaborate stuff once in a while, but I'm hoping to hone my cooking skills for more cook and run type of deals.
> 
> 
> So far, I've had pretty good success with pressure cooking chicken breasts in chicken broth for 11 minutes, then throwing in potatoes and carrots and pressure cooking again on high for 3 minutes. I do this while making rice in a stove top pot at the same time. Tasty and healthy, but *I'm still trying to figure out some seasonings for more flavour*. If anyone knows of a package of something to throw in, please post up.


For chicken, potato and carrots I'd just try generous salt (not unhealthy like they say - look it up), a generous amount of garlic (powder if you want but real tastes better), a tiny bit of Thyme, butter, and white wine. Black pepper after it's on the plate. But there I go again with elaborate meals lol. I think maybe the single package item you might want for that dish is called "poultry seasoning", along with butter.

Also, for me, cooking has always been an excuse to not do the work I need to be doing... I gotta cook... for health, taste, culture, the soul, etc. So I'm trying to break that mindset. Sometimes you just gotta eat something, and hopefully it doesn't taste too terrible.


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## STech (Jun 7, 2016)

peterk said:


> Also, for me, cooking has always been an excuse to not do the work I need to be doing... I gotta cook... for health, taste, culture, the soul, etc. So I'm trying to break that mindset. Sometimes you just gotta eat something, and hopefully it doesn't taste too terrible.


I'm new to full-bore cooking. I've always done easy and quick stuff, or ate out. Now with more time on my hands, I'm focusing on healthy, tasty, and proper cooking. I have developed a sense of accomplishment and enjoyment from cooking more involved meals. Last weekend I spent 7 hours prepping and making 2 chicken dishes, rice, pasta, and 1 soup. It helps that my audience was impressed. 

During the week, hopefully I can come up with a magic potion to throw in with the chicken or beef, and 15 minutes later have a somewhat tasty dish. I'll definately try the poultry seasoning, thanks. 


BTW, the Instant Pot app has a bunch of yummy recipes and a fairly large community. Download it and sign up.


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## heyjude (May 16, 2009)

I just made risotto in my Instant Pot for the first time. Pancetta, onion, Carnaroli rice, spinach, Parmiggiana-Romano, white wine, broth, spring onions...it’s absolutely divine! And no need to stir continuously for 25 minutes!


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## Prairie Guy (Oct 30, 2018)

heyjude said:


> Sometimes I do store the leftovers in the fridge in the IP steel pot. I then use “steam” for 1-2 minutes to reheat them. It’s important to make sure that the leftovers contain some liquid. This method works best for a big pot of soup. It always tastes better the second day!


I do similar...if there's enough left I put the inner pot in the fridge and then pressure cook for 2 minutes to quickly reheat it.


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## Plugging Along (Jan 3, 2011)

STech said:


> I'm new to full-bore cooking. I've always done easy and quick stuff, or ate out. Now with more time on my hands, I'm focusing on healthy, tasty, and proper cooking. I have developed a sense of accomplishment and enjoyment from cooking more involved meals. Last weekend I spent 7 hours prepping and making 2 chicken dishes, rice, pasta, and 1 soup. It helps that my audience was impressed.
> 
> During the week, hopefully I can come up with a magic potion to throw in with the chicken or beef, and 15 minutes later have a somewhat tasty dish. I'll definately try the poultry seasoning, thanks.
> 
> ...


Not a magic potion, but my trick is I pre season and marinade my ingredients and then freezer in ziplock bags. So I will make enough for 4-6 meals of the same item. I will split up my meats and divide the marinade in the ziplock, and then freeze them. I then thaw it out over night, and throw it in the instant pot. The other bonus with the instant pot is that it can cook meat from frozen. If you have the freezer space, you can actually put the ziplock bags in the inner liner or a plastic container the same side (both glad and Rubbermaid a round container that fits), then you can pot the whole icy marinated meat into the IP from frozen. It takes a little longer to come up to pressure.


There are lots of commercial seasonings in those little pouches you can use. I usually make my own as I don't want to buy 4 pouches, but they are good for when you are lacking inspiration.


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## peterk (May 16, 2010)

It arrived!! Now what!?


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## Plugging Along (Jan 3, 2011)

peterk said:


> It arrived!! Now what!?


Take it out of the box, wash liner, and the. Follow the instructions for eggs.

Once you are comfortable with the parts, just start cooking.


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## peterk (May 16, 2010)

First recipe: Baby potatoes and carrots, to go along with some leftover roast beef from last weekend.

*Disaster*. Put the potatoes in first (1.5lbs) with a cup of water, both fridge-cold. It took 15 minutes to get up to full temp, then the pressure cooker timer on for 6 minutes. Peeled the carrots during this time. After 6 minutes I vented the steam and opened. The potatoes were almost done. Put in the carrots and represurized (only 5 minutes this time) and cooked for 4 more minutes.

The potatoes were over-done and the carrots way underdone. Then I threw them in a pan with garlic, oil, sugar, and S&P and steamed another 5+ minutes to get the carrots reasonably soft. Overall the whole thing took 45 minutes, marginally quicker than the "boil then sautee" method overall.

Next time I'm going to have to cook them all together and avoid a mid-cook venting. But I'll have to get the potatoes hot first. I think I'll do this by:

-Wash the potatoes in the IP sleeve in the sink, letting the potatoes and IP heat up for 5 minutes under scalding hot tap water.
-Peel and chop the carrots while the potatoes and IP are sitting in the hot water
-Drain potatoes
-Add carrots to IP and 1-2 cups scalding hot tap water
-Pressure cook for ~7 minutes
-Sautee in hot pan for 2-3 minutes with oil, garlic, butter, salt, etc.


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## Prairie Guy (Oct 30, 2018)

Don't overthink it. Put an inch or so of water in the pot and put baby or cut up potatoes on the wire rack. Set the instant pot for 8 minutes and leave it alone, including letting it depressurize for about 10 minutes. You will have perfectly steamed potatoes.


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## cainvest (May 1, 2013)

peterk said:


> The potatoes were over-done and the carrots way underdone. Then I threw them in a pan with garlic, oil, sugar, and S&P and steamed another 5+ minutes to get the carrots reasonably soft. Overall the whole thing took 45 minutes, marginally quicker than the "boil then sautee" method overall.
> 
> Next time I'm going to have to cook them all together and avoid a mid-cook venting.


Phased pressure cooking takes some practice, some ingredients are more forgiving than others to cooking time. Carrots, onions, celery can take some extra time but not so much for potatoes. Also changing the size of the ingredients alters their cooking time. 
I use this site ( https://fastcooking.ca/pressure_cookers/cooking_times_pressure_cooker.php ) to "match cooking times" for ingredients for phased cooking. 

A simple and fast beef stew ...
Phase 1:
- Stewing beef (cut into ~1" cubes if larger, brown meat before pressure cooking in water if you like)
- Cook for 12 mins then quick release pressure 
Phase 2:
- Add in presoaked navy beans, potatoes (~1" cubed), carrots (in slices, not big chunks), celery, onions, garlic and spices (add water if needed)
- Cook for 5 mins then quick release pressure

Done!


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## Rusty O'Toole (Feb 1, 2012)

I've cooked carrots and potatoes together for years in a pressure cooker and never had this problem. I will cut the carrots in 2 or 3 pieces and cut the potatoes into pieces of similar thickness to the carrots. Put them all in the pot and let them cook. One of my favorites is a boiled vegetable dinner made of carrots, potatoes, parsnips, cabbage and a whole onion steamed together sometimes with rutabaga. If the potatoes are big I will cut them in half or thirds. And put the big chunk of cabbage on top, like a 1/4 of a head of cabbage. Maybe it's because I like traditional Canadian over cooked vegetables, I am not going to lose my mind if everything isn't exactly to the same stage of al dente.

I do beef stew in one stage too (without the beans, who puts beans in beef stew). I roll the meat in flour and brown pretty thoroughly in a frying pan before it goes into the pot.


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## cainvest (May 1, 2013)

Rusty O'Toole said:


> I do beef stew in one stage too (without the beans, who puts beans in beef stew). I roll the meat in flour and brown pretty thoroughly in a frying pan before it goes into the pot.


lol, every time I mention putting beans in different recipes I get the "roll the eyes" the look from many people. 
Being older, I use beans to substitute for a portion of the meat I would use, done partly for health reasons but I do like the taste of them. As an added bonus they cost much, much less than meat.

BTW, I tried both flour / non-flour browning in the fry pan before going into the pot and didn't notice much difference so I omit the flour now. I also do a quick fry pan deglaze with the onions & garlic before they got into the pot.


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## peterk (May 16, 2010)

Rusty O'Toole said:


> I've cooked carrots and potatoes together for years in a pressure cooker and never had this problem. I will cut the carrots in 2 or 3 pieces and cut the potatoes into pieces of similar thickness to the carrots. Put them all in the pot and let them cook. One of my favorites is a boiled vegetable dinner made of carrots, potatoes, parsnips, cabbage and a whole onion steamed together sometimes with rutabaga. If the potatoes are big I will cut them in half or thirds. And put the big chunk of cabbage on top, like a 1/4 of a head of cabbage. Maybe it's because I like traditional Canadian over cooked vegetables, *I am not going to lose my mind if everything isn't exactly to the same stage of al dente.*
> 
> I do beef stew in one stage too (without the beans, who puts beans in beef stew). I roll the meat in flour and brown pretty thoroughly in a frying pan before it goes into the pot.


Ya I guess I'm just trying to figure it out as best I can, now with IP cooker timing. Though even in the oven or pot I often screw up the timing/doneness of things... Normally I'd say with the same size chunk of potato and carrot that the potato will cook slower than the carrot in the oven. Seems like in the IP with all the steam it might be opposite. I'll have to play and dial it in for the right size/shape/timing with the IP.
Definitely excited to be able to whip up "roasted" vegetables or beef stew in <30 minutes.


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## james4beach (Nov 15, 2012)

cainvest said:


> Phased pressure cooking takes some practice, some ingredients are more forgiving than others to cooking time.


I'm still getting used to it.

I made a chicken curry tonight in the IP. In general I think the one area of cooking I need to improve is the timing of the various pieces. For this chicken curry I followed the recipe as written in the IP's recipe book, which said how long to brown the onions and garlic, when to add the spices, etc. This really makes a difference and I find that when I follow the proper recipe, the aromas are being released in a much nicer way than when I use my ad hoc style. Generally I tend to overcook things on my own.

I'm learning as I go along. Perhaps my first step in advancing this aspect of my cooking occurred at an all-inclusive resort in the Dominican Republic. I was drunk at the time and fascinated with how amazing the dishes at the pasta station were turning out. The chef would sautee the garlic, add veggies, etc. The same things I do myself but his turned out much better than mine.

So one night, I took a notepad and pen to the pasta station. I recorded the steps he took and timed how long between, e.g. adding garlic and the next vegetables. At home I tried replicating and it turned out exactly like the chef's. I was blown away... it was all in the sequence and timing. Now I know


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## heyjude (May 16, 2009)

james4beach said:


> I'm still getting used to it.
> 
> I made a chicken curry tonight in the IP. In general I think the one area of cooking I need to improve is the timing of the various pieces. For this chicken curry I followed the recipe as written in the IP's recipe book, which said how long to brown the onions and garlic, when to add the spices, etc. This really makes a difference and I find that when I follow the proper recipe, the aromas are being released in a much nicer way than when I use my ad hoc style. Generally I tend to overcook things on my own.
> 
> ...


Congratulations on making a great chicken curry! 

Cooking became a lot more rewarding when I learnt more about the science of it. I used to think I had done something wrong (burnt the food) if I had brown residue in a pan. Now I know that it’s caramelization due to the Maillard reaction, that it’s full of flavour, and should be integrated into the sauce by deglazing the pan with a little liquid such as stock, wine, or lemon juice. It will affect different foods in different ways. Caramelized onions = sweetness! Adding garlic too early to a hot pan causes it to burn. Sliced garlic, slowly heated in extra virgin olive oil, becomes a fabulous pasta sauce for spaghetti aglio e olio. Heating spices in a pan brings out amazing flavours. Etc, etc. 

I have been on an ongoing journey of foodie exploration since I retired a few years ago. My favourite YouTube channels have taught me a lot, because, like you, I’m a visual learner. I also audited a free online course about the science of cooking, presented by Harvard University. And I have participated in several cooking workshops locally, as well as one marvellous one in Italy. I’m confident enough now that I can apply general principles to turn whatever is in my fridge into a delicious, nutritious meal. You will get there too!


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## Prairie Guy (Oct 30, 2018)

heyjude said:


> Cooking became a lot more rewarding when I learnt more about the science of it.


Yeas, the science of cooking is very important. Learn that and some basic ratios and you will be set for life.

My GF and I rarely go out for dinner any more because we both can make as good or better at home.


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## andrewf (Mar 1, 2010)

james4beach said:


> I'm still getting used to it.
> 
> I made a chicken curry tonight in the IP. In general I think the one area of cooking I need to improve is the timing of the various pieces. For this chicken curry I followed the recipe as written in the IP's recipe book, which said how long to brown the onions and garlic, when to add the spices, etc. This really makes a difference and I find that when I follow the proper recipe, the aromas are being released in a much nicer way than when I use my ad hoc style. Generally I tend to overcook things on my own.
> 
> ...


It's all chemistry. I think that is the aspect of cooking I find most interesting.


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## cainvest (May 1, 2013)

andrewf said:


> It's all chemistry. I think that is the aspect of cooking I find most interesting.


That's one way to look at it ... It's a chemistry set for adults!


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## heyjude (May 16, 2009)

andrewf said:


> It's all chemistry. I think that is the aspect of cooking I find most interesting.


If you think cooking is all chemistry, just try baking! 
For example, soda bread utilizes the Henderson Hasselbach reaction to turn sodium bicarbonate (Baking Soda) and buttermilk (acid) into carbon dioxide (gas) and water (steam). Ergo, the bread rises! But only if you get the proportions right. 
If you want to become a consistently good baker, you have to weigh dry ingredients. Volume measurements are simply too subject to variation depending on how densely they are packed.


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## heyjude (May 16, 2009)

Nothing to do with the Instant Pot, but might be of general interest. 

Italians are notoriously proud of their culinary heritage and justifiably tout the simplicity and good ingredients they use. But pride can lead to snobbishness. 

In this video, three Italian chefs criticize the five most popular “how-to” YouTube videos of the simple Italian recipe Spaghetti Aglio e Olio. They are tough to please! Laura Vitale was born and raised in Italy, but they are just as hard on her. Disclaimer: Donal Skehan and Laura Vitale are my go-to YouTube cooking mentors. 

https://youtu.be/MUx4OwILCD8

In this video, the same three Italian chefs demonstrate their versions of the same simple dish. The older lady keeps it simple. The other two make it over complicated. I don’t think they should have been so critical of the others! 

https://youtu.be/oF_G2a8xsa8


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## peterk (May 16, 2010)

^ However you make it, that's just a good and easy recipe all around. Spaghetti, high quality extra virgin olive oil, garlic, parsley, spicy red chili flakes, salt. I like to add parmesan cheese and bacon sometimes too. But not necessary.


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## cainvest (May 1, 2013)

heyjude said:


> If you think cooking is all chemistry, just try baking!
> For example, soda bread utilizes the Henderson Hasselbach reaction to turn sodium bicarbonate (Baking Soda) and buttermilk (acid) into carbon dioxide (gas) and water (steam). Ergo, the bread rises! But only if you get the proportions right.
> If you want to become a consistently good baker, you have to weigh dry ingredients. Volume measurements are simply too subject to variation depending on how densely they are packed.


Baking is a whole other world ... I know people that can cook up excellent dishes yet can't bake anything.


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## heyjude (May 16, 2009)

cainvest said:


> Baking is a whole other world ... I know people that can cook up excellent dishes yet can't bake anything.


Baking is more challenging and therefore more competitive. Hence the popularity of the Great British Baking Show!


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## Rusty O'Toole (Feb 1, 2012)

I have an old recipe for Irish soda bread I got for free from the Bulk Food store. It uses their dry buttermilk powder and whole wheat flour. It always came out perfect. I don't make it any more because I am trying to cut out starches and lose weight.


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## humble_pie (Jun 7, 2009)

heyjude said:


> If you think cooking is all chemistry, just try baking!
> For example, soda bread utilizes the Henderson Hasselbach reaction to turn sodium bicarbonate (Baking Soda) and buttermilk (acid) into carbon dioxide (gas) and water (steam). Ergo, the bread rises! But only if you get the proportions right.
> If you want to become a consistently good baker, you have to weigh dry ingredients. Volume measurements are simply too subject to variation depending on how densely they are packed.



lol that explains it!

me i am an outlaw cook. A handful of this, what looks like a cuppa that (measured by eye only). Generous pinches of dried green herbs & spices. Sprigs of rosemary everywhere, even in dessert breads. Baking powder, baking soda, milk, cream, lemon juice, splash of vinegar, it's all the same to me. 

i'm happy with whatever happens. Some thrown-together-no-recipe breads & muffins do rise better than others, though


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## humble_pie (Jun 7, 2009)

andrewf said:


> It's all chemistry. I think that is the aspect of cooking I find most interesting.



no, it's all love. cooking is very touchy feely. but then, they say that love is all chemistry

in cooking, as in love, little things like altitude & season of the year can mean a lot

.


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## humble_pie (Jun 7, 2009)

peterk said:


> First recipe: Baby potatoes and carrots, to go along with some leftover roast beef from last weekend.
> 
> *Disaster*. Put the potatoes in first (1.5lbs) with a cup of water, both fridge-cold. It took 15 minutes to get up to full temp, then the pressure cooker timer on for 6 minutes. Peeled the carrots during this time. After 6 minutes I vented the steam and opened. The potatoes were almost done. Put in the carrots and represurized (only 5 minutes this time) and cooked for 4 more minutes.
> 
> ...




wow, all this just for some carrots & baby potatoes?

could have done in one ordinary stove-top pot in 20-25 mins. Carrots go in first they take longer (i think McCain Inc out of new brunswick may have genetically tenderized all canadian potatoes). Baby potatoes next, maybe 4-8 mins later depending on how finely the carrots were chopped. 

dish could benefit from a cut-up onion, smashed cloves of garlic, couple sticks celery, a bay leaf. These go in at the beginning w the carrots.

only one pot to wash. None of this transferring around for partial cooking in other pots, pans, sleeves & fryers.

(signed)
19th century
simpleminded
tartelette


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## Plugging Along (Jan 3, 2011)

I am more like HP, and cook with a title of this a lot of that, add a little more of this to offset too much of that. That being said, I have been trying to learn more of science behind why certain things work the way they do, so I can do a little more of this and that. I have had some pretty epic failed, but generally, I pretty good. I like cooking more than baking cause baking requires a lot more precision which bores me. However, one can not add a little more of something if it doesn’t work while baking. 

I suppose if I followed recipe I could bake, but then it just means I can follow recipes, I like creating stuff myself.


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## humble_pie (Jun 7, 2009)

Plugging i'm with you re cook-as-u-go but i have to say that, although i can serve a meal with pride to guests any day of the year, such meal will never, not ever, include any home-baked item from this outlaw's oven

all my primitive no-recipe pastries get fed only to the long-suffering family

for guests i only have one dessert. Rich dark chocolate mousse made with far too much single-plantation chocolate, egg yolks, cream, madagascar vanilla & served in demi-tasse w whipped cream. No formal recipe.

occasionally i alternate w crème bruléee. Also no recipe. At christmastime i buy plum puddings. Thanksgiving i buy pumpkin pie. Spring & summer i'm all for strawberry, raspberry, blackberry & fruit tartes from favourite patisserie.


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## STech (Jun 7, 2016)

humble_pie said:


> wow, all this just for some carrots & baby potatoes?


Potatoes and carrots are super simple and quick in the IP actually. All you have to do is wash and cut up some baby potatoes, throw into the IP. Then throw in a bag of baby carrots along with some water (I use chicken broth). Set the IP for 4 minutes and done.

It takes less than 5 minutes for pressure to build up, and another minute to quick vent, so let's say roughly 10 minutes total, and they come out just right. It's a very simple recipe and process, no need to over think it.


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## peterk (May 16, 2010)

STech said:


> Potatoes and carrots are super simple and quick in the IP actually. All you have to do is wash and cut up some baby potatoes, throw into the IP. Then throw in a bag of baby carrots along with some water (I use chicken broth). Set the IP for 4 minutes and done.
> 
> *It takes less than 5 minutes for pressure to build up*, and another minute to quick vent, so let's say roughly 10 minutes total, and they come out just right. It's a very simple recipe and process, no need to over think it.


Did I do something wrong? I _do_ have the 8 qt. I had about 2lbs of cold potatoes and 1-2 cups of cold water in there, and it took a full 15 minutes for it to come up to pressure and the timer to start... It was as long as bringing a large pot of water to boil... That's why next time I was planning on soaking the potatoes and IP liner in hot tap water for a few minutes first, while I'm getting the carrots ready, to hopefully jump start the heating up process.


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## STech (Jun 7, 2016)

peterk said:


> Did I do something wrong? I _do_ have the 8 qt. I had about 2lbs of cold potatoes and 1-2 cups of cold water in there, and it took a full 15 minutes for it to come up to pressure and the timer to start... It was as long as bringing a large pot of water to boil... That's why next time I was planning on soaking the potatoes and IP liner in hot tap water for a few minutes first, while I'm getting the carrots ready, to hopefully jump start the heating up process.


I have the 8 quart as well. Make sure you have it set to high pressure and not low, and remember the manual says on the 8 qt model, you need a minimum of 2 cups of liquid. Make sure the vent cap is clean and seated properly. I don't know how much soaking the potatoes in hot water will help, but I'm not a fan of using hot water from my water heater for cooking. I buy those 5 lb bags of baby potatoes, and use about half every time. Then add a bag of ready to eat baby carrots. I think they're 1 lb bags. I used to take the time and peel the potatoes, but now I just cut the potatoes and cook with the skin on. They taste better, not mushy, and cuts down on prep time.

This past Sunday, I put in 3 lbs of boneless skinless chicken breast (not frozen). 
Cooked that for 14 minutes along with 2.5 cups of chicken broth sprinkled with poultry seasoning. Quick release.
Put in 2.5 lbs of cut up baby potatoes and 1 lb of baby carrots straight from the bag.
Cooked on high pressure again for another 4 minutes. Quick release and done.

In the meantime, I had 6 cups of brown rice made in a pot on the stove. Total time was about an hour, and now I have yummy and healthy meals for a few days to take to work.


For something with more taste, but still easy, I think I'm gonna attempt one of the following 3 recipes from the video below. They look tasty.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BBLt0nC8msY&t=6s&list=WL&index=15


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## peterk (May 16, 2010)

^ Me neither, that's why I used my extra cold brita-filtered water from the fridge.

4 minutes for potatoes? Obviously I didn't time things right at all on my first try...


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## STech (Jun 7, 2016)

peterk said:


> 4 minutes for potatoes? Obviously I didn't time things right at all on my first try...


Yup. I just double checked the Cooking Time Tables sheet that comes with the instant pot. It says 12-15 minutes for large whole potatoes. 8-10 minutes for small whole potatoes, and 3-4 minutes for cubed potatoes. This is on high pressure.


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## peterk (May 16, 2010)

Made mushroom and scallop risotto tonight. Fridge to plate in about 35 minutes! Still, after sauteeing the onions and rice, and adding 1.5L of hot broth, it took 15 full minutes on high to get up to pressure and the 5 minute counter to begin. I wish the burner was stronger to get it up to full heat faster.


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## Plugging Along (Jan 3, 2011)

I find if you put in the items on the sauté function (the heat is higher) then let it heat up for a bit, put the lid on, then switch to pressure cook it seems to save a little time. However, this does not work on all items as some will burn


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## humble_pie (Jun 7, 2009)

peterk said:


> Made mushroom and scallop risotto tonight. Fridge to plate in about 35 minutes! Still, after sauteeing the onions and rice, and adding 1.5L of hot broth, it took 15 full minutes on high to get up to pressure and the 5 minute counter to begin. I wish the burner was stronger to get it up to full heat faster.



i could do mushroom & scallop risotto frig to plate in 30 mins regular pot + cast iron frying pan to sear mushrooms & scallops in butter. No instant pot necessary.

why would anyone want to cook mushrooms & scallops under pressure? both are already delicate enough that they can & should be pan-sauteed only a few minutes. Cook needs to physically see & watch over the cooking progress of these 2 ingredients second by second. See as in view with one's own eyes. Watch over as in stir during the procedure. Timing is important.

over-cooking blindfolded in pressure cooker for at least 20 minutes (plus de-pressurization time) seems like an undesirable procedure to me


globe had an article recently with a headline along the lines of How Come Nobody Knows How To Cook Anymore. But peterk is already too good a cook to fall into the know-nothing category, i would have thought


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## peterk (May 16, 2010)

I pan seared the scallops separately for like 2 minutes. Duh 

And no you cannot cook risotto in a regular pot in 30 minutes. I dare you to show anyone how that could possibly be done...


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## peterk (May 16, 2010)

That being said, I don't think I'd do risotto again in the IP. It was pretty good... but didn't have quite the right texture and smoothness I was looking for, and it only was moderately faster and easier than the regular method (which takes 50-60 minutes).

Thanks Plug. I will try to get things to a boil on the sautee mode first. You'd think high sautee and high pressure modes would equally have the burner set to max, though, eh?


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## humble_pie (Jun 7, 2009)

peterk said:


> no you cannot cook risotto in a regular pot in 30 minutes. I dare you to show anyone how that could possibly be done...




classic risotto is made with special short grain rice. The kernels have extra starch packed into the epithelial layers. A cook needs to repeatedly add small quantities of hot stock to the simmering rice while stirring briskly, no? it's the agitation of the constant stirring that liberates the starch from the cells. Stirring process takes roughly 15 minutes. The dissolved starch is what gives a risotto its signature creaminess.

i don't see how the above procedure is possible in an Instant Pot because there's no interaction with the food while it's cooking. What one would get with an IP is boiled rice, not risotto. it's true that arborio or other special short grain rice would liberate some starch during cooking in an IP, but nothing like the creamy quantity that comes from prolonged & vigourous hand stirring while adding tablespoons of stock.

so when you said IP risotto, my takeaway was that it was plain boiled rice. One can certainly prepare a boiled rice, mushroom & scallops dish in a regular heavy pot in less than 30 minutes. Using a risotto rice will even permit some of the classic creaminess to appear.


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## peterk (May 16, 2010)

Ya it was the standard Arborio risotto rice. I'm not sure if it's the best authentic Italian short grain risotto rice, but that's what all the standard American recipes ask for.

Does it really only take 15 minutes of stirring? It takes me 30+minutes of stirring and broth adding to make it by scratch, and that's just the stirring part that comes after the sauteeing and broth heating. I've heard that you can speed this up by just adding the broth in larger batches, stirring less often and boiling harder and the creaminess is not compromised. I'm not so sure though. I like the constant stir, barely wet rice method.

The point was people were saying you can even make risotto in the IP. A finicky recipe. I suppose it wasn't bad but it wasn't that great. I'l probably sick with things like speeding up the cooking of large vegetables, stews, and softening tough meats. 

Getting to the point in life where I think I should be working harder at value added things like exercise, working more, socializing more, reading, and not trying to distract myself with things like elaborate food planning & preparation, which I've used as a pretty reliable excuse for the last 10 years whenever I should've been doing something more important.


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## cainvest (May 1, 2013)

peterk said:


> I'l probably sick with things like speeding up the cooking of large vegetables, stews, and softening tough meats.


That's all I use my pressure cooker for, it's what is does best.
Many recipes "can" be done in the IP (pressure or not) but it's not always easier or better ...


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## humble_pie (Jun 7, 2009)

^^ actually i think that your cooking skills are a very appealing part of your character

after you're married & have kids & all, the social life will expand of its own accord. You'll see. There'll be occasions aplenty where you'll be able to stun w a special dish or even an entire meal. Don't let those skills turn rusty!


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## Plugging Along (Jan 3, 2011)

Ironically, risotto is one of things I have started cooking again because of my IP. 

I had successfully made restaurant creamy risotto once prior to the IP and no coincidence prior to having kids. I am not the most patient cook and found I often would get interrupted with something that would distract me from the stirring slowly adding broth. I would get sometime barely edible results. 

I found with the IP, I can get decent butler consistent results as the distractions of all going on in my home don’t seem to impact the instant pot cooking. The other bonus is, I had my kids make the risotto in the IP. It takes a lot less technique, patience and is not finicky. True, not quite as creamy, but a tad more butter seemed to do the trick. 

I have found the IP isn’t the trick for everything, there are still recipes I will never IP , such as a cracking skin pork roast, pork belly, slow prime rib. However, for other recipes such as risotto, it’s close enough for me for now. I also love my recipes that I would braise, so couldn’t do it on a weekend, when I have minimal time to get dinner ready before our activity.


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## Plugging Along (Jan 3, 2011)

Ironically, risotto is one of things I have started cooking again because of my IP. 

I had successfully made restaurant creamy risotto once prior to the IP and no coincidence prior to having kids. I am not the most patient cook and found I often would get interrupted with something that would distract me from the stirring slowly adding broth. I would get sometime barely edible results. 

I found with the IP, I can get decent butler consistent results as the distractions of all going on in my home don’t seem to impact the instant pot cooking. The other bonus is, I had my kids make the risotto in the IP. It takes a lot less technique, patience and is not finicky. True, not quite as creamy, but a tad more butter seemed to do the trick. 

I have found the IP isn’t the trick for everything, there are still recipes I will never IP , such as a cracking skin pork roast, pork belly, slow prime rib. However, for other recipes such as risotto, it’s close enough for me for now. I also love my recipes that I would braise, so couldn’t do it on a weekend, when I have minimal time to get dinner ready before our activity.


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## peterk (May 16, 2010)

This thing is friggen awesome for soup stocks!

Chicken carcass, bay leaf, pinch of salt, 1.5hrs and natural release, produces clear deep yellow stock with a thin film of fat on top. Perfect. My in-pot recipe is inferior, and I always had problems getting the simmer right and the stock to come out clear. Once refrigerated it is thick like jello as well.

Beef stock took 3hrs, and again produced nice brown clear liquid which jello-ified in the fridge. Extracting the collage/gelatin from large beef bones (Prime rib) on the stove took me 12+ of simmering at a bare minimum - once I cooked beef stock for 48hrs and it was not as good as the Instant Pot.


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## humble_pie (Jun 7, 2009)

peterk said:


> This thing is friggen awesome for soup stocks!
> 
> Chicken carcass, bay leaf, pinch of salt, 1.5hrs and natural release, produces clear deep yellow stock with a thin film of fat on top. Perfect. My in-pot recipe is inferior, and I always had problems getting the simmer right and the stock to come out clear. Once refrigerated it is thick like jello as well.
> 
> Beef stock took 3hrs, and again produced nice brown clear liquid which jello-ified in the fridge. Extracting the collage/gelatin from large beef bones (Prime rib) on the stove took me 12+ of simmering at a bare minimum - once I cooked beef stock for 48hrs and it was not as good as the Instant Pot.



soup stock that gels might be the zone that will persuade me in the end

i've never been able to put up with simmering bones more than 4-5 hours. Sometimes the resulting stock gels sometimes it doesn't

ps not sure how that verb is spelled but luckily cooks don't need to know how to spell, only how to gel

.


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## andrewf (Mar 1, 2010)

peterk said:


> This thing is friggen awesome for soup stocks!
> 
> Chicken carcass, bay leaf, pinch of salt, 1.5hrs and natural release, produces clear deep yellow stock with a thin film of fat on top. Perfect. My in-pot recipe is inferior, and I always had problems getting the simmer right and the stock to come out clear. Once refrigerated it is thick like jello as well.
> 
> Beef stock took 3hrs, and again produced nice brown clear liquid which jello-ified in the fridge. Extracting the collage/gelatin from large beef bones (Prime rib) on the stove took me 12+ of simmering at a bare minimum - once I cooked beef stock for 48hrs and it was not as good as the Instant Pot.


Indeed, this is one application where a pressure cooker gives a better, not just faster result than what is possible with conventional cooking.


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## peterk (May 16, 2010)

jello-ified is most certainly the proper verbiage! :biggrin:

I have no idea what is going on in that pot that it is not agitating the chicken bits into oblivion, like boiling does (that's why we simmer). It seems to me that the only conclusion that I can draw is that the IP is holding the pressure and temp at precisely the right place so that the fluid is at high temperature (due to high vapour pressured of the sealed pot), but is not infact boiling or moving the parts of food around the pot at all, as I was envisioning. In hindsight, this makes sense, as the IP needs to prevent excess steam buildup and over pressuring, lest it explodes.

For reference, after draining out the clear broth I picked up one of the chicken leg bones, and it crushed easily between my fingers - a good sign that the stock is fully and completely "done".


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## humble_pie (Jun 7, 2009)

peterk said:


> I have no idea what is going on in that pot that it is not agitating the chicken bits into oblivion, like boiling does (that's why we simmer). It seems to me that the only conclusion that I can draw is that the IP is holding the pressure and temp at precisely the right place so that the fluid is at high temperature (due to high vapour pressured of the sealed pot), but is not infact boiling or moving the parts of food around the pot at all, as I was envisioning. In hindsight, this makes sense, as the IP needs to prevent excess steam buildup and over pressuring, lest it explodes.
> 
> For reference, after draining out the clear broth I picked up one of the chicken leg bones, and it crushed easily between my fingers - a good sign that the stock is fully and completely "done".




love this explanation

there are too many cook books around but if there were less competition i could see so much marketing room for An Engineer Cooks

needs a catchy title of course but the thumb-nail description goes something like What Happens when Heat is Applied to the Atoms and Molecules inside your Pots and Pans


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## Plugging Along (Jan 3, 2011)

peterk said:


> jello-ified is most certainly the proper verbiage! :biggrin:
> 
> I have no idea what is going on in that pot that it is not agitating the chicken bits into oblivion, like boiling does (that's why we simmer). It seems to me that the only conclusion that I can draw is that the IP is holding the pressure and temp at precisely the right place so that the fluid is at high temperature (due to high vapour pressured of the sealed pot), but is not infact boiling or moving the parts of food around the pot at all, as I was envisioning. In hindsight, this makes sense, as the IP needs to prevent excess steam buildup and over pressuring, lest it explodes.
> 
> For reference, after draining out the clear broth I picked up one of the chicken leg bones, and it crushed easily between my fingers - a good sign that the stock is fully and completely "done".


Well, I think its jellified, jello is the 'that' brand =). I was reading about pressure cooked broths (not just instant pot, but any pressure cooker). The reason that it gives better results that the pressure 'pushes' the marrow, collagen and all the good stuff (is that scientific enough) out of the bones. With regular boiling or simmering it takes much more time for all the good stuff to come out of the bones, with the pressure it forces it out without any agitation. 

My time saver/cheat is I will 'roast' a whole chicken in my instant pot of for one meal (make sure to first brown the chicken otherwise it looks like a really sad albino chicken). We will carve up the chicken meat for dinner and throw the bones back in the IP with the other things I will use to make stock and add some more water, and make a broth and strain. The next day I will use the broth with remaining chicken meat and some veggies and noodles, and it makes the best chicken soup. If we don't have any more chicken, then I will just freeze the stock.


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## Plugging Along (Jan 3, 2011)

As a side note, I was so happy to see that my Instant Pot Ultra CAN be turned into a sous vide machine. I didn't know this until I accidently hit some wrong settings, and then noticed it had temp controls in the sous vide range. The machine book did not advertise this, so I googled it, and low and behold it can sous vide, but does not have the water circulation. I haven't had a chance to try this out, but next weekend, I plan to sous vide some thick 1.5 inch steaks and maybe a duck confit. 

I am so excited.


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## Plugging Along (Jan 3, 2011)

humble_pie said:


> love this explanation
> 
> there are too many cook books around but if there were less competition i could see so much marketing room for An Engineer Cooks
> 
> needs a catchy title of course but the thumb-nail description goes something like What Happens when Heat is Applied to the Atoms and Molecules inside your Pots and Pans


HP> This reminds me years ago, I found this site that was cooking for engineers. The guy that would blog was so precise in his cooking. He would use scientific methods and everything was so exact. It drove me absolutely nuts, but he was fun to watch in a geeky way. Well, I was telling my family members who are engineers, and they loved it. I believe the site is still around but has become more commercial, and less about the science. It was great because the guy really played up the 'geeky scientist' part.


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## humble_pie (Jun 7, 2009)

^^ yea engineers in the kitchen are a riot except i believe peterk is a real cook & a talented one, i can even smell the aromas of his dishes from faraway eastern canada ... just like your own recipes & dishes i should add

PS iirc Rusty's pretty good in the kitchen too. We'd be awesome cooking together in a gang except our differing politics would turn the kitchen into a deadly nuclear chain reaction


EDIT: thankx for the Light Bulb aha so it's the pressure that forces out the tasty marrow & inner bone molecules whereas conventional simmering can require 4-15 hours to do the same. I imagine the variation in conventional simmer time has to do with the bone density of the original creature.


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## humble_pie (Jun 7, 2009)

Plugging Along said:


> Well, I think its jellified, jello is the 'that' brand =)



Plus it couldn't be, "jellified" is only a colloquial version that followed on after some giant US foodco invented Jello during the last century

the root word is "gel" & this has to be latin & i rather suspect derives from greek, possibly even sanskrit. Think gelatin, gelatinous.

me i'm a partial OED language purist so with this one i'm sticking to "gel" for the time being. Maybe i'll ungel eventually. Imagine proto indo europeans boiling up a giant mammoth in a cauldron. Fire goes out, cave gets cold. Next day they discover delicious paté w lovely clear jelly on the top. Outside the ground is frozen. C'est du gel, they grunt to each other.

.


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## Plugging Along (Jan 3, 2011)

humble_pie said:


> Plus it couldn't be, "jellified" is only a colloquial version that followed on after some giant US foodco invented Jello during the last century
> 
> the root word is "gel" & this has to be latin & i rather suspect derives from greek, possibly even sanskrit. Think gelatin, gelatinous.
> 
> ...


I feel you are right with gel, but for some reason, my spellcheck showed jellified as a word but gelified (or any version) not one. Gelled would be a word though. I am not a purist, and will just go with whatever version seems not to produce the little red squiggles when I type


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## humble_pie (Jun 7, 2009)

Plugging Along said:


> I am not a purist, and will just go with whatever version seems not to produce the little red squiggles when I type



i've turned my little red squigglifier off as it was so idiotic 

studied latin unto the 3rd year of university & do not make spelling mistakes heh

it's a slapdash casual forum here though so i give myself the liberty of using slang or inventing a word or 2 now & then


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## peterk (May 16, 2010)

Well since you won't let it go... yes I think "gelled" is probably the correct verb. Though my Jello-ified is clearly the more fun variation. 

I don't really like being a meticulous "food engineer" - I enjoy just tossing things together and not following recipes. But sometimes I just can't help it, and get upset when I see people doing things clearly wrong in the kitchen! In school I'd often find myself looking at charts of beef cuts instead of rock cuts... perhaps that's why it took so long to finish university...


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## Rusty O'Toole (Feb 1, 2012)

humble_pie said:


> PS iirc Rusty's pretty good in the kitchen too. We'd be awesome cooking together in a gang except our differing politics would turn the kitchen into a deadly nuclear chain reaction


Thanx for the nice compliment. I like to cook but I know my taste runs to old fashioned common dishes and I can't compare to the fancy guys and gals. As for politics I know better than to talk sense to anyone who is not ready to listen so, no worries there.


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## andrewf (Mar 1, 2010)

peterk said:


> jello-ified is most certainly the proper verbiage! :biggrin:
> 
> I have no idea what is going on in that pot that it is not agitating the chicken bits into oblivion, like boiling does (that's why we simmer). It seems to me that the only conclusion that I can draw is that the IP is holding the pressure and temp at precisely the right place so that the fluid is at high temperature (due to high vapour pressured of the sealed pot), but is not infact boiling or moving the parts of food around the pot at all, as I was envisioning. In hindsight, this makes sense, as the IP needs to prevent excess steam buildup and over pressuring, lest it explodes.
> 
> For reference, after draining out the clear broth I picked up one of the chicken leg bones, and it crushed easily between my fingers - a good sign that the stock is fully and completely "done".


I think mechanically all you achieve in a pressure cooker is a moderate simmer (in terms of bubble activity). The rate of water being turned into vapour has to match the rate of vapour release from the pressure cooker to maintain a constant pressure.


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## andrewf (Mar 1, 2010)

humble_pie said:


> love this explanation
> 
> there are too many cook books around but if there were less competition i could see so much marketing room for An Engineer Cooks
> 
> needs a catchy title of course but the thumb-nail description goes something like What Happens when Heat is Applied to the Atoms and Molecules inside your Pots and Pans


There are lots of science-oriented books about cooking. I think that angle appeals more to men.


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## Plugging Along (Jan 3, 2011)

Rusty O'Toole said:


> Thanx for the nice compliment. I like to cook but I know my taste runs to old fashioned common dishes and I can't compare to the fancy guys and gals. As for politics I know better than to talk sense to anyone who is not ready to listen so, no worries there.


Curious on what you consider old fashion tastes. I like fancy, I like traditional, I like it alls along as it’s tasty. I am asking because a lot of the best techniques have come from old fashion cooking. Food is like fashion, what was old is new again. I was reading that some of the best dishes came from the simplest times and techniques. What are oldies that you like?

Also, smart about the politics, I don’t about them here only because people will think what they think. Politics divid, food converges. 



andrewf said:


> There are lots of science-oriented books about cooking. I think that angle appeals more to men.


Not necessarily. I do like understanding the why, but more so I can understand the science so I know what to change ina recipe vs, what is being creative. My girls and I are like this, my spouse, you would think for a science type of guy, he has no idea what is going in the kitchen, but like to cook creatively. I think it would be helpful if he understood a little of the science. 

This is supposed to be the next great science cook book. 
https://www.amazon.ca/dp/0393081087/ref=cm_sw_em_r_mt_dp_U_0vQOCbHC5KJCV


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## Prairie Guy (Oct 30, 2018)

I used the sauté function for the first time on my instant pot to brown a couple of boneless skinless chick breasts, then added a bit of water and pressure cooked them. They turned out perfect...brown on the outside but still tender in the middle. I normally cook chicken breasts in a frying pan but you have to be diligent as letting them cook too long turns them into rubber.


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## Rusty O'Toole (Feb 1, 2012)

Plugging Along said:


> Curious on what you consider old fashion tastes. I like fancy, I like traditional, I like it alls along as it’s tasty. I am asking because a lot of the best techniques have come from old fashion cooking. Food is like fashion, what was old is new again. I was reading that some of the best dishes came from the simplest times and techniques. What are oldies that you like?
> 
> Also, smart about the politics, I don’t about them here only because people will think what they think. Politics divid, food converges.
> 
> ...


I make a lot of soup and stews. Things that will make several meals and can be kept in the fridge or freezer. Red lentil soup is a favorite, and quite tasty when made with smoked sausage. Beef stew. Last week I made stewed chicken in a white sauce which was very nice served over noodles. Tonight I made a beef gravy using ground beef and onions in a brown sauce and had it over steamed broccoli. Tomorrow I may have the rest on boiled potatoes or baked potato, or rice if I feel like it. One soup or stew that is very good and very simple, consists of a package of white kidney beans, a half bottle of barbecue sauce, a couple of ham hocks and water cooked in a slow cooker or instant pot. That is 4 ingredients so it could hardly be simpler. You do have to take out the ham hocks after they are cooked, remove the bones skin and fat, cut up the meat and return it to the pot. This makes the most delicious barbecued beans or bean soup you ever tasted.

I like round steak hammered flat and fried in a pan with mushrooms or onions, with baked or boiled potato, green peas and rye bread.

I make chili and to go with it, corn bread baked in an iron skillet.

Once in a while I will bake a pie, apple or pumpkin usually. There is an onion pie I like, with sliced onions, potatoes, apples and boiled eggs layered in a pie crust and dotted with butter. Or some kind of meat pie.

For a while I made a lot of beans and rice dishes like moors and christians, hoppin John, red beans and rice. There are many variations, this is a popular dish from the Mason Dixon line all the way down to Tierra del Fuego.

Real simple old fashioned stuff like that. Nothing very fancy or difficult.


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## james4beach (Nov 15, 2012)

Prairie Guy said:


> I used the sauté function for the first time on my instant pot to brown a couple of boneless skinless chick breasts, then added a bit of water and pressure cooked them. They turned out perfect...brown on the outside but still tender in the middle. I normally cook chicken breasts in a frying pan but you have to be diligent as letting them cook too long turns them into rubber.


Neat, thanks, I'll try that. Did you end up with them swimming in water at the end of the pressure cooking? Curious what to do after that... do you just dump out the water?

I've been using the IP as a rice cooker as well. I find jasmine rice turns out more aromatic.


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## Prairie Guy (Oct 30, 2018)

james4beach said:


> Neat, thanks, I'll try that. Did you end up with them swimming in water at the end of the pressure cooking? Curious what to do after that... do you just dump out the water?
> 
> I've been using the IP as a rice cooker as well. I find jasmine rice turns out more aromatic.


No. After searing them in a bit of olive oil I took them out and added some water to the pot, then put the chicken back in on the rack. The water level was below the rack and never directly touched the chicken. 

It was the first time I'd done it and I did dump out the water after...perhaps it could have been the start of a soup base.


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## james4beach (Nov 15, 2012)

Prairie Guy said:


> No. After searing them in a bit of olive oil I took them out and added some water to the pot, then put the chicken back in on the rack. The water level was below the rack and never directly touched the chicken.
> 
> It was the first time I'd done it and I did dump out the water after...perhaps it could have been the start of a soup base.


Ah, you used the rack! I keep forgetting about that piece. Thanks.


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## james4beach (Nov 15, 2012)

Any tips on cooking a whole chicken in the instant pot? I've never cooked a whole chicken before but there's a sale and I was thinking of picking one up after work today.


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## Plugging Along (Jan 3, 2011)

Rusty O'Toole said:


> I make a lot of soup and stews. Things that will make several meals and can be kept in the fridge or freezer. Red lentil soup is a favorite, and quite tasty when made with smoked sausage. Beef stew. Last week I made stewed chicken in a white sauce which was very nice served over noodles. Tonight I made a beef gravy using ground beef and onions in a brown sauce and had it over steamed broccoli. Tomorrow I may have the rest on boiled potatoes or baked potato, or rice if I feel like it. One soup or stew that is very good and very simple, consists of a package of white kidney beans, a half bottle of barbecue sauce, a couple of ham hocks and water cooked in a slow cooker or instant pot. That is 4 ingredients so it could hardly be simpler. You do have to take out the ham hocks after they are cooked, remove the bones skin and fat, cut up the meat and return it to the pot. This makes the most delicious barbecued beans or bean soup you ever tasted.
> 
> I like round steak hammered flat and fried in a pan with mushrooms or onions, with baked or boiled potato, green peas and rye bread.
> 
> ...


Very nice! Good food doesn’t have to fancy. Those recipes you listed really make me think of comfort old fashion cooking. I will have to try some of those recipes.


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## Plugging Along (Jan 3, 2011)

james4beach said:


> Any tips on cooking a whole chicken in the instant pot? I've never cooked a whole chicken before but there's a sale and I was thinking of picking one up after work today.



It’s not quite the same as a chicken in the oven. I did the chicken right off of the instant pot site. My instant t chicken is.
1. Clean and dry chicken. Turn instapot on high for sauté.
2. Stuff chicken (varies) with large chunk of onion, carrots, celery, garlic, fresh herbs, 
3. Season outside with salt and pepeper, some times a season mix.
4 heat a little oil, and sear all sides of the chicken until skin is browned.
5. Life chicken to rack so it’s not directly touching bottom. Add some chicken broth or liquid.
6. Pressure cook on high. Can’t remeber the time.

Ready to serve.


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## peterk (May 16, 2010)

Chicken takes like < 1 hour to roast in the oven... I don't know why anyone would want to instapot it. 

Problem with instant pot is there is no preheating stage available, so you have to do all your work preparing the food, and then as the very last step load it all into the cooker, and then press start, waiting 15-20 minutes to preheat.


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## Prairie Guy (Oct 30, 2018)

peterk said:


> Problem with instant pot is there is no preheating stage available, so you have to do all your work preparing the food, and then as the very last step load it all into the cooker, and then press start, waiting 15-20 minutes to preheat.


There's a workaround...add some water and start it on "sauté" to heat it to boiling which reduces the pre-heat stage significantly.


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## james4beach (Nov 15, 2012)

Plugging Along said:


> It’s not quite the same as a chicken in the oven. I did the chicken right off of the instant pot site. My instant t chicken is.
> 1. Clean and dry chicken. Turn instapot on high for sauté.
> 2. Stuff chicken (varies) with large chunk of onion, carrots, celery, garlic, fresh herbs,
> 3. Season outside with salt and pepeper, some times a season mix.
> ...


I did this with the whole chicken, it's 6 minutes per lb plus you also have to do a 'natural release' at the end which takes 20 minutes. I also put it into the oven under broiler for a couple minutes to crisp the skin.

All told it was 24 minutes pressure + 20 mins release + 5 mins broiler = 49 minutes, but the broiler step was optional if you don't want crispy skin. The whole chicken seemed to be perfectly cooked after that first 45 minutes.

peterk is right that this doesn't save a lot of time compared to roasting in the oven. Still turned out great though. I stuffed the inside of the chicken with onions and garlic, and the juice/drippings at the bottom of the instant pot will be useful for later, maybe to flavour my rice.


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## Plugging Along (Jan 3, 2011)

peterk said:


> Chicken takes like < 1 hour to roast in the oven... I don't know why anyone would want to instapot it.
> 
> Problem with instant pot is there is no preheating stage available, so you have to do all your work preparing the food, and then as the very last step load it all into the cooker, and then press start, waiting 15-20 minutes to preheat.


The advantage is you can do it with a frozen chicken in case you accident forget to take one out. You rinse the chicken with water. I may not stuff anything in it. It turns out a little albino, though, but great for recipes that require chicken meat, not skin. 

However, I haven’t broiled it like James said, I dunno why I haven’t. 



james4beach said:


> I did this with the whole chicken, it's 6 minutes per lb plus you also have to do a 'natural release' at the end which takes 20 minutes. I also put it into the oven under broiler for a couple minutes to crisp the skin.
> 
> All told it was 24 minutes pressure + 20 mins release + 5 mins broiler = 49 minutes, but the broiler step was optional if you don't want crispy skin. The whole chicken seemed to be perfectly cooked after that first 45 minutes.
> 
> peterk is right that this doesn't save a lot of time compared to roasting in the oven. Still turned out great though. I stuffed the inside of the chicken with onions and garlic, and the juice/drippings at the bottom of the instant pot will be useful for later, maybe to flavour my rice.


I don’t like waiting for the natural release, so I cook it for. Upto 5 minutes more, and then quick release. I am often making potatoes right after so want my pot available. Thanks for the broiling tip, I forgot about that one.

I use some of the pot juices for gravy with some. The rest as chicken broth when I strain it. I carve up all the meat off the bone, and then throw the carcass back into the remaining liquid I did not use for gravy, and pressure cook that with a little more water. I find with the IP, the advantage is, I can get An extra meal It of it, and there no waste and less clean up.


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## james4beach (Nov 15, 2012)

Plugging Along said:


> I use some of the pot juices for gravy with some. The rest as chicken broth when I strain it. I carve up all the meat off the bone, and then throw the carcass back into the remaining liquid I did not use for gravy, and pressure cook that with a little more water. I find with the IP, the advantage is, I can get An extra meal It of it, and there no waste and less clean up.


This is interesting... I had not thought of this. I'm currently eating the meat off the torso of the bird. If I carve off the easy meat, I will be left with a carcass and a mess of bones, but also some meat left in there (currently in my fridge).

Should I now pressure cook this remaining carcass mess again, back into a chicken broth? I could make a soup out of it but it would have lots of bones all over the place. Would love to hear ideas. I'm never sure what to do with the chicken carcass after the easy meat is eaten off it.

PS when cooking the whole bird, broiling step at the end is highly recommended and the skin turned out amazing. I had used some garlic salt and hot sauce on the surface. And my whole apartment smelled of delicious roasted chicken well into the morning.


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## Plugging Along (Jan 3, 2011)

james4beach said:


> This is interesting... I had not thought of this. I'm currently eating the meat off the torso of the bird. If I carve off the easy meat, I will be left with a carcass and a mess of bones, but also some meat left in there (currently in my fridge).
> 
> Should I now pressure cook this remaining carcass mess again, back into a chicken broth? I could make a soup out of it but it would have lots of bones all over the place. Would love to hear ideas. I'm never sure what to do with the chicken carcass after the easy meat is eaten off it.
> 
> PS when cooking the whole bird, broiling step at the end is highly recommended and the skin turned out amazing. I had used some garlic salt and hot sauce on the surface. And my whole apartment smelled of delicious roasted chicken well into the morning.


I am not sure what you mean by ‘easy’ meat. I probably get 90% of all the meat off the chicken. I carve off the first part, then I get right in there with my hands once the rest is cooled. I just pluck off the meat with my hands and put it in a container. As I am plucking, I throw the bones directly into the instant pot (that still has the remaining cooking liquid). I may add some more aromatics again depending what I have in my fridge. I usually add some more water on top, not too much though, I don’t like my stock diluted. I pressure that again for about 30-40 minutes or longer. Then you will have a mess of crumbly bones, I strain all the liquid and remove all the stuff. Cool and then skim the fat. I will make soup out of this the next day. 

Sometimes if I don’t have time to cook the soup, I will throw all the bones in a ziploc and then in the freezer. I also save the tops and peeling off of carrots, celery, garlic, onion, (all washed) in the same bag. When I have bought bones, it gets made into stock.


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## humble_pie (Jun 7, 2009)

re the pressure cooking of chicken in an IP: doesn't this take just as long as regular roasting in an oven? doesn't it mean more cleanup if both the instant pot & the broiler oven/broiler pans have to be used?

personally with my oven i could not get a whole chicken underneath the broiler, there isn't enough vertical space. The upper parts would blacken/burn from being too close to the broiler flames while all lower parts of the bird's skin would remain pallid white, would not crisp up or turn golden under the broiler.

for broiling i'd have to cut the bird up & lay its parts flat on the broiler pan. Messy operation. I just don't see how it saves any kind of time or labour, in fact it adds time & labour.

as peterk says, stuff a tender young chicken w onions/crushed garlic/other herbs/vegetables, roast 1 hour in small roasting pan in standard oven, baste frequently to achieve a golden brown, delicious crispy skin.

afterwards, one small roasting pan to wash up. Not even a lid.

on the other hand, i can totally see the advantage of pressure cooking the chicken bones for broth, also the advantage of pressure cooking very tough cuts such as stewing beef.


* * * * *

overall impression so far: some good cooks have turned instant potting into an alternative mode of cuisine. Sort of parallel to alternative investing. Maybe it'll have its hour in the sun. Like molecular cuisine with a blowtorch. Here today, gone tomorrow.

meanwhile the widespread appeal of instaPotting everything appears to be to millennials who for some reason grew up without any cooking skills. An IP has a tekky gadgetty kind of appeal with its button controls etc, so it's more familiar to a first-time-in-the-kitchen millennial than a plain stainless steel pot or basic cast iron baking dish.

good cooks can cook on anything, even on sticks over an open fire. The other day i browsed past a catering chef who said he'd prepared 1,400 lamb chops for 1,400 guests on nothing but a sterno box at an open-air caterng site. Now that's the kind of challenge which only a Plugging could face!

.


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## Prairie Guy (Oct 30, 2018)

An instant pot is just a tool and like most tools, works better for specific uses, just like a barbeque is best for certain items and an oven is better for others. Choose your cooking method based on the outcome you desire.


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## Plugging Along (Jan 3, 2011)

humble_pie said:


> re the pressure cooking of chicken in an IP: doesn't this take just as long as regular roasting in an oven? doesn't it mean more cleanup if both the instant pot & the broiler oven/broiler pans have to be used?
> 
> 
> on the other hand, i can totally see the advantage of pressure cooking the chicken bones for broth, also the advantage of pressure cooking very tough cuts such as stewing beef.
> ...


HP: You are right about roasting a chicken. Generally, about the same amount of time as the oven. Except, in the case where you have a frozen chicken. Not that I have to cook a frozen chicken often, but it has happened, so it's nice to have the option when you have one of those weeks. I found the clean up to be easier than when I do a roasting pan. So yesterday, I made IP some drumsticks under 20 min, and then broiled them on my silicon mat for about 5 minutes. It worked well, as I didn't have the sticky sauce all over my tray, but rather, I had the sauce in the pot, which I made a glaze for it. 

You are definitely right, it's just another tool in the kitchen. I always loved the concept of pressure cooking on a stove, and even have one. However, I was never precise enough (or not distracted enough) to time everything properly. There are definitely things I wouldn't use the IP for. It has a lot of safety features so I feel more comfortable having my kids cook with it when I am not there. They don't love putting things in the oven. So I can have them get dinner going while I am driving home, and then finish off when I get home. 

Again, as you said, good cooks can cook with almost anything. Ironically, it was over campfires, I was most comfortable in cooking. I was an AWFUL cook. However, whenever went camping, my meals were really upscale compared to my friends. I think one of the reasons was, I was and still am unfortunately know for starting the occasional kitchen fire. At least with a campfire, the fire was supposed to be there. I haven't catered 1400 people, but I have done girl guides camps with over 300 people, and trying to cook with limited supplies has always been on off the fun challenges. We were making pringle can mini roasters, tin can buddy burners, and of course anything you could cook on a campfire is fair game. I pride myself on not cooking the standard stuff at camp, and only make hot dogs cause the girls ask for them. 

I think if I wasn't in a rush all the time, I would still use an IP, but just not as much.


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## james4beach (Nov 15, 2012)

I'm still working (through) this whole chicken. This has been a delicious experience so far...

I like how tender the chicken turned out with the IP. Perhaps that's an advantage over just oven roasting the whole thing?

But the IP really shines at the soup stage. I kept the chicken's drippings and threw away some of the fat. Once I cut away the meat, I put the bones and skeleton back into the IP. Then I added some more water, onions, salt, and spices. I pressure cooked this longer as Plugging Along described and it's turned into a really nice soup! There's a lot of time saved here because it might have normally taken a long time to simmer this chicken broth & bones together, but pressure cooking makes it quick.



Plugging Along said:


> I carve up all the meat off the bone, and then throw the carcass back into the remaining liquid I did not use for gravy, and pressure cook that with a little more water. I find with the IP, the advantage is, I can get An extra meal It of it, and there no waste and less clean up.


Thanks again, this worked out great!


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## james4beach (Nov 15, 2012)

Regarding mess & cleanup: only the IP got dirty. For the final broiling step I just spread the meats on a sheet of aluminum foil, and disposed of the foil. And my new soup is also in the IP currently.

If oven roasting the chicken, you'll get quite a mess on the roasting pan or broiling pan and I have trouble cleaning those.

So I still feel like the IP minimizes mess, especially considering that it both cooked my whole chicken plus the soup.

PS this time I added oyster mushrooms to the soup, late stage, and really like how this turned out


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## peterk (May 16, 2010)

Making some (hopefully) nice Lamb stock tonight, after a large leg of lamb roast yesterday (braised in the oven).

Freezer has too much stock these days... need more containers.


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## Prairie Guy (Oct 30, 2018)

peterk said:


> Freezer has too much stock these days... need more containers.


Or start using the stock... 

I'm guilty of overstocking the freezer too...I stock up when things are on sale but I'm not eating as fast as I'm buying.


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## heyjude (May 16, 2009)

I make yogurt in my Instant Pot at least once every two weeks. I like Greek style yogurt, so I strain it. My freezer compartment is bursting at the seams due to jars of whey. I use the whey for soups and baking, but I just can’t use it fast enough, so sometimes I pour it down the sink.


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## peterk (May 16, 2010)

Prairie Guy said:


> Or start using the stock...
> 
> I'm guilty of overstocking the freezer too...I stock up when things are on sale but I'm not eating as fast as I'm buying.


I usually stock up on stocks of stock in the summer when there's more stock of bones during bbq season for stocking. Which leads to overstocking, and my stock of containers for stock become out of stock from my stocks of stock container stock.


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## Plugging Along (Jan 3, 2011)

peterk said:


> I usually stock up on stocks of stock in the summer when there's more stock of bones during bbq season for stocking. Which leads to overstocking, and my stock of containers for stock become out of stock from my stocks of stock container stock.


My freezer is always full. My tricks for freezer stock are:
- Freeze in the medium freezer bags, it uses less containers
- Freeze in square containers, then pop them out and put in a large ziplock bag. Less containers, and less ziplock, but takes a bit more freezer space
- Freeze in ice cube trays, or small containers. These are perfect for throwing into the IP when you need stock or liquid with a little more flavor. I do them in 1/2 cup portions. 

I find these techniques save a little freezer space, containers, and allow me to use my stock more. I actually don't have that much stock right now, because I use it up.


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## peterk (May 16, 2010)

Tried that Doesn't work well for me for some reason... I have these bags all over the damn freezer with cubes flying around. and if I want to thaw them I need another bowl which makes a mess... and the little cubes get freezer burned really easily compared to in tupperware.

Since you're into that though, what I found by far the best for freezing was to do it in these bendy silicone mini-loaf or muffin tray moulds. Once frozen, you literally peel back the silicone and the broth blocks pop right out.


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## Plugging Along (Jan 3, 2011)

Strange, I love freezing things individually and then throwing them in a ziplock. I do have alots of silicon trays, and that's usually how I do the 1/2 cups.


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## peterk (May 16, 2010)

You must be more organized. I need some stackable things in the freezer, less bags, or all hell breaks loose!


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## Plugging Along (Jan 3, 2011)

Not that organized, but pretty good at playing freezer tetris. I found if you freeze the bags on a cookie sheet, and put another cookie sheet on top (with some weight). The bags freeze flatter and don't slide around as much. I also have put larger containers or boxes to use as 'drawers'. I have an upright freezer though, so don't know if that makes a differences


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## Dilbert (Nov 20, 2016)

God’s own version of the Instant Pot?:tongue:

https://www.bbc.com/news/science-environment-47873592


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## Rusty O'Toole (Feb 1, 2012)

Here is an Instant Pot recipe I wanted to share with you. It is winter vegetable soup. I started making it this winter and have made it several times. It really hits the spot in cold weather. These measurements are estimates, I don't measure out exactly 3 cups of potatoes, I cut up 2 or 3 potatoes until it looks like enough.

3 cups diced potatoes

3 cups diced carrots

3 cups diced parsnips

2 small cooking onions, chopped

1/2 cup each of red lentils, dry green peas, dry yellow peas and pot barley.

Enough stock to fill pot to about 2 inches below the top. About 8 cups. I used water and 4 vegetable stock cubes.

1 tsp salt, 1/2 tsp garlic powder, 2 bay leaves. You can season to taste, I go easy on the salt and seasoning.

Close the pot and press the Soup button.This gives 17 minutes pressure cooking time if I recall correctly. Be sure the pressure valve is closed. It takes time to build up pressure and then it takes time for pressure to go down so, your soup will be ready in about an hour.

This makes a very thick soup. I like my soup thick but usually have to add a little water especially the next day.

You can vary the recipe to suit your taste and what you have on hand. For example I usually put in a couple of sticks of celery but didn't have any today. I did have a red bell pepper so I chopped it up and tossed it in. I like parsnips but if you don't have any you can leave them out. Add some meat or chicken if you wish. And as they say, season to taste.

PS I made a pan of baking powder biscuits to go with, but corn bread would be good too. It just occurred to me that rye bread toasted and buttered might be best of all.


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## james4beach (Nov 15, 2012)

Rusty O'Toole said:


> Here is an Instant Pot recipe I wanted to share with you. It is winter vegetable soup.


Wow thanks, I might try this tomorrow. I was thinking of making a lentil or pea soup and this sounds like a good one!


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## jargey3000 (Jan 25, 2011)

...oh..... THAT kind of "pot".....Sorry!


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## james4beach (Nov 15, 2012)

Rusty O'Toole said:


> Here is an Instant Pot recipe I wanted to share with you. It is winter vegetable soup.


Thanks Rusty! I made this soup yesterday and it turned out great. I didn't have all the ingredients (didn't have bay leaf or parsnips) but it still turned out very nicely, and I love that mix of lentils & peas & barley. I had not ever added barley to a soup before but I love the bits of it... really adds something nice. As you said, the soup is thick.

After it cooled down a bit, before serving I added some chopped parsley on top along with lime juice. I do the same thing with lentil soups.

To make preparation a bit faster, I used a similar technique to what's in the IP recipe book. I started by browning the onions with olive oil on Sautee mode. Then I added the liquids and everything else while keeping the burner on (sautee). By the time I was ready to close the lid, the soup was already close to boiling and so it got up to pressure very quickly.

I used the Soup function which seems to be adjustable, set to 20 minutes. So I think from the moment I closed the lid to when it was cooling/de-pressuring was about 30-40 minutes.


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## Rusty O'Toole (Feb 1, 2012)

That is the great thing about soup, you can vary the recipe to suit your taste, or the ingredients you have on hand, and get something a little different every time. Home made soup is easy, and much better than any canned soup which always has too much salt.
I'm glad you enjoyed it and had fun trying something new.


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## james4beach (Nov 15, 2012)

I gave my Instant Pot away when I moved out of the US, since it wasn't cost effective to transport it.

I'm going to buy another one. What's a good place to buy an Instant Pot these days? I would like to buy it online and get it shipped to me.


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## m3s (Apr 3, 2010)

It's one of the best selling items on amazon. Usually goes on sale at all the predictable times


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## james4beach (Nov 15, 2012)

m3s said:


> It's one of the best selling items on amazon. Usually goes on sale at all the predictable times


But what's the return process like, if there's some problem with the unit?

Would it be better to buy from some place like Canadian Tire (online) for the ability to return or exchange?


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## m3s (Apr 3, 2010)

In my experience amazon returns are even faster

Click return, receive barcode, drive item to closest post office (typically closer than big box stores and less hectic/busy), hand over item, scan barcode, receive instant credit or refund

Also don't need to find tiny paper receipt if you buy in store


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## james4beach (Nov 15, 2012)

m3s said:


> In my experience amazon returns are even faster
> 
> Click return, receive barcode, drive item to closest post office (typically closer than big box stores and less hectic/busy), hand over item, scan barcode, receive instant credit or refund
> 
> Also don't need to find tiny paper receipt if you buy in store


I've done this with US Amazon but have you tried a return in Canada? Is it that simple, going to Canada Post?


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## andrewf (Mar 1, 2010)

Best time to buy is usually black friday. A local retailer will tend to outprice Amazon, but you may have to fight for availability. Amazon is generally pretty willing to take returns, it is just a bit of a hassle of having to repack and ship the item.


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## Plugging Along (Jan 3, 2011)

james4beach said:


> I gave my Instant Pot away when I moved out of the US, since it wasn't cost effective to transport it.
> 
> I'm going to buy another one. What's a good place to buy an Instant Pot these days? I would like to buy it online and get it shipped to me.


Normally, I say amazon but this is not ‘IP season’ aka Black Friday or Xmas, so there aren’t a lot of amazon deals, plus their shipping like every where else is a little slower than normal.

Check out the flyers, I find Canadian tire and Best Buy have sales on IP year round. I use the Flipp app to type in what I am looking for and it scraps the ads for me as a starting point. 



james4beach said:


> But what's the return process like, if there's some problem with the unit?
> 
> Would it be better to buy from some place like Canadian Tire (online) for the ability to return or exchange?


Amazing n Canada returns is the same as the US . I do both and it’s the same process


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## james4beach (Nov 15, 2012)

Thanks @m3s , @andrewf , @Plugging Along for these ideas


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## Money172375 (Jun 29, 2018)

james4beach said:


> I've done this with US Amazon but have you tried a return in Canada? Is it that simple, going to Canada Post?


yes, same process. I‘ve also had a couple of items not show up on time. Easily received a quick refund. I think the sellers don’t want to alienate Amazon.

I returned Some clothes from a 50% off online sale at the Gap. Same process as Amazon...fill out A form, print a shipping label, drop in mail. The only difference is I’ve been waiting 3 weeks for the money...even though the package was delivered and received 3 weeks ago.


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## alexincash (May 27, 2020)

I find an IP is great when you have "random foods" in your fridge (not necessarily leftovers) that you think might spoil soon - you can easily make an IP stew with them


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## Plugging Along (Jan 3, 2011)

@james4beach On a side note, if you are planning to get a new IP, there's been a lot of additional models added. Of course they are more expensive, but now some have the sous vide option (which I love) and the air fryer, which is all the rage. I don't have a full air fryer, but am considering the IP addon


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## james4beach (Nov 15, 2012)

Plugging Along said:


> @james4beach On a side note, if you are planning to get a new IP, there's been a lot of additional models added. Of course they are more expensive, but now some have the sous vide option (which I love) and the air fryer, which is all the rage. I don't have a full air fryer, but am considering the IP addon


I really was just using the basic modes on the IP before, so I suspect the basic one might be enough for me ... as long as it makes rice too.


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## Plugging Along (Jan 3, 2011)

james4beach said:


> I really was just using the basic modes on the IP before, so I suspect the basic one might be enough for me ... as long as it makes rice too.


Ironically, I have never cooked regular rice in my IP, other than a risotto meal. Pretty much all IP cook rice. I really love my sous vide which is a separate device. I have tried to hack my IP to sous vide but the results aren't quite there. I know you want basic, but for the price difference, it's so nice to have all your kitchen stuff in one appliance.

That being said, if you are looking for basic, I was at Walmart the other day, and it had the most basic IPs and they were cheaper than other stores or even amazon.


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## james4beach (Nov 15, 2012)

Plugging Along said:


> That being said, if you are looking for basic, I was at Walmart the other day, and it had the most basic IPs and they were cheaper than other stores or even amazon.


Thanks, I'll look at Walmart too. I'm sure they do delivery to home, though I've never tried this.

The problem I have with the Walmart web site is that they're trying to imitate Amazon and show a lot of "marketplace" sellers. But I want to buy direct from the real Walmart.


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## Plugging Along (Jan 3, 2011)

@james4beach Walmart home delivery is pretty good. Not as fast Amazon, but generally reliable. The only thing you may want to double check is there current return policy. I heard there have been changes and they are not accepting returns due to COVID


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## james4beach (Nov 15, 2012)

Plugging Along said:


> @james4beach Walmart home delivery is pretty good. Not as fast Amazon, but generally reliable. The only thing you may want to double check is there current return policy. I heard there have been changes and they are not accepting returns due to COVID


Thanks, I've never actually tried Walmart home delivery. I will try it out.

In comparison, I don't think Superstore does home delivery. They seem to go through Instacart (a third party) which is more oriented towards grocery deliveries to home. But as far as I know, Superstore does not let you order homeware, things like cookware and equipment.

Does Walmart do home delivery for all general merchandise, housewares, tools & furniture?


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## Plugging Along (Jan 3, 2011)

@james4beach you are correct about Superstore not deliver.

Walmart’s online is a little different than in store. They have additional products by third party. I know they do deliver IP. Just double check the return policy. In the past there were no problems with returns in store, but I have heard that may have changed.


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## andrewf (Mar 1, 2010)

Superstore has 'online exclusives' that you can get shipped to home. Not a very big assortment yet... I think it is pretty new.


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## james4beach (Nov 15, 2012)

andrewf said:


> Superstore has 'online exclusives' that you can get shipped to home. Not a very big assortment yet... I think it is pretty new.


I hope they increase it and expand it to their housewares. I love Superstore but at my new address, I'll be pretty far from one, and can no longer go into a Superstore.

Instead, I'm thinking of doing most of this online shopping with: London Drugs, Canadian Tire, Ikea, Walmart, Amazon

That may include physical trips to go look at the items at each of these stores, writing down the part number I like, and then placing an order to have it delivered to me.

Basically, whichever company is able to deliver heavy things to me (like furniture) will get my business. I'm hoping that this kind of home delivery works with Canadian Tire.


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## andrewf (Mar 1, 2010)

I imagine that they will get a lot of their in-store assortment of general merchandise available soon for parcel delivery through the website. You can already order a lot of it for pickup.


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## james4beach (Nov 15, 2012)

andrewf said:


> I imagine that they will get a lot of their in-store assortment of general merchandise available soon for parcel delivery through the website. You can already order a lot of it for pickup.


That's pretty exciting. Should I keep an eye on the https://www.realcanadiansuperstore.ca/ web site for this, or somewhere else? I presume they will add some mechanism other than Instacart for this kind of delivery.


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## andrewf (Mar 1, 2010)

If you shop for pickup, you can pick a department like 'home and living' and then sub category 'appliances'. You will get a result with two tabs. First tab is for instore pickup, the second tab 'online exclusives' is stuff from third party sellers that ships to your home. The selection is kind of random, but it is still pretty new.


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## james4beach (Nov 15, 2012)

andrewf said:


> First tab is for instore pickup, the second tab 'online exclusives' is stuff from third party sellers that ships to your home. The selection is kind of random, but it is still pretty new.


But if I wanted random third party sellers, wouldn't I just buy it on Amazon? That's the same reason I don't bother with Walmart's "marketplace".


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## james4beach (Nov 15, 2012)

London Drugs currently has the Instant Pot Duo Nova on sale, item # L0704176. The 6 quart model is $100.

The 'Duo Nova' is a newer model that seems to have a few improvements, released this year. Compared to my last basic IP (which was a Lux) this one seems to have a fancy self-sealing lid, more status indicators, and a button which does a continuous pressure release. That last feature sounds convenient because my previous IP had a pretty dangerous pressure release knob. I'm curious if this model improves this.






Search | Instant Home







instantpot.com


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## m3s (Apr 3, 2010)

Keepa browser extension shows seasonal sales $60usd for that model. A bit lower but nothing really worth waiting months for

The nova seems to be marketed for "beginners" because some people don't understand the steam release (turn to close before and keep your hand away from steam vent when opening it..) They made a button a few inches away so you don't burn yourself with steam and the release closes automatically when the lid is on?

Personally if the classic went on sale for cheaper I'd get that myself (I'm watching for a 3 qt classic to pair with my 6 qt) Looks like the 3 qt classic can be down to $30usd but I mean they are all amazing value imo. I've prob spent that just on steamers/pans/rings for them


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## james4beach (Nov 15, 2012)

I would have been happy with the classic as well, but I need an IP quite urgently (can't wait for months) and the price of this Duo Nova looks good. It's about the same as what I paid several years ago for the classic, on sale in the US.

I just ordered the 6 qt size from London Drugs.


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## Plugging Along (Jan 3, 2011)

@james4beach I really like the self sealing lid. I find it a little more convient. I have never forgetting to deal it, and it’s pretty easy. it’s doesn’t change the cooking any way. How ever, my know did break off, no idea wh, but I managed to fix it with crazy glue and haven’t had any problems.


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## james4beach (Nov 15, 2012)

Plugging Along said:


> @james4beach I really like the self sealing lid. I find it a little more convient.


I got the Duo Nova and tried it for the first time today. I like it. The button for the automatic steam release is really great, and self-sealing lid is a nice feature too.

Can someone tell me what the Less/Normal/More setting does? For example on the Pressure Cook mode (called Manual in the classic model) you can adjust both:

low or high pressure
Less/Normal/More

The first setting is obviously the pressure. Higher pressure means higher temperature. But what does Less/Normal/More mean? It changes the default time, but is it just a memory for the last time used, or does it do something else?


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## Plugging Along (Jan 3, 2011)

james4beach said:


> I got the Duo Nova and tried it for the first time today. I like it. The button for the automatic steam release is really great, and self-sealing lid is a nice feature too.
> 
> Can someone tell me what the Less/Normal/More setting does? For example on the Pressure Cook mode (called Manual in the classic model) you can adjust both:
> 
> ...


I can’t remember exactly, but your manual should tell you the differences.

High or lower pressure is the PSI, but the temperature is the same. Temperature and PSI is not the same. You would want a lower PSI on items that are more ‘fragile’. Like veggies.

Less/normal/more. Is the temperature. I would look up in the manual exactly what the temperatureS are for the specific cook function. It makes a Bigger difference on slow cook, warm, and sauté functions. Yogurt function makes a difference if you are proofing dough. I don’t know the other programs you have.

cooking time is also adjusted.


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## james4beach (Nov 15, 2012)

Plugging Along said:


> High or lower pressure is the PSI, but the temperature is the same. Temperature and PSI is not the same. You would want a lower PSI on items that are more ‘fragile’. Like veggies.


The manual says the following:

Select a pressure cooking Smart Program, then press Pressure Level to toggle between High (10.2–11.6 psi) and Low (5.8–7.2 psi) pressure levels.
*Note: A higher pressure results in higher cooking temperature.*
. . .
Select a non-pressure cooking Smart Program, then press the Smart Program button again to cycle through the Less, Normal and More cooking temperature levels. 


So this is interesting. It's saying that for pressure cooking, the High/Low changes both the pressure and temperature. This makes sense since a higher vapor pressure requires higher temperature.

But the second part seems to be saying that for things other than pressure cooking, Less/Normal/More changes the temperature. As you pointed out, that sounds like it would apply to Slow Cook, Sauté, etc.


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## Plugging Along (Jan 3, 2011)

@james4beach thanks for the clarification for the pressure. i find I adjust my cooking times manually anyways, but do use the temperature settings for control.


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## m3s (Apr 3, 2010)

I just got an Ultra for $40 US prime day sale (retail $120)


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## andrewf (Mar 1, 2010)

Alas, it appears not to be discounted in on .ca.


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## james4beach (Nov 15, 2012)

Rusty O'Toole said:


> Here is an Instant Pot recipe I wanted to share with you. It is winter vegetable soup.


Thanks again @Rusty O'Toole for this recipe, because I've used this as the basis for other soups... it's a very good recipe. Today I tried a variation on this soup and it turned out incredibly well, so I wanted to share.

I like buying the ready to go BBQ chickens from the grocery store. After eating the easily accessible meat, there's a lot of bones and skeleton left and still meat on them. Here's a good way to use the leftovers!

*Recipe for chicken soup with peas*

Start by browning onions with olive oil

Add garlic

Fill the pot with 8 (or more) cups of water

Add the leftover chicken / skeleton / bones

Diced potatoes [ acts as thickener ]

1/2 cup each of red lentils, dry green peas, dry yellow peas and pot barley

Add salt, pepper, seasonings. I like Italian herb mix.

Add curry powder

Pressure cook on 'high' for 20 minutes

I got excellent results by turning off after the cook time and leaving it sealed under pressure, for a very long natural release (an hour) as I went to do other things. I think this really helped blend the soup and get more flavour out of the bones.


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## Rusty O'Toole (Feb 1, 2012)

james4beach said:


> Thanks again @Rusty O'Toole for this recipe, because I've used this as the basis for other soups... it's a very good recipe. Today I tried a variation on this soup and it turned out incredibly well, so I wanted to share.
> 
> I like buying the ready to go BBQ chickens from the grocery store. After eating the easily accessible meat, there's a lot of bones and skeleton left and still meat on them. Here's a good way to use the leftovers!
> 
> ...


That sounds like good soup but what do you do about the bones? I make the stock, remove the bones skin and fat then add the other ingredients.


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## james4beach (Nov 15, 2012)

Rusty O'Toole said:


> That sounds like good soup but what do you do about the bones? I make the stock, remove the bones skin and fat then add the other ingredients.


Maybe I should clarify that I bought a pre-cooked chicken at the store.

After I eat most of the meat off the roasted bird (and the skin is gone), I've got the messy skeleton left over. I've been hacking off the pieces which have larger bones, and I've been throwing away the parts with tiny bones. When making this soup, I added all the chunks with the larger bones (wings, thighs, etc) right into the soup. After it was all cooked, I left the bones in there and just went straight to eating the soup, ladle around them, since it's easy to avoid the large bone pieces.

My leftover soup in the fridge right now does have various leg and thigh bones in it, but I find them easy to avoid, or just spoon out and throw away as I go.

I want to understand how you're doing it. So you do a separate step where you first make the stock and then remove all those bones?

I was doing it all in one shot... lazy I guess... by adding the chicken bones/leftovers right into the water. So I'm doing only one pressure cooking for the soup without a separate preparation of chicken stock.


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## Plugging Along (Jan 3, 2011)

james4beach said:


> Maybe I should clarify that I bought a pre-cooked chicken at the store.
> 
> After I eat most of the meat off the roasted bird (and the skin is gone), I've got the messy skeleton left over. I've been hacking off the pieces which have larger bones, and I've been throwing away the parts with tiny bones. When making this soup, I added all the chunks with the larger bones (wings, thighs, etc) right into the soup. After it was all cooked, I left the bones in there and just went straight to eating the soup, ladle around them, since it's easy to avoid the large bone pieces.
> 
> ...


to get the best bone broth, you need to cook the crap out of it. I take the same rotisserie chicken, debone the whole thing And throw it in my freezer until I have two or three carcusses or when I run out of freezer space. I add in carrot, onion, celery peels or scraps (that I have also saved), garlic, some herbs, and peppercorn, and pressure cook For an hour or two, cool and drain then It’s ready for making soup. You get all the collegen and benefits from the marrow. Mospre so than just cooking it with your items right away.


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## james4beach (Nov 15, 2012)

Plugging Along said:


> to get the best bone broth, you need to cook the crap out of it. I take the same rotisserie chicken, debone the whole thing And throw it in my freezer until I have two or three carcusses or when I run out of freezer space. I add in carrot, onion, celery peels or scraps (that I have also saved), garlic, some herbs, and peppercorn, and pressure cook For an hour or two, cool and drain then It’s ready for making soup. You get all the collegen and benefits from the marrow. Mospre so than just cooking it with your items right away.


Wow, you pressure cook them for 1-2 hours? I had no idea it can take so long.

Maybe I will start collecting chicken carcasses to try this 

Merry Christmas!


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## Plugging Along (Jan 3, 2011)

james4beach said:


> Wow, you pressure cook them for 1-2 hours? I had no idea it can take so long.
> 
> Maybe I will start collecting chicken carcasses to try this
> 
> Merry Christmas!


If you are just making a stock, you can do it for a shorter time. For bone broth, which has the most nutrition and benefits, a couple of hours or more is better. We try to save up as many bones as possible.


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## james4beach (Nov 15, 2012)

I want to share something I discovered about the Instant Pot modes.

I recently made a thick stew. It had a mix of beans, lentils, potato and tomato sauce. I've made this many times before, but for some reason, this time around each time I started the 'pressure cook', I was getting the "BURN" warning (at which point I shut off the heat). I even tried adding more water, and scraping the bottom, but I still got the burn.

Then I referred back to my recipe notes and saw that I previously made this using "*meat/stew*" mode. And sure enough, switching to that eliminated the problem, and the stew cooked normally without any burn. The bottom of the pot was OK in the end, squeeky clean, which is really interesting because when the pressure cook started and I got the "burn" message, the bottom really did feel like it had burned (I could feel gritty stuff and had to scrape it clean)

It seems there is a big difference between "meat/stew" and "pressure cook" modes. On PC, it was immediately burning, but on meat/stew it was fine.


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## Plugging Along (Jan 3, 2011)

@james4beach i have had some issues with burn for thicker items such as thick soups, rice, stews. I have tried the pre programmed and the pressure cook function, they all give me the burn. What I have to Help is make, sure the ’order’ is right. There should be the liquid/water at the bottom, then add the other ingredients. Do NOT stir. Also, make sure if you are browning/sautéing that you deglaze it really well. You don’t want any bits to get burned out because they will continue to burn. If I can’t seem to fix it right in the pot, I will trasfer into another IP liner (I have multiple) that has some Water in to bottom already.


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## cainvest (May 1, 2013)

james4beach said:


> It seems there is a big difference between "meat/stew" and "pressure cook" modes. On PC, it was immediately burning, but on meat/stew it was fine.


I don't have an IP but I do pressure cook a fair bit. Generally for stews and such I pressure cook the "tough components" (beans, some meats, etc) then switch over to simmer cooking for the rest. Pressure cooking multiple ingredients with various cooking times normally doesn't turn out well unless you do phased pressure cooking.


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## james4beach (Nov 15, 2012)

Plugging Along said:


> @james4beach i have had some issues with burn for thicker items such as thick soups, rice, stews. I have tried the pre programmed and the pressure cook function, they all give me the burn. What I have to Help is make, sure the ’order’ is right. There should be the liquid/water at the bottom, then add the other ingredients. Do NOT stir. Also, make sure if you are browning/sautéing that you deglaze it really well. You don’t want any bits to get burned out because they will continue to burn. If I can’t seem to fix it right in the pot, I will trasfer into another IP liner (I have multiple) that has some Water in to bottom already.


Interesting notes, thanks.

This thing about the orders and layers is something I haven't tried, but I read that somewhere else as well


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## james4beach (Nov 15, 2012)

Plugging Along said:


> to get the best bone broth, you need to cook the crap out of it. I take the same rotisserie chicken, debone the whole thing And throw it in my freezer until I have two or three carcusses or when I run out of freezer space.


How long can these be kept the freezer? Using your idea, I started accumulating bones in a container in my freezer (around -15 C).

What do you think, maybe a couple weeks before it should be cooked into a bone broth?


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## Plugging Along (Jan 3, 2011)

james4beach said:


> How long can these be kept the freezer? Using your idea, I started accumulating bones in a container in my freezer (around -15 C).
> 
> What do you think, maybe a couple weeks before it should be cooked into a bone broth?


in my deep freeze I have some in for over a year. In my upstairs freezer, a couple months is totally fine. It will be pressure cooked to death so there won’t be any safety issues.


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