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[bregent]

We got one.   SWMBO has a recipe called "chili chicken".   Ain't got nothin to do with chili but it does have salsa so maybe....anyway, when she did it in the instant pot, it came out runnier than all get out.   It was fast but by the time we took the lid off and reduced it down a little, it didn't save any time at all.   Does rice really nice too.

Yeah, you need to remember that there is no evaporation, so just use less liquid.

[ICIdaho]

I almost forgot, it did make a killer batch of refried beans fairly quickly compared to the soak and cook method.  So now I am up to 2 things, boiled eggs and beans!  I still don't care what anyone says, my wife has tried multiple recipes and follows them to the tee, if you are picky about your meat, it is not the same out of them.  After growing up on the stove top pressure cooker, I was not a fan then and for the most part, still am not.  I can see areas where it can excel, but no one will convince me it can cook everything as good or better.  Not sure why I would ever want to throw good meat in a pressurized steam cooker when I have a pellet BBQ anyways!

[Darwin]

I have an Instant Pot and so far I like it.  I use it for chili, beans and stew.  It's much faster than conventional cooking.   I have been told it's great for rice but I haven't experimented much.  The big online retailer will occasionally put it on sale for the deal of the day.

[LowSlowJoe]

All in all, it sounds like I'm not alone with my view on the Instant Pot.     

 I think in many ways it's easier for me to cook in something besides the instant pot...  but if you get something that works well in the IP,  it can be less effort and maybe a tiny bit faster.  Problem is , you pretty much have to get it 99% correct, right before you push the start button... not easy to take a sample taste and adjust something.


  Rice for sure is a great item to cook in IP... last night I cooked all Mexican side dishes.   One of which was Mexican rice... I got that started right after I had cut up my stuff for pico de gallo... and I never touched it again, until just before time to eat... it turned out great ( the rice, and everything else )....

   While that rice was doing it's thing, I continued to make guacamole and warm up some re-fried beans, while continuing to tweak the pico de gallo...     My daughter loves mexican side dishes, so much so that she almost considers that the best part of any meal we have at a Mexican restaurant.   But anyway,   I did make good use of my Instant Pot again last night...    It's far from the perfect kitchen device, but I do think I can continue to find ways to let it help me around the kitchen.

[bregent]

>but if you get something that works well in the IP,
> it can be less effort and maybe a tiny bit faster. 

How much faster really depends on what you're making. I made posole last night with pork shoulder. It cooked in about 40 minutes (16 minutes of pressure cooking) but would have taken up to 4 hours on the stove to get to the same degree of tenderness. We also make a lot of brown rice which cooks in half the time and comes out better than stove top.

>Problem is , you pretty much have to get it 99% correct, right before you push the start button...
>not easy to take a sample taste and adjust something.

Not sure what you are saying. Once the pressure cooking part is done, you can still keep it simmering and make adjustments. Maybe because I've been using a pressure cooker for the past 25 years I don't find it very difficult.

It's certainly not right for everything, it's just another tool in the arsenal.

[Ssteppe]

I have an 8-quart Instant Pot. So far, the only mode I've used is pressure cooker. Short ribs and broth mostly.
I've owned several pressure cookers over the years, and this one is the best I've tried.

[SurfAndTurf]

I'm such a fan of the IP that people think I must get a commission from the company!

It's not that I can't cook all of the same recipes in my enamel coated dutch oven, because I can. The big difference for me is that I can WALK AWAY and don't have to keep a watchful eye on my cooking. This is important because I am easily distracted and have been known to burn dinner.

In fact, my cooking success rate with the pellet grill AND the instant pot has gone from about 30% to close to 80%. It would be higher but along with being easily distracted I also don't always read recipes carefully all the way through and I freely substitute ingredients when I perhaps should not.

SurfAndTurf

[BigDave83]

grabbed 2 pack of chicken legs out of the freezer yesterday and thawed. Removed the skin, then back into a vac bag with a bit of salt, pepper, garlic powder, a couple tablespoons of hot sauce and a couple of italian dressing then sealed and back in the fridge. Into the pressure cooker today, Wolfgang Puck model from HSN, put some rub we make on them and about 1/3 cup of BBQ sauce I got the other day when I bought some brisket from the local BBQ place. Did them for 11 minutes these were small fryer size legs and would have possibly been better at 9 minutes but they were still very good. Sorry no pics as I didn't think of them until I came here.

[LowSlowJoe]

I'm glad to see more people posting....    I actually just got my second  Instant Pot yesterday... it's a 8 Quart Ultra.  Amazon had them on deal of the day for $118...  To good to pass up.

I've basically never returned anything to Costco, but the 6 Quart Nova Plus I bought from there for $110 is going back.   It is a OK unit, but I really had wanted the 8 Quart, which Costco doesn't sell/carry... and, well the 8 Quart Ultra for just $8 more is SO MUCH BETTER VALUE...           

   The Ultra has the ability to customize the temperature that it cooks at, from like 108F up to 208F and anywhere in between, in 1 degree F increments.   I think they say it is accurate within +/- 5F, but I've seen one guy who showed his doesn't vary by more than a couple degrees F.   This feature is going to make me much more willing to leave my Instant Pot on the counter all the time.   I'll be playing around doing some sous vide soon...   but I'll also use it to just simmer sauces and stuff like that.  In addition to this , I'll make use of it for it's pressure cooker features too , to be sure.   But , I'm actually really excited now that I know what the Ultra version of the Instant Pot is capable of.   As far as I know, none of the lower priced versions of the Instant Pot allow this level of control of the temperature...


 

[LowSlowJoe]

Sous vide in my Instant Pot Ultra,  133F for 2 hours.

I'll use fewer spices next time... wow the spices kicked in  overdrive with this method

[Bar-B-Lew]

looks good...what cut of beef and what spices did you use?  curious how it got so brown on the outside

[LowSlowJoe]

looks good...what cut of beef and what spices did you use?  curious how it got so brown on the outside

It is Flank steak. I used some Weber Savory Herbs w/roasted garlic  and some black pepper.   I should have used less,  the garlic was darn near overpowering

[Bar-B-Lew]

i see 6 in 1 up to a 10 in 1 unit.  Which do you have that has the sous vide mode?

[pmillen]

Sous vide in my Instant Pot Ultra,  133F for 2 hours.

I'll use fewer spices next time... wow the spices kicked in  overdrive with this method

What spices do when SVed mystifies me.  Some seem to disappear and others seem to get stronger.

[LowSlowJoe]

i see 6 in 1 up to a 10 in 1 unit.  Which do you have that has the sous vide mode?

I have the Instant Pot "Ultra"...  They list it as 10 in 1      They don't advertise the Ultra as being capable of Sous Vide, the manual says nothing about Sous Vide...    The only reason it works, is the Ultra has ability to customize the cooking temperature.

The only other Instant Pot that has the ability to customize temperature is the Max.  In the manual for the Max, they do talk about Sous Vide, so officially , the Max is the only one they 'advertise' as being capable of Sous Vide. 

 So, anyway... if you wanted to buy one of the Instant Pot electric pressure cookers  that can do it... your starting point is the Ultra 10 in 1 model, and if you want the best they have to offer, that would be the Max, which also can do it.