Instant Pot owners, what's your favorite recipie?

[Kaido]

Despite living in New England for about 20 years, I absolutely despise New England hot dog buns. Don't lie to me, you just folded up a piece of bread! lol. However I recently changed my mind on them...Serious Eats had an article about a simple trick: butter-griddled buns. Like you would a grilled cheese:

http://www.seriouseats.com/2016/07/...s-style-hot-dog-versus-new-york-best-bun.html

"The bun is all-important," says Jasper White, New England food expert and chef-owner of Summer Shack. "It's half of the dish. The New England–style buns are smaller and cut on the side, so they're thinner. They don't overpower the hot dog."

New England–style buns are a name brand for a reason: Soft, flat-bottomed, and top-loading, they are perfectly engineered for their raison d'être, the Maseratis of the hot dog bun world. They were created in the 1940s, by the Maine bakery J. J. Nissen, to hold the signature clam strips at Massachusetts-based chain Howard Johnson's without falling over and spilling the contents. Now Pepperidge Farm is most synonymous with the style. The buns' flat, white-bread sides lend themselves to buttering and toasting, which should be done whenever possible. There are only two reasons not to use a New England–style bun: cost and ignorance. Neither makes for a better hot dog.

So while I am not a fan of a plain white NE-style bun, the butter-griddled version is aweeeeeeeeeesome:

Next, you can take the dogs themselves to flavortown by using the Instant Pot. Very easy: New York "dirty water" hot dogs in the Instant Pot: (first time I've ever used Low Pressure mode!)

https://thisoldgal.com/pressure-cooker-dirty-water-hotdogs/

We jazzed up our weekend hotdogs a bit:

* Butter-griddled NE buns
* NY dirty-water beef hotdogs
* Pesto (hehe), ketchup, yellow mustard
* Melted cheddar on top

Typically if I want a hot dog, I'll just microwave it for 30 seconds, flip the dog, throw a regular bun in, microwave it for another 12 seconds, and then load it up with condiments...I don't really even bother grilling them anymore. But this was a fun way to take hotdogs to the next level, especially if you're cooking for a crowd...you can simply toss in a case of dogs & have them auto-cook in the IP, then toast the buns and you're good to go! 5/7, very tasty, would make again!

 

[ponyo]

I like the butter toasted white bread for hot dog idea! That should be good. Or even plain or mayo toasted white bread.

I've pretty much stopped buying and eating hot dogs other than the $1.50 Costco food court dogs. For home, I've switched to brats and sausages; I grill or smoke those. But smoked brats and sausages should be great on the butter toasted white bread.

 

[Kaido]

I like the butter toasted white bread for hot dog idea! That should be good. Or even plain or mayo toasted white bread.

I've pretty much stopped buying and eating hot dogs other than the $1.50 Costco food court dogs. For home, I've switched to brats and sausages; I grill or smoke those. But smoked brats and sausages should be great on the butter toasted white bread.

Yeah, I grill brats & kielbasas sometimes, although you're pretty much done eating for awhile after one of those monsters, so I still like hot dogs from time to time because they're smaller & you can eat them with sides without feeling like a balloon haha.

 

[olds]

Edit 2
Meh, it's a delay

EDIT

Shut it off after 10 minutes, wasn't even warm so it apparently didn't start...

Uh, first time using IP. Was supposed to set timer for 10 minutes. Set it for 10 hours.
Soup is supposed to cook for 10 minutes then I am supposed to wait 8 minutes to turn off the pot. Can't figure out how to adjust time to allow for cool down?

 

[Kaido]

Edit 2
Meh, it's a delay

EDIT

Shut it off after 10 minutes, wasn't even warm so it apparently didn't start...

Uh, first time using IP. Was supposed to set timer for 10 minutes. Set it for 10 hours.
Soup is supposed to cook for 10 minutes then I am supposed to wait 8 minutes to turn off the pot. Can't figure out how to adjust time to allow for cool down?

A few things to note:

1) There are 3 cycles:

1. Preheat (build up pressure)
2. Cook (at pressure)
3. Pressure release (either "natural" pressure release aka NPR, where it slowly comes down to room pressure, or quick pressure release aka QPR, where you turn the knob and let the steam out noisily - which recipe you're using determines NPR or QPR)

So the machine will preheat, then cook at pressure, then you have to release the pressure in order to remove the lid, which you can either wait for or do manually (steam comes out, it's loud, you get used to it).

2) There are no timers for the pressurization cycle because it's too variable...how much liquid is in there, how much solids, whether the water is hot, lukewarm, or cold, if the food is fresh or frozen, etc. 6 quarts of liquid can take like 30 minutes to preheat, whereas a cup of rice with a cup of water might only take 6 minutes.

3) There is no Start button, which is confusing at first. You hit the Manual button to set it to High Pressure, then set the timer (hours/minutes) for how long you want it to cook (zero minutes to 24 hours iirc, and yes, zero minutes is useful for certain recipes). Make sure you lock the lid & turn the knob on top to point to the left before you hit the Manual button, otherwise it will never pressurize! Anyway, after a few seconds, the machine will go into preheat mode (says "On") until it pressurizes (which again is a variable time), then it will start the countdown clock, and then once it's done it goes into automatic keep-warm mode (I think "L" plus the number of minutes since it's finished).

4) Once I've mastered a particular recipe, I time it on my smartphone so that I know approximately how long it will take & add that to my personal recipe instructions. For example, I like to do jasmine rice up Chinese takeout-style (sticky rice). 1 cup of rinsed jasmine rice plus 1 cup of water takes about 20 minutes (6 minutes preheat + 3 minutes to cook + 10 minutes NPR, aka let it sit for 10 minutes after cooking to depressurize/cool down). I usually do the recipe a few times until I really like the result, then add it to my recipe box along with the preheat/cook/depressurization times.

The Instant Pot is really easy once you understand the basic workflow (you just have to do a few recipes in it to get used to it, that's all), but it's also really confusing & intimidating if you're not used to the workflow. My argument is that it should be called the Auto Pot due to the way it makes cooking waaaaay more automatic (dump stuff in + press button), because it's definitely not "instant", due to the time it takes to build up pressure (it's really only instant compared to the hours it takes for a crockpot to do the same thing).

What soup are you cooking?

 

[olds]

Wow thanks. I finally made Albondigas . Next I am going to try Pozole.

 

[RossMAN]

Wow thanks. I finally made Albondigas . Next I am going to try Pozole.

Hmmn sounds delicious I might have to give Albondigas a try in our IP.

 

[olds]

Hmmn sounds delicious I might have to give Albondigas a try in our IP.

It was decent, I need practice with the pot.

 

[Kaido]

Hmmn sounds delicious I might have to give Albondigas a try in our IP.

You unboxed it??

 

[Kaido]

It was decent, I need practice with the pot.

For some reason, pressure cookers tend to suck more flavor out than other cooking methods, so I've started over-seasoning my stuff. RMV. I typically like to cook a recipe by the book the first time, do any tweaks the second time, and then finalize it the third time (sometimes it takes more runs if I'm still tweaking it). Then I lock it into my recipe box for quick reference because I will absolutely forget what I did originally to make it taste good when it comes time to make it again

 

[Kaido]

Regarding recipe storage: I recently changed how I store recipes. This is what I'm using now:

• Google Docs, with a main folder called "Recipes"
• A gDoc with "recipes to try" as I find recipe links on Pinterest/Blogs/Facebook/Youtube/etc. I sort them by categories like chicken dinners, beef dinners, desserts, drinks, etc.
• Individual recipe folders with the cooking method in parenthesis. Ex. a folder called "Dulce de Leche (Instant Pot)". Then I can just scroll through my alphabetized list of recipes to find what I'm looking for easily.
• 3 files in each recipe folder:
  • gDoc for the recipe
  • gDoc for history & development
  • PDF or video of the original recipe
• The recipe gDoc has a link to the original book or website, plus my own typed-out instructions for the recipe. In addition to the ingredients & directions, I also add what tools are required so I know what hardware I need to get out. Sometimes I add pictures to the recipe too.
• The dev gDoc is basically just a timeline reference of my progress with the recipe & any tweaks I want to do with it. It's separate from the recipe gDoc, mostly just in case I want to print out or share just the recipe itself for someone.
• I always keep a copy of the original recipe because sometimes websites go down & books disappear. If it's from a book or magazine or someone's hand-written recipe, I just snap a picture on my phone & convert that to PDF (I use JotNot Pro for the scan-to-PDF app on my iPhone). If it's from a website, I save or print the website to PDF (Mac/Chromebooks/Win10 all have native print-to and save-to PDF options, for older versions of Windows, CutePDF is a free virtual PDF printer). If it's a video from like Youtube or somewhere else, Firefox with the VideoDownloadHelper plugin will let you save a copy of the video (or if you run into problems, something like Snagit's video recorder or OBS would work too).

That sounds a overly complicated, but that's only because writing out it makes it sound more complex than it really is. Basically, if I find a recipe I want to try, I add it to my "recipes to try" list. If I actually try a recipe, I save a copy of it into the recipe folder, type out the recipe into a Word file, and make notes of my results & tweaks into another Word file. Then I have a record of everything for future reference, plus Google Drive has great search features for finding stuff down the road. It only takes a couple of minutes to do all that, so it's really no hassle. Plus when I'm cooking, I can use the Google app to open the recipe on my phone for reference so I don't have to go digging around for the recipe online or in a book or whatever.

 

[RossMAN]

You unboxed it??

LOL you know me so well, yes I did but haven't used it yet.

 

[Kaido]

LOL you know me so well, yes I did but haven't used it yet.

Hey, unboxing is the first step! I recommend doing 3 things in order now:

1. Learn how it works
2. Do the water taste
3. Make awesome rice

In a nutshell:

1. Practice removing the lid & then putting it back on. Because it "locks" in, you have to put it on at a certain rotation to get it to slide into the pot lock. This can be super annoying until you get the habit down.

2. Pull apart the lid so you know how it works:

a. Silicone ring: This just pushes into place around the inner metal ring. I highly recommend getting two - one for sweet stuff & one for savory stuff. You don't want your yogurt smelling like curry! (not that I would know from experience or anything...)
b. Float valve: This is the little metal pencil that pops up when the pot pressurizes. There's a little removable silicone seal under the lid that seals it when the pressure pushes it up.
c. Steam release knob: This is the small wobbly handle on the top. There's an anti-block shield under the lid to prevent food from blocking it in case it boils or foams up inside.

3. Clean out the bowl & lid. Soap & hot water in the sink. Practice assembling the valve/seal, knob/shield, and silicone ring. Also, ALWAYS store the bowl in the pot. Lots of people forget & will pour their food straight onto the burner inside. Also, chuck the included measuring cup, it's not actually a full cup lol.

4. Do the water test. Plug the unit in, fill the bowl with a few cups of water (just take the bowl itself over to the sink), lock the lid on top, turn the knob to point to the left, hit the "Manual" button, and hit the minus button to set it to 5 minutes. Then it will auto-start within a few seconds, say "On" until pressurized, countdown the 5-minute cook time once pressurized (I dunno, that will take maybe 10 minutes), and then finish. Then hit the Cancel button (since we're not going to do the keep-warm mode) & turn the knob towards you. Do NOT put your hand over it because it shoots out a jet of steam that will burn you. You can use an oven mitt or something the first time if you're nervous. Anyway, the point of the water test is just to get you familiar with how the pressure cooking cycle works & to make sure your pot cooks properly. Note that some steam may leak out from the knob and/or float valve during the cycle, that is normal.

5. Make rice! Buy some jasmine rice. Measure out 1 cup. Rinse it in a fine mesh sieve under cold water with your fingers for about 30 seconds. Pour that in the bowl, add 1 cup of water, and swirl it around with your fingers. Put the lid on, turn the knob to the left, set it to "Manual" for 3 minutes. Once it finishes & beeps, let it sit for another 10 minutes (doing a "natural" pressure release, instead of just flipping the knob to release the steam, is an essential part of this recipe). The machine has a keep-warm count-up timer so you know how long it's been sitting there being done cooking for. Mine takes about 6 minutes to pressurize with 1 cup of rice & 1 cup of water. So about 20 minutes total...preheat/pressurize, 3 minutes to cook, 10 minutes to cool down. Then flip the knob to let any extra steam come out, use a spoon to fluff up the rice & let it sit for a minute, then immediately take it out & put it in a bowl because it gets VERY sticky inside the pot (similar to Chinese take-out white rice).

So that should cover you to get started & get familiar with the Instant Pot...get a handle on the parts, clean it out, do the water-steam test, and make a batch of rice. Lately I've been recommending that people make crack chicken as their first recipe, it's super easy & delicious:

http://catch42.pbworks.com/w/page/114153124/Instant Pot Crack Chicken

The Instant Pot can be intimidating until you get the hang of the workflow, and once you figure it out with some hands-on time by doing a few different recipes, you'll wonder how you ever lived without it before.

 

[Fritzo]

I like the recipe where I'm growing a pot with Demi Moore

 

[Craig234]

LOL you know me so well, yes I did but haven't used it yet.

Mine's still in the box from last year.

 

[RossMAN]

Mine's still in the box from last year.

See I'm not the only one!

 

[olds]

LOL you know me so well, yes I did but haven't used it yet.

He just wanted the UPC for his rebate.

 

[olds]

5. Make rice! Buy some jasmine rice. Measure out 1 cup. Rinse it in a fine mesh sieve under cold water with your fingers for about 30 seconds. Pour that in the bowl, add 1 cup of water, and swirl it around with your fingers. Put the lid on, turn the knob to the left, set it to "Manual" for 3 minutes. Once it finishes & beeps, let it sit for another 10 minutes (doing a "natural" pressure release, instead of just flipping the knob to release the steam, is an essential part of this recipe). The machine has a keep-warm count-up timer so you know how long it's been sitting there being done cooking for. Mine takes about 6 minutes to pressurize with 1 cup of rice & 1 cup of water. So about 20 minutes total...preheat/pressurize, 3 minutes to cook, 10 minutes to cool down. Then flip the knob to let any extra steam come out, use a spoon to fluff up the rice & let it sit for a minute, then immediately take it out & put it in a bowl because it gets VERY sticky inside the pot (similar to Chinese take-out white rice).

Instant Pot? I can make rice in a minute...

 

[sdifox]

Hey, unboxing is the first step! I recommend doing 3 things in order now:

1. Learn how it works
2. Do the water taste
3. Make awesome rice

In a nutshell:

1. Practice removing the lid & then putting it back on. Because it "locks" in, you have to put it on at a certain rotation to get it to slide into the pot lock. This can be super annoying until you get the habit down.

2. Pull apart the lid so you know how it works:

a. Silicone ring: This just pushes into place around the inner metal ring. I highly recommend getting two - one for sweet stuff & one for savory stuff. You don't want your yogurt smelling like curry! (not that I would know from experience or anything...)
b. Float valve: This is the little metal pencil that pops up when the pot pressurizes. There's a little removable silicone seal under the lid that seals it when the pressure pushes it up.
c. Steam release knob: This is the small wobbly handle on the top. There's an anti-block shield under the lid to prevent food from blocking it in case it boils or foams up inside.

3. Clean out the bowl & lid. Soap & hot water in the sink. Practice assembling the valve/seal, knob/shield, and silicone ring. Also, ALWAYS store the bowl in the pot. Lots of people forget & will pour their food straight onto the burner inside. Also, chuck the included measuring cup, it's not actually a full cup lol.

4. Do the water test. Plug the unit in, fill the bowl with a few cups of water (just take the bowl itself over to the sink), lock the lid on top, turn the knob to point to the left, hit the "Manual" button, and hit the minus button to set it to 5 minutes. Then it will auto-start within a few seconds, say "On" until pressurized, countdown the 5-minute cook time once pressurized (I dunno, that will take maybe 10 minutes), and then finish. Then hit the Cancel button (since we're not going to do the keep-warm mode) & turn the knob towards you. Do NOT put your hand over it because it shoots out a jet of steam that will burn you. You can use an oven mitt or something the first time if you're nervous. Anyway, the point of the water test is just to get you familiar with how the pressure cooking cycle works & to make sure your pot cooks properly. Note that some steam may leak out from the knob and/or float valve during the cycle, that is normal.

5. Make rice! Buy some jasmine rice. Measure out 1 cup. Rinse it in a fine mesh sieve under cold water with your fingers for about 30 seconds. Pour that in the bowl, add 1 cup of water, and swirl it around with your fingers. Put the lid on, turn the knob to the left, set it to "Manual" for 3 minutes. Once it finishes & beeps, let it sit for another 10 minutes (doing a "natural" pressure release, instead of just flipping the knob to release the steam, is an essential part of this recipe). The machine has a keep-warm count-up timer so you know how long it's been sitting there being done cooking for. Mine takes about 6 minutes to pressurize with 1 cup of rice & 1 cup of water. So about 20 minutes total...preheat/pressurize, 3 minutes to cook, 10 minutes to cool down. Then flip the knob to let any extra steam come out, use a spoon to fluff up the rice & let it sit for a minute, then immediately take it out & put it in a bowl because it gets VERY sticky inside the pot (similar to Chinese take-out white rice).

So that should cover you to get started & get familiar with the Instant Pot...get a handle on the parts, clean it out, do the water-steam test, and make a batch of rice. Lately I've been recommending that people make crack chicken as their first recipe, it's super easy & delicious:

http://catch42.pbworks.com/w/page/114153124/Instant Pot Crack Chicken

The Instant Pot can be intimidating until you get the hang of the workflow, and once you figure it out with some hands-on time by doing a few different recipes, you'll wonder how you ever lived without it before.

That cup is for measuring rice. Not western cooking cup.

 

[Kaido]

Instant Pot? I can make rice in a minute...

Yeaaaaaah go ahead & compare that minute rice to the IP jasmine rice & tell me what you think

 

[Kaido]

That cup is for measuring rice. Not western cooking cup.

Yup, like I said, throw it out

 

[PJFrylar]

Not really Instant Pot related, but the Oyama turbo convection oven hit $30 on Amazon for a bit earlier this week. I decided to pounce on it. Not sure what I'm going to do with it first, but at that price ... why not?

 

[Kaido]

Not really Instant Pot related, but the Oyama turbo convection oven hit $30 on Amazon for a bit earlier this week. I decided to pounce on it. Not sure what I'm going to do with it first, but at that price ... why not?

iirc I snagged my Oyama at Walmart for $30, so that is a hot deal if you want a large airfryer.

 

[Rifter]

Got my IP 2 weeks ago, Got the basic 6qt model for $100 CDN on amazon. Ive done the Crack chicken, Pulled pork, and a bunch of hard boiled eggs(so fast and the shells come apart so easily). I freaking love this thing, its so fast and convenient. Going to do some beans next week and a soup. Also eager to try some currys and butter chicken. I hope this things built well cause im going to use the hell out of it.

 

[Craig234]

Isn't a convection oven different than an air fryer?