Instant Pot
 

Sounds exactly what I need, but wanted to ask here first. Do you brown meat before stewing? I take it the pot has not exploded on you folks? Is 6 qt a lot for one person, although several days' leftovers would be great?

They're basically trendy pressure cookers, right?

6 qt is enough for a family of four with leftovers.

I believe there's an IP thread in the dining forum.

You can use the saute function and brown the meat in the pot.

It has many more safeguards than a traditional pressure cooker and I've never heard of one exploding. But if doing the quick release steam method, watch your fingers.

They are far more than a pressure cooker. It's just as much a slow cooker, but can also be used to saute, steam, cook rice, etc.

love mine. You can brown the meat first, and then use the "stew" option, and let it go.

I've been making meatballs and pasta, takes like 10 minutes, so simple. They do have pressure relief valves, and there's a few other safety measures.

Seriously - you can brown the meat in this thing? One downside of many crock pot recipes is the need to brown the meat before it goes into the crock pot.

Yeah, really! I might just get one...

I brown boneless, skinless chicken thighs for stews and curries. Never made soup before, but if this device is as great as it sounds I'd try.

For a solo household, I'd probably try a 3 qt machine first.

I really, really want one of these but I'm afraid it will prematurely mothball our expensive Zoji rice cooker.

As someone who was a one-person household when I bought mine, I'd disagree. Go with a 6 or 7 quart.

I love my instant pot but don't make rice in it because I love my Zojirushi!

What I have heard about the Instant Pot is that it is good at many things, but rice is not one of them—keep the Zojirushi. I am idly contemplating the IP, but wondering why a person who’s lived 50 years without either a pressure cooker or a slow cooker would suddenly change her cooking methods to use one. (However, I did come to the rice cooker late in life and absolutely love it.)

I believe that the Instant Pot choice is either 6 or 8 quart.

Truly a great cooking device!

I must say I dont cook often but love my instant pot!!! take a chicken or turkey carcass, water and veggies and in minutes have an amazing bone broth. its a great and easy to use device which is a must for me

I love my instant pot.
i already had a stove top pressure cooker, butnot a slow cooker when I bought it.

i use it more than anything else.

Thanks, folks! Looks like 6 qt will be likely. I'm an old geezer who's never used a slow cooker nor pressure cooker either. I rarely eat rice at home, so I keep TJ frozen packets on hand. I prefer couscous with curry/stew, which comes out OK in the microwave.

Other than hardboiled eggs (one layer of eggs on the rack, 1 cup of water, high pressure for 5 minutes, about 5 minutes of natural steam release and then quick release, plunge into ice water and peel immediately), this is my favorite IP recipe. Boneless, skinless chicken breasts are fine: Quick and Easy Pressure Cooker Chicken, Lentil, and Bacon Stew With Carrots Recipe | Serious Eats

You mean this isn't a thread about an automatic dispenser for marijuana??? :( :D

That's exactly what I think every time I see the headline.

But is the Instant Pot used to treat the munchies produced by instant pot?

You can have amazing real mac n cheese in 20 minutes, so yes?

You weren't. I thought it was some kind of MJ coffee. :D :D :D

I have heard our U. K. friends say they bring "pot plants" as gifts. Indeed!

I had not heard of the Instant Pot myself until recently, but didn't make that association until you guys mentioned it now. Then again, living in WA, I wasn't fazed earlier today realizing a new shop readying for opening as I passed is to be a (non medical) cannabis emporium.

Back to the IP. I bought one a year ago. I love it! I made a fantastic tomato sauce for lasagna tonight. I used the saute function to brown onions and other veggies and then added the tomatoes and spices and seasoning and cooked on manual for about 40 minutes. I used it for beef rendang. I do brown meat in a large frying pan to save time but then the stew function slow cooks meats perfectly. I sautéed the sauce down after cooking. It's fast. I don't know of anyone's whose IP exploded.

I also came to a rice cooker late in life, and this is the best thing ever. Of course, I can make rice in a regular pot, but it's less work if I throw everything in the rice pot while the rest of the meal is being prepared.

6 qt is enough for a family at least for mine

Not so. I think the Instant Pot does very well at cooking rice of all kinds. I've used it for white rice (a 1-button operation with the "Rice" function), and with the right settings, found with some experimentation, have got excellent results with brown rice, wild rice, and "quick" (scarified) brown rice. You can certainly retire a standard rice cooker if you get an Instant Pot. (That said, I admit I don't know what a Zojirushi is capable of in cooking rice.)

I cook for 1 and use my IP all the time. I love it. I always make enough for leftovers and make shredded chicken and bone broth weekly.

Last year, I bought my first crockpot, after a similar number of years without one. Used it a handful of times and decided none of my usual recipes (modified for the crockpot) turned out as well as they did on the stove.

The crockpot now sits in a cabinet taking up very valuable space in my small Manhattan kitchen. I'll probably give it one more shot before getting rid of it.

Also solo, with an eye toward leftovers for a few meals. My "virgin" effort may be chicken in tomato - peanut sauce.

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Instant Pot warning issued after reports of cookers overheating, melting

Video: Instant Pot warning issued after reports of cookers overheating, melting | Food and cooking | stltoday.com

I ordered a Mealthy unit the other day, which arrived broken. Company immediately arranged to send a replacement as well as emailing a prepaid label for me to return my pot, which I did yesterday.

Pasta, frozen meatballs and a jar of sauce sounds like something easy for a beginner.

I always had visions of dangerous exploding kitchen appliances until I started using one. I am cooking unsoaked dry chickpeas as I type this. The issue I have, I almost always forget to check the valve is in closed position. Pressure won't cook if it's seeping out the top, right? [bangs head on wall]

I was hoping to find a users thread here on tips, tricks, and recipes, but I guess there isn't a need or want for one? :(

FYI, future readers, the affected products are the rectangular 8-in-1 cookers, not the popular round Instant Pots.

According to the post from Instant Pot, "We have received a small number of reports of the Gem 65 8-in-1 Multicooker overheating, resulting in localized melting damage to the underside of the product." Owners are asked to look on the silver label on the underside of the cooker; if the batch code is 1728, 1730, 1731, 1734, and 1746, Instant Pot wants you "to immediately stop use of the product." Everyone take a deep breath. Your Instant Pot pressure cooker has not been recalled. | Food and cooking | stltoday.com

We've had one for 6 months now and love it. Were able to get rid of 3-4 other kitchen electronics because of it.

My lovely wife made a mistake using a pressure cooker years ago while making a pot full of black beans. It was like a bomb went off in the kitchen.......beans were everywhere.

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Here's a free e-book at Amazon. https://www.dealsplus.com/freebies/p...t-pot-cookbook

I'm also doing the same process. I think it's a lot tastier that way.

Thanks for this link

Well, my effort at chicken tagine wasn't the greatest, but I find the pot terrific as a rice cooker. A more successful outcome was Thai red curry chicken.