Instant Pot thread

[Purple Lady]

Originally Posted by Blossom

Oh no! I don't remove the ring on mine but every so often. It doesn't seem to get dirty much. I just wash the entire lid and wipe dry.

Sent from my XT1528

He normally washes the lid as is, but the ring was smelling a little, so I had him put it in the dishwasher. I was also worried that if it stayed damp underneath the ring it could get moldy.

I bought a set of red and blue rings to use for sweet vs savory, so I think I'll start using them so I get used to switching them in and out.

[Hitch]

Originally Posted by Purple Lady

I bought a set of red and blue rings to use for sweet vs savory, so I think I'll start using them so I get used to switching them in and out.

LOL, GMTA (Great Minds Think Alike):

I did the same thing--color-coded my rings, for just that reason. ;-)

Hitch

[Hitch]

Originally Posted by Ralph Sir Edward

Beans are a separate dish. Very separate. Different seasoning. (And go well refried.) I use Fiesta Pinto bean seasoning, myself. (None of the expert ladies at making beans would part with their recipes. . . )

They also do well in a crock pot.

BTW, these are two of my go-tos, for all kinds of dishes:

Zatarain's Creole: https://www.amazon.com/Zatarains-Cre.../dp/B0004LWYOA

and:

Cajun Land's Blackened Redfish Seasoning (trust me, not only for redfish!): https://www.amazon.com/Cajun-Land-Bl.../dp/B0076CDASE

Thse are BOTH awesome. I use the Zatarain's all the time, and I use the Cajun Land with abandon on all kinds of stuff. It's spectacularly good on sliced-thin Pork Tenderloin slices/cutlets. Just yum.

(Not TexMex, but still...yum.)

Hitch

[Purple Lady]

Originally Posted by Hitch

LOL, GMTA (Great Minds Think Alike):

I did the same thing--color-coded my rings, for just that reason. ;-)

Hitch

Now I just have to remember what color is sweet and which one is savory. I'll go with blue is sweet and red is savory, but being dyslexic my first instinct is usually the opposite of what I want.

[Hitch]

Originally Posted by Purple Lady

Now I just have to remember what color is sweet and which one is savory. I'll go with blue is sweet and red is savory, but being dyslexic my first instinct is usually the opposite of what I want.

Blue for blueberries and red for peppers? Would that work?

H

[Purple Lady]

Originally Posted by Hitch

Blue for blueberries and red for peppers? Would that work?

H

Possibly. I was thinking red for spicy. I didn't know what to use for blue (I don't like blueberries), but just remembering red for spicy might be easier than trying to remember what each was.

[Cinisajoy]

Originally Posted by Ralph Sir Edward

Beans are a separate dish. Very separate. Different seasoning. (And go well refried.) I use Fiesta Pinto bean seasoning, myself. (None of the expert ladies at making beans would part with their recipes. . . )

They also do well in a crock pot.

Beans, bottled water (drinking bottles) ham.

[Cinisajoy]

Originally Posted by Hitch

LOL, good point. Chili from a can? Say nay, sir, say nay!



I find that they do. I love my crocker for all those sorts of things; beans, chili, and all that good stuff. I'm always forgetting to soak my beans, so I end up doing a quick-cook-soak, and then throw them in the crockpot overnight, especially pintos or some of the other tougher beans, like kidneys. I wish I had more great bean recipes, because it would be good for Mr. H to eat more of them. As we've, cough, matured, beans have that unfortunate side-effect--of which I'm sure some of you are aware--and Mr. H is temperamentally unsuited to being musical, lol!!! (Actually, I should try the IP for beans; people SWEAR by it...)

I've never heard of Fiesta seasoning--is that one of those jarred things? The fajita seasoning? Is that what you use? I'm always open to new things...

Hitch

Look in the Hispanic /Mexican spices at Walmart.

[Greg Anos]

Originally Posted by Hitch

LOL, good point. Chili from a can? Say nay, sir, say nay!



I find that they do. I love my crocker for all those sorts of things; beans, chili, and all that good stuff. I'm always forgetting to soak my beans, so I end up doing a quick-cook-soak, and then throw them in the crockpot overnight, especially pintos or some of the other tougher beans, like kidneys. I wish I had more great bean recipes, because it would be good for Mr. H to eat more of them. As we've, cough, matured, beans have that unfortunate side-effect--of which I'm sure some of you are aware--and Mr. H is temperamentally unsuited to being musical, lol!!! (Actually, I should try the IP for beans; people SWEAR by it...)

I've never heard of Fiesta seasoning--is that one of those jarred things? The fajita seasoning? Is that what you use? I'm always open to new things...

Hitch

Fiesta may be a regional thing. They are based in San Antonio, Texas. The label is (extra fancy) Fiesta Pinto Beans seasoning. If you are really interested, you can PM me and I'll ship you a plastic jar (4.5 oz) of it.

[Cinisajoy]

Originally Posted by Ralph Sir Edward

Fiesta may be a regional thing. They are based in San Antonio, Texas. The label is (extra fancy) Fiesta Pinto Beans seasoning. If you are really interested, you can PM me and I'll ship you a plastic jar (4.5 oz) of it.

Ralph, let me google it as Fiesta is just one of the names they sell under. They are also Lowes and are or were Ralphs.
We get them up here at all stores.
Quick Google shows Walmart and Target sells it.

[HLS]

Originally Posted by Hitch

Hunh? Do you mean, not even brown/sear the meat? I haven't ever cooked most veggies, although I always saute onions, etc.

Hitch

yes

[badgoodDeb]

I don't bother sauteing onions; garlic is only ever the dried stuff from a bottle. (I'm not a fan of garlic.) The only thing I bother to brown is ground beef (or, actually, ground turkey). I brown a few pounds in a large wok pan, and freeze it in a large flat freezer bag. Break off a hunk when I want some.

So, you can go significantly lazy. But ground beef (or substitute) really needs to be browned. That does NOT have to be done in the Instant Pot, though it can be.

[Hitch]

Originally Posted by badgoodDeb

I don't bother sauteing onions; garlic is only ever the dried stuff from a bottle. (I'm not a fan of garlic.) The only thing I bother to brown is ground beef (or, actually, ground turkey). I brown a few pounds in a large wok pan, and freeze it in a large flat freezer bag. Break off a hunk when I want some.

So, you can go significantly lazy. But ground beef (or substitute) really needs to be browned. That does NOT have to be done in the Instant Pot, though it can be.

Depending on how you feeel about presentation, (as well as some arguments about preserving the "juiciness" of meat), arguably, all meats should be at least browned/seared, prior to being cooked in a slow-cooker, dutch oven (sometimes!) or IP.

I am not a fan of the sort of overboiled "grey" meat that you can get if you plop cubes of beef into a slowcooker for something like stew. I prefer some browned edges, visually (and texturally). However, if you don't mind that, you really do not have to sear the meat. You can just plop it in there and cook away.

You could do a variant on a simple beef stew--throw in cubed beef and potatoes, corn/peas/whatever frozen veggies you wish and or some baby carrots, stock and hit the button. That would work.

Same with stroganoff, although again, my preference is to sear the meat AND to saute the onion a bit. You could substitute dried onion (or throw in a Lipton's Beefy Onion soup packet and water), the meat, shrooms and stock (depending on the Beefy Onion option), and hit cook.

You can do the same thing with chicken soups, stews and other dishes (like Hungarian Paprikash made with Chicken). You wouldn't sear the raw chicken; you'd cook it in the sauce. For a paprikash, which really calls for onions, you might want to cook it a bit longer to ensure that you don't have a raw onion taste to the 'kash. Then, when the main cooking is done, allow it to depressurize and then using the lowest-possible temp, lightly simmer it whilst adding the sour cream. (Same technique works for Stroganoff, obviously).

So, to answer your question, yes, it CAN be done. Personally, I prefer the results I get with 5 minutes of additional prep, but you CAN do it.

Hitch

[tempest@de]

I forget to put the ring one time, it was not serious because nothing burned, the only thing was that the food was not fully cooked, I thought it was strange since I used the same settings as before and the other times it was perfect, I ended up using the sauté function to finish cooking and only when I went to wash the lid did I notice the lack off the ring, so then it made sense.

I also bought the blue / red rings intending to use one for savory dishes and one for delicate items, but I couldn’t remember which one I had used before so I ended up using both for savory dishes, negating the purpose of having the two colored rings.

Now I use both the colored ones for savory and the clear one for the delicate items.

I found that for me it’s best to have one savory one always on, this way I always have one ring in the lid and never forget or use the wrong one.

[tempest@de]

I need some help/ recomendations for cooking rice in the IP.

I usually cook the rice in the stove, but since I have a rice lover at home I end up making rice almost every day. I tried it only once when I first got the IP but I thought the rice was too soft so I never tried it again.

I would like to try to cook a small amount to see how it turns out, my question is for small amounts do you cook it directly in the pot or would it be better to cook it using the pot in pot method? In this case the cooking time would be the same or it takes more time to cook the rice?

How do you cook the rice in the IP? Any good recipes to share?