Can You Use Oil In A Pressure Cooker
To understand if it is possible or whether you need to use oil in a pressure cooker, I think its essential to know how a pressure cooker works.
Lets look at the basics of how pressure cooking works.
As described in a previous article, we wrote called Pressure Cooker vs Air Fryer:
As a pressure cooker pot is heated, the liquid inside generates steam, which increases pressure inside the pot.
This rising pressure has two effects. It raises the boiling point of the liquid inside the pot, causing the food to cook faster.
The higher the boiling pot, the faster your food cooks. And two, it forces more liquid into the food. For foods like meats, it means theyll end up being more succulent and tender.
As pressure cooking food means food is cooking in an environment where there is both liquid and steam, there is no real need to use oil as the primary liquid to stop foods from burning or sticking while being cooked.
If you want to fry food using oil, I recommend using either a deep fryer or pressure fryer. A deep fryer operates by submerging food into the hot oil.
Unlike a pressure cooker, this equipment does not cook food using pressure.
On the other hand, a pressure fryer is designed to fry foods in hot oil under pressure.
However, this cooking technique requires a particular appliance specially manufactured to do so.
Experts emphasize that you should never attempt to pressure-fry any food in a standard pressure cooker because its just not designed for this purpose.
Does The Instant Pot Saut As Well As A Pan On The Stove
In my experience, the Instant Pot does not sauté quite as well as a pan on the stove. But I still use the sauté function almost every time that I use my Instant Pot. Why? It works well enough, and it is extremely convenient.
You can expect that it will take a little longer to brown meats or stir fry vegetables in your Instant Pot, compared to cooking on the stove. Not having to wash a second pot and transfer food between pots makes this small inconvenience well worth it for me.
How To Prevent Food From Sticking To Instant Pot
Food sticking to the inside of your Instant Pot can get frustrating fast. Especially when youre baffled as to how it happens.
Luckily, there are some basic solutions to fixing this issue for once and for all regardless of what meal youre cooking or how long youre cooking for.
Coating the inside of your Instant Pot with oil, warming the oil prior to adding it to the pot or adding sauce to the pot prior to the protein or carbs will prevent food sticking to the inside of your Instant Pot.
Of course, not all Instant Pot recipes require a sauce. That said you can add the oil to anything, although its highly likely your ingredients will absorb some of the oil and youll therefore need to consider this if youre tracking your calorie intake.
You can use frylight or a low-fat cooking spray as an alternative just ensure that the inside of the pan is well coated.
Don’t Miss: What To Do When Instant Pot Says Food Burn
A Second Silicone Seal
A second silicone seal is very handy to have when you do more than just use your Instant Pot as a slow cooker. The Instant Pot comes with a single silicone seal which is effective for maintaining the pressure of the pressure cooker. However, getting two or three extra seals makes a lot of sense if you plan to do more than make dinner with your Instant Pot. The seal gets discolored with long cooking for meat and it picks up the flavors of the garlic, onions, and herbs that are in your pot roast, beans, or slow cooked chicken. At the same time, simmering aromatic herbs in oil can taint the seal with the flavors of pine resin, frankincense, myrrh, and other aromatic spices. You may not want those flavors to permeate your yogurt or rice. By using one seal for herbal remedy crafting, another for desserts, and another for meats you can control the off-flavours while getting the benefits of the Instant Pots even temperatures through its full range of applications.
Dont Forget To Put The Sealing Ring Back In
When you remove the silicone sealing ring from the Instant Pot and give it a good rinse, make sure to bring it back in: Its essential to the cooking process it can cause a mess if its left out. Its easy to overlook, but if you dont apply the silicone ring, the liquid is going to come out from the sides.
Read Also: How Long To Cook Beets On Stove
What Is Pressure Cooking And How Does It Work
It is first necessary to comprehend the physics of pressure cooking. In a sealed pot, food is cooked in a watery liquid. This method is popular since it saves time and electricity. Because the steam produced by the cooking liquid cannot escape as it heats up, it becomes under pressure. This raises the temperature over that of conventional cooking, causing the food to cook more quickly.
The pressure release valve allows the steam to securely escape once the food has been cooked. The lid can then be opened. This method can be used to mimic the tenderizing benefits of slow cooking in the classic sense.
In a pressure cooker, you can cook almost anything that can be cooked in water-based liquids. We made a point of emphasizing the word water-based.
A Cooking Liquid: Too Thick/not Enough Liquid
Mistake: As a new user, its not intuitive on how much cooking liquid to use. If theres not enough cooking liquid or the liquid is too thick, Instant Pot will not be able to generate enough steam to get up to pressure.
Solutions: Unless stated otherwise in a recipe
- We recommend new users to use 1 cup of total liquid until they get comfortable with the machine.
- Always add thickener such as cornstarch, flour, arrowroot, or potato starch after the pressure cooking cycle.
Also Check: Beet Greens Instant Pot
When Should Oil Be Used In A Pressure Cooker
The only time you should use oil in a pressure cooker is if you want to brown your meats first before pressure cooking them. Browning meat before pressure cooking is typically suggested because it adds taste and a crispy texture to the meat. However, check to see if the pressure cooker youre using has a browning setting. If it does, take the following steps
To begin, prepare your meat by allowing it to come to room temperature for around half an hour. Pat, dry and season it with your favorite seasonings. On your pressure cooker, select the brown setting. 1 tbsp. extra virgin olive oil Keep in mind the sort of oil youre using. Cook for around a quarter of an hour after adding the meat to your pressure cooker. Before removing the meat, make sure that all of the sides have been evenly sautéed.
You can read the science of pressure cookers here.
What Is The Instant Pot
Instant Pot is a pressure cooker — and then some. It also sautés, slow cooks, makes rice and steams veggies and poultry. It’s an all-in-one device, so you can, for instance, brown a chicken and cook it all in the same pot. In most cases, Instant Pot meals are ready to serve in less than an hour.
Its quick cook times are thanks to its pressure-cooking function, which locks steam created by liquid , building pressure and pushing steam back into the food.
But don’t confuse it with a stovetop pressure cooker. Unlike your grandparents’ pressure cooker, this Instant Pot eliminates safety concerns with a lid that locks, and stays locked, until the pressure is released.
Yes, you can cook a whole chicken in the Instant Pot.
Read Also: What Is Natural Release On Instant Pot Mean
How To Make Popcorn In The Instant Pot:
STEP ONE: First, set the Instant Pot to the saute setting and then press the Adjust button until it reads More.
STEP TWO: Once the display reads Hot, add in two tablespoons of coconut oil and let it melt. Put a clear glass lid on the pot, and let the pot preheat for 1-2 minutes.
STEP THREE: Next, add in 1/2 cup popcorn kernels. Stir the kernels to coat them with oil.
STEP FOUR: Cover the Instant Pot with a clear glass lid and cook for 5-6 minutes or until 2/3 of the kernels are popped. Leave the lid on and let it sit until almost all of the kernels are popped about 1-2 minutes.
STEP FIVE: When it is done popping, transfer the popcorn to a large bowl and sprinkle 1/2 teaspoon salt over the popcorn.
STEP SIX: Finally, repeat the steps above with the remaining coconut oil, popcorn kernels, and salt.
Instant Pot Shredded Beef
What we love about shredded beef is that its one of those recipes that you can make once and use up multiple times in different dishes. Its the ultimate batch cooking food that freezes well and allows you to use cheaper cuts of beef. Thus, its budget-friendly and great for large families or meal prepping. Recipe from Instant Pot Eats.
Or try this:
Don’t Miss: How To Cook Frozen Meatballs In Instant Pot
What Should I Serve With Pork Roast
Instant Pot Gravy is a great idea! You use the liquid that is left in the Instant Pot after you take out the roast. And you cook the gravy using the sauté function of the Instant Pot after the roast is finished cooking. That way, you dont dirty an extra pot!
What else to serve with the roast pork? If your oven is free, go ahead and make a batch of these amazing roasted potatoes too. Such a perfect dinner!
- Yield:46 servings 1x
About Christine
Hi! Im Christine. My passion is creating recipes that take less time in the kitchen, so that we can all spend more time enjoying life! Im a busy single mom of two, so I totally get how tough it can be. Thats why Ive been figuring things out for my own family, and thats why I want to share this knowledge with others. I now help over 2 million people a month get delicious meals onto their tables. Come along with me and see how much easier it can be!
5 secrets to the Juiciest grilled meats!
Our Podcast
Help My Meat Is Burning When I Saut
3.8M
I pulled out my Instant Pot the other day. I was trying out a new recipe, and I could. not. wait.
The recipe said to click the sauté button to brown the chicken.
I added the oil, waited a few minutes for it to warm up, and added my chicken.
Let me tell you, the only thing that was browning was the bottom of my Instant Pot. My Instant Pot burnt my chicken!
What in the world was I doing wrong?
Thankfully, Im a person who doesnt give up until I get food perfect, so I started investigating.
Don’t Miss: How To Cook Frozen Meat In Instant Pot
Dont Get Burned By Steam
The Instant Pot is fitted with a lot of protection mechanisms. And basically, its very safe. The one thing I will warn you about is when you switch the valve from Sealing to Venting. Theres going to be a fast escape of steam. Shift your hand aside so you dont get burnt. Many people I know prefer to use a spoon to switch the valve from Sealing to Venting.
Forget To Place The Inner Pot Back Into Instant Pot Before Pouring In Ingredients
Mistake: It can be chaotic in the kitchen. Weve heard many stories of users accidentally pouring ingredients into the Instant Pot housing without the Inner Pot.
This happens more frequently than we all imagined. It almost happened to us once.
Solution: Place a silicone mat, glass lid, or wooden spoon on top of the Instant Pot every time you remove the Inner Pot from the Instant Pot. This helps prevent unnecessary damage to your new kitchen tool!
Recommended Reading: Ground Beef Defrost Time
How To Make Instant Pot Beef Tips
Thats it. Easy-peasy Instant Pot Beef Tips.
Also Check: How To Convert Slow Cooker Recipe To Instant Pot
What Happens If You Dont Put Water In A Pressure Cooker
Adding the ingredients to the pressure cooker without any liquid. When adding the ingredients to your electric pressure cooker, dont forget the liquid. Electric pressure cookers work by trapping steam inside the sealed pot. The steam builds up, ultimately creating a high-pressure environment that cooks food faster.
You May Like: Cook Artichokes In Instant Pot
Making Pressure Cooker Sirloin Tips In Gravy In An Instant Pot
An Instant Pot is one of the most popular brands of electric pressure cookers. They are easy to use and your Instant Pot can help you create this delicious Sirloin Tips in Gravy!
I love browning the meat in my pressure cooker because it adds so much flavor to the gravy! Dont skip this step and be sure and brown the meat well. Then, when you add the beef broth to the pot, use a spoon to scrape up the browned bits off the bottom of the pan to stir in extra flavor.
This recipe is also quite flexiblemy local grocery store had sirloin tip roasts on sale, so thats what I used that, but you could substitute another lean beef roast or round steak.
If you want to freeze some for later, I like to divide leftovers into 2 cup portions in freezer-safe Ziplocs. That way, when something comes up you can have an easy, homemade meal in the freezer for those crazy fall weekends.
Update: These Sirloin Tips in Gravy are so great for busy weeks in the fall and winter. I love to make up a big batch of these beef tips and get two or three meals out of them. I put together a video to show you how easy the recipe is.
Youll definitely want this one on your menu!
Read Also: What Does Auto Mean On Instant Pot
The Best Cut Of Beef For Instant Pot Pot Roast:
Chuck roast is the most commonly used cut of beef used in pot roast recipes. Chuck is from the front part of the animal and different cuts will be labeled as blade, boneless cross rib, top blade, bottom blade, and shoulder. There are even different names for the same cut and it can differ from store to store I know so confusing!
While you might instantly think of the rectangular, highly marbled chuck roast widely available at most grocery stores, some of the other cuts are also a great choice for pot roast.
The popular rectangular cut of chuck will have a large amount of fat both around the edges of the cut and running through it. I have used this cut with great success in this recipe and nothing rivals it in terms of a tender result but it takes a bit more prep to make it work well . Since a big part of my end goal in this recipe is to create a luscious, fuss-free gravy, I went with a boneless chuck cross rib roast, aka, shoulder roast , this time around. It is a leaner cut of chuck which means less trimming of fat before the cooking process and cleaner drippings that will result in an effortlessly perfect gravy.
Rump roast, which is obviously not from the front portion of the animal, is another cut that will work here. This was my moms cut of choice for her roast and a much leaner cut than chuck. This recipe has not been tested with a rump roast and its possible it could need a longer cook time.
Recommended Reading: Acorn Squash Pressure Cooker Recipe
You May Like: Defrost In Instant Pot
A Second Stainless Steel Insert
One of the first accessories for the Instant Pot that I bought was a second stainless steel insert. This has come in handy on numerous occassions when I was in the middle of cooking dinner, yet needed a quick herbal remedy for an immediate need. I was able to remove the insert that contained my dinner, and place it in the oven to brown the chicken, while I placed the second insert in the Instant Pot to create some elderberry syrup or a menthol chest rub, so that it would be ready for use by the time dinner was over. Normal people use the second insert to bake dessert in the Instant Pot while dinner is served, but I never claimed to be normal.
The second insert is also useful for making mead. There is just enough room in the insert to steep herbs, fruit, and honey in one gallon lots to fill a gallon jug with healthy, healing herbal mead. Once the herbs are warmed and steeped. The insert can be removed from the Instant Pot and covered with a glass lid to keep out insects. Cool the must completely before adding the wine yeast.
You can get free delivery of your Instant Pot when you purchase it from Amazon and use your Amazon Prime Membership. If you dont have a membership yet, you can sign up for the free 30 day trial. If you find that it isnt the value you expected simply cancel before the end of the 30 day period. Your credit card wont be charged.
