How Long To Cook Meat In Instant Pot

Must Try

How Long Does It Take To Cook Steak In An Instant Pot

How to Cook Ground Beef in the Instant Pot – Perfect for Beginners!

The answer to this question depends on a series of variable factors.

First, we have the shape of the steak. Are you cooking an entire piece or will you cube/shred the meat?

If youre cooking an entire piece , you should also decide on the result youre aiming for . Still, regardless of the case, you shouldnt use thick pieces the heat must be able to penetrate the meat from top to bottom.

For a rare steak, you only need to use the saute function. For medium and well-done you will need to top the sauteing with some pressure cooking.

I like my steak well-done so I usually leave it in the Instant Pot for about 15 minutes, but you should also adjust the time and temperature according to the size of the steak.

How To Easily Cook Meat In An Instant Pot

Cooking meat in the Instant Pot is super easy and delicious. It is actually one of the quickest ways to end up with a perfectly cooked meat center for dinner. Because the meat is cooked under pressure, the cooking time is drastically reduced. Also, when it is cooked this way, you end up with tender and juicy meat.

No matter what type of meats you love, cooking them in the Instant Pot is one of the best ways to go. In addition, the beauty of the Instant Pot or electronic pressure cooker is that you can use frozen meat in it. Therefore, if you have a busy schedule, and want a quick and easy dinner, using the Instant Pot is the perfect option.

I have been using the Instant Pot for the past 5 years and can say with certainty that it is my favorite way to cook any type of meat in it. Usually, I have dinner ready in about 30 minutes. My family loves Instant Pot meals, and it is also a great way to rotate between your weekly menus. In my kitchen, I have well over 100 Instant Pot recipes, that you can pick from. They are all delicious and easy to make, especially for busy families.

In this post, I will share with you how to cook meat in the Instant Pot -frozen pork tenderloin. This is an ideal dinner idea for busy families, and I hope you will enjoy it just as much as I do.

What is an Instant Pot?

What meats can you cook in the Instant Pot?

Beef Similar to pork, beef is the perfect meat to cook. You can cook anything from the beef roast, corned beef, all the way to short ribs.

How To Make Steak In Instant Pot

Like i already said, making steak in instant pot pressure cooker is easy, simple and quick. You can also make sides like potatoes and gravy in the instant pot at the same time. Below is how to make steak in pressure cooker and how to make gravy at the same time.

1) Mix garlic and butter then set aside.

2) Pat steak dry with kitchen towel, rub with salt, oregano and black pepper.

3) Set instant pot to saute function then add half of the butter/garlic mix in the inner pot of the instant pot.

4) Add in steak and sear the side for 2 minutes without moving it then turn and sear the other side for another 2 minutes before transferring to a plate.

If you want steak rare, sear for 3 minutes on each side, leave to rest before serving. For medium, and welldone move to step 5.

5) Add 1 cup beef broth in the inner pot of the instant pot, add chopped onions and garlic. Scrape inner pot to deglaze.

6) Place trivet in the inner pot of the instant pot and put seared steak on trivet.

7) Cover instant pot with it’s lid and put vent in sealing position. Set instant pot to pressure cook high for 4 minutes and do a 5 minutes natural release.

8) Once instant pot is depresurised, open and take out steak.

9) Immediately add the remaining garlic/butter mix on top. Leave to rest for 5 minutes then enjoy with sides of choice.

Also Check: How To Steam In An Instant Pot

Option : Steam The Meat

  • Pour cold tap water into the bottom of the inner pot. Use 1 cup for a 3 or 6-quart instant pot and 1.5 cups for an 8-quart model. Then place in a metal trivet or rack inside the inner pot.
  • Place 1-2 pounds ground beef on your trivet seal the instant pot closed, with vent closed. Be sure to form your meat into a 1 thick patty/brick so that the meat cooks uniformly. Just the way meat comes in the Styrofoam tray.
  • Set to high pressure and cook for 6 minutes.
  • Once cook time has elapsed, allow the pressure to release for 5 to 10 minutes, then do a quick release of any remaining pressure.
  • Check the internal temperature with meat thermometer–it should be at least 160 degrees. If it is not, seal again and cook for an additional 2-3 minutes. *See my notes at end of the post to troubleshoot why your meat would need longer to cook.
  • Once your meat is cooked, carefully remove it from the instant pot and break it up and use it as you would for any ground beef recipe.
  • Discard liquid from your Instant Pot Base.

Honey Garlic Instant Pot Chicken Breasts

Easy Instant Pot Pot Roast (Tender and Juicy)

Need a super-quick, sweet and savory chicken breast recipe? Then youll love this honey garlic Instant Pot chicken breasts recipe.

Moist, tender, and flavorful, these chicken breasts cook up in minutes, whether fresh or frozen, in the Instant Pot. All youll need is some broth, soy sauce, honey, garlic, black pepper, cornstarch, and of course, boneless, skinless chicken breasts.

Depending on the size of your chicken breasts and if they were frozen, youll cook them up for anywhere between 8 and 14 minutes. Be sure to give them a 10-minute natural release if theyre frozen.

The chicken comes out juicy and is ultra-delicious when coated with the honey garlic glaze.

Courtney Hamilton

Courtney Hamilton is a writer and editor with over seven years’ experience in journalism, blogging, communications, and other media. She has written for publications like PaleoHacks, PaleoPlan, The Center for American Progress, OC Weekly, and more.

Also Check: How To Cook Beets In Instant Pot

What Should You Not Cook In An Instant Pot

11 things you should never cook in an Instant Pot Shop: Instant Pot Duo 6-quart, $79 Fried Foods. If you re looking for a nice crispy piece of fried chicken or golden fried mozzarella sticks, you re going to want to try good old frying . Quick cooking foods. Stir-fry. Creamy sauces. Bread. Cookies. Steak.

Instant Pot Short Ribs Times & Instructions:

  • Preheat oil with the Saute function, and season your short ribs liberally with salt and other spices if desired.
  • Sear one side of the short ribs for about 7 minutes before flipping and finishing up the other side with a 5-minute sear. This step is great for breaking down the meat and starting off the cooking process strong, melting down some of that fat.
  • Drain the fat before adding liquid. Preferably, you can spare 2 cups of decent red wine for this part. This is the key to a great braised flavour.
  • For boneless short ribs: Cook the meat on high pressure for 35 minutes.
  • For bone-in short ribs: Cook the meat on high pressure for 50 minutes.
  • Finish up with a natural pressure release for 15 minutes, followed up with a quick release if needed.
  • For the best results, add balsamic vinegar to the remaining liquid and boil it down to a sticky reduction to coat your ribs with yum!

Try this recipe: Rustic Instant Pot BBQ Beef Short Ribs

Read Also: Burn Error Instant Pot

How To Cook A Roast

Pot roast recipes typically call for thawed beef. Since it can take up to a few days to fully thaw a roast, and weve all had those moments where we forgot to take the meat out of the freezer, I decided to find out if you could get incredibly tender roast beef using a frozen roast in the Instant Pot. The answer is a definite yes!

This roast is pull-apart tender and nobody will ever know that you forgot to defrost your roast in advance.

To make it, simply place your trivet in the bottom of the Instant Pot, add the frozen roast, pour the broth over the roast, sprinkle the seasoning over top, add the garlic and onion, cook it, and let it natural release for 30 minutes.

A quick note its important to pour the broth over the frozen roast rather than adding it to the bottom of the pot before adding the roast. The liquid thaws the edge of the roast just enough to allow the seasoning to stick to it. It makes the final result so delicious!

Read Also: How To Make Sushi Rice Instant Pot

Tips For Cooking A Whole Turkey

How to Cook Frozen Meat in the Instant Pot
  • If your turkey is still partially frozen it will take longer to cook.
  • Remember to remove the giblets and the neck from the interior of the turkey, and save them to make gravy .
  • It is possible to cook a stuffed turkey safely, but more difficult, as by the time the stuffing is cooked to a safe temperature, the meat of the bird might be overcooked. It is also more likely that you might have bacteria that is not killed when cooking a stuffed turkey. A stuffed turkey takes longer to cook, and you should plan to add at least 30 minutes to a bird 14 pounds or under, and an hour for a bird over 14 pounds. Do not let the stuffing sit for more than an hour in a cooked turkey.
  • Your oven may have hot spots, and the bird may cook unevenly
  • Your oven temperature might run hotter or cooler than what it is set for
  • If you use a dark roasting pan your turkey may cook a bit faster
  • The depth and size of the pan can affect the heat circulation to all parts of the turkey.
  • If your turkey is browning too quickly you can tent it with aluminum foil. Make sure to remove the foil for the last 15 minutes of cooking to give the skin a chance to crisp up again. If you cover the bird with foil or a roasting pan lid it can affect the cooking time.
  • An oven cooking bag can speed up the cooking time.
  • The position of the rack in the oven can affect the cooking time
  • A turkey or a roasting pan that is proportionately too large for the oven may slow the cooking time.

Read Also: What To Do If Your Instant Pot Says Burn

Instant Pot Whole Chicken Times & Instructions:

  • Fit the chicken or turkey to the pot. A 3-4 lb. chicken should fit in a 6-quart pot either fresh or frozen, but consider the lack of flexibility there is when cooking from frozen and meal planning. If needed, you can cut the bird into quarters.
  • Combine your favourite dry spice blend in a bowl and use it to thoroughly coat the chicken. A blend of salt, pepper, garlic powder, thyme, sage, and rosemary is great. You can also choose your own flavour profile. Add fresh garlic cloves, onion, and other stuffers into the chicken cavity for additional flavour.
  • Place a trivet into the Instant Pot and pour a cup of water into the inner pot. Then, place the whole chicken on the trivet breast side up.
  • From frozen: Seal the Instant Pot lid and manually set to cook on high pressure for 45 minutes.
  • From fresh: Seal the Instant Pot lid and manually set to cook on high pressure for 8 minutes per 1 lb.
  • Once the timer goes off, let the pot NPR for around 15 minutes before performing a QR .

Check out these tasty whole chicken Instant Pot recipes.

What To Do With Stew Meat

Seriously you can make all sorts of things with this. Recipes using stew meat are broad and you can use any method you like really. I prefer my Crockpot and IP myself because it means the least prep and work for me. There is a printable recipe below with exact ingredients you will need but here is a quick rundown for you to get started.

Time needed: 1 hour.

Frozen Stew Meat Instant Pot

  • Prepare

    Unwrap frozen stew meat and set inside your pressure cooker. In a bowl whisk together your broth and 2 packets of dry gravy mix. Pour this on top of your meat.

  • Cook

    Seal lid and steam valve and cook on high pressure for 25 minutes cook time with a 10 minute natural release. Quick release rest of pressure and break up meat so it is now submerged into the liquid below. Add garlic salt and pepper, stir.If you want a thick gravy at the end, take out some of the hot liquid and whisk with the last gravy packet. Pour this in.

  • Pressure cook again

    Seal lid and steam valve again and set to high pressure again for 35 minutes. Allow for a 10 minute natural release, then release remaining pressure.

  • Remove the lid and serve tender beef over rice or mashed potatoes. This is what it looks like if you do not add the dry gravy mix. At the top you can see how much thicker it is with them added. I think not only does the sauce add flavor but makes it a bit more fork tender as well.

    Can you cook stewing beef from frozen?

    Recommended Reading: Instant Pot Frozen Chicken Breast Stuck Together

    Instant Pot Pork Shoulder Times & Instructions:

    • Preheat the pot on saute with some oil. Cut your pork butt into large, uniform chunks and season liberally with salt, pepper, and any other seasonings you like.
    • After 3-4 minutes of heating, add the loin to the pot to brown the sides.
    • Remove the pork loin and add 1.5-2 cups of liquid to the pot. Then, add the trivet or steamer basket and place the pork inside.
    • Cook for 15 minutes on HIGH pressure per pound of meat .

    Try this recipe: Instant Pot pulled pork

    Ingredients For Instant Pot Steak

    Instant Pot Beef Stew

    The ingredients for this recipe are few and simple .

    Steak – Use any cut of steak like ribeye, sirlion, tenderloin, etc.

    Salt – Careful not to oversalt

    Parsley

    Garlic – fresh minced garlic or garlic powder works fine for this recipe

    Butter

    Beef broth – You can use water if you don’t have beef broth.

    Recommended Reading: How Long To Cook Frozen Chicken Thighs In Instant Pot

    Which Cut Of Beef Is Best For Beef Tips

    You can use any cut of beef for beef tips tenderloin, sirloin or even chuck roast. If you use the stew meat that is pre-cut from the grocery store, it would be good to buy a chuck roast and cut it yourself .

    I most often use sirloin tip roast, and cut the pieces from that, usually in 2 inch chunks. Sirloin isnt as expensive as steak tenderloin, and works well in this recipe.

    The cook time is key to tender beef tips. The cartilage/fat needs time to break down and make the meat tender. So 20 to 30 minutes is ideal, depending on how large you cut the steak cubes.

    The gravy that this pressure cooker beef tips recipe makes is rich and delicious. The red wine adds a lot of flavor, however you can use more beef broth if you dont want to use the wine.

    This gravy is so good over mashed potatoes! You could also serve it over rice, cauliflower rice or mashed cauliflower, or over biscuits.

    Make Roast Beef Gravy

    Once the roast beef has reached 120°F, remove and set aside on a chopping board.

    Loosely wrap the roast beef with aluminum foil & let it rest for 8 10 minutes before slicing .

    While the roast beef is resting, bring the beef sauce to a simmering with the Saute function.

    Taste the roast beef gravy to make sure it is not too salty before adding another tbsp of regular soy sauce.

    *Pro Tip: If the beef gravy is too salty, dont add any more soy sauce at this step.

    Mix 1.5 tbsp all purpose flour with 3 tbsp water.

    Mix flour mixture into the beef gravy in Instant Pot one third at a time until desired thickness.

    Taste and adjust seasoning with more salt and black pepper if necessary.

    Read Also: How Long To Cook Ham In Instant Pot

    How To Cook Taco Meat In Instant Pot

    Cooking taco meat in Instant Pot is easy and allows you to lock in all those nutrients and flavors during pressure cooking. The meat is first cooked on HIGH pressure and then thickened into stiffer consistency using the Saute function of the Instant Pot. Everything is done in one pot, which is easy to clean up afterwards. Here are the basic steps and you will find the full list of ingredients, instructions and nutritional breakdown in the recipe card below.

    Step 1. We are using onions, garlic and red jalapeno chili which we saute in a little oil until just softened.

    Step 2. The meat and taco seasoning spices are added and cooked through together briefly. Still on Saute at this point.

    Step 3. Water is added . At this point, you can turn the Saute function off. Its very important to stir the water through the mix and use a spatula to scrape the bottom of the bottom to make sure nothing is stuck. This will prevent the really annoying BURN error that can happen if anything is burnt during the Saute stage.

    Step 4. Add the crushed tinned tomatoes BUT do not mix! Tomato sauce has a tendency to thicken and caramelise during cooking, which in newer models of Instant Pot can cause the BURN error.

    Look at how rich and shiny this taco meat looks! Are you ready to tuck in? We served it with a few chili slices, scallions and cilantro. We did simple tacos with avocado, lime and cheese on the side. You can add salsa, corn, beans, rice or whatever you like.

    Latest Recipes

    More Recipes Like This