How To Turn Instant Pot Into Slow Cooker

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Instant Pot Pulled Pork

How to Use the Instant Pot as a Slow Cooker | Instant Pot 101 For Beginners

Instant Pot Pulled Pork is one of the easiest, tastiest ways to prepare pork roasts in the Instant Pot. Seasoned with a homemade rub and cooked until perfectly tender, this shredded pork is flavorful, juicy, and irresistible.

Use this recipe for Instant Pot Pulled Pork to make BBQ Pork Sandwiches and top them with Homemade Coleslaw and serve with a side of Homemade Oven Fries and Baked Beans for a delicious family meal!

Pulled Pork is one of the easiest, tastiest mealsI prepare for my family. It is inexpensive, feeds a crowd, requires minimal effort to prepare, and everyone loves juicy, tender pulled pork slathered in BBQ Sauce.

I have adapted my Slow Cooker Pulled Pork Recipe for the Instant Pot. While I love the ease of making pulled pork in the crockpot, this recipe for Instant Pot Pulled Pork trumps the original, as the results are more tender meat in a fraction of the time!

All It Takes Is A Few Simple Modifications To Adjust A Recipe For The Instant Pot Follow These Tips For Slow Cooker To Pressure Cooker Recipe Conversion

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If you are new to pressure cooking, you may be on the hunt for easy pressure cooker recipes to add to your weekly meal plan. Or, you may be wondering if you can convert some of your favorite slow cooker recipes to pressure cooker recipes.

Good news! The answer is usually yes, but with some adaptations.

In fact, most slow cooker recipes convert pretty easily for the pressure cooker.

This was something I discovered out of necessity after purchasing my Instant Pot.

I had intentions of making a slow cooker meal for dinner one day, but I forgot to throw everything into the slow cooker earlier in the day. As dinnertime neared, I wondered if I could make the same meal in my Instant Pot pressure cooker instead.

Imagine my surprise when pressure cooker recipe conversion turned out to be soeasy to do!

Its worth noting that the Instant Pot actually has a slow cooker function, which you can always use to make your favorite slow and low meals.

But, if you are like me and sometimes need a faster method of meal preparation, using the pressure cooker function of the Instant Pot is a great way to cut meal prep time way down.

And dont forget that you can program a timer on the Instant Pot, allowing you to put everything in it now and have it start cooking later at a predetermined time.

Is An Instant Pot The Same As A Pressure Cooker

Next popular question is if Instant Pot is the same as any other electric pressure cooker? Yes, it is. Instant Pot is a brand name for an electric pressure cooker. Other equivalent popular rivals are Ninja Foodi, Cosori, CrockPot Express, Power Pressure Cooker XL etc. If you have any of these, you can follow any Instant Pot recipe, just button names might differ slightly.

Instant Pot just happens to be the most popular brand, and often the most affordable. You do not need to buy an Instant Pot if you have an electric pressure cooker already. Especially, since most recipes use no preset buttons and cook on Manual high or low pressure, occasionally using Saute.

Cleaning: Need help with cleaning your appliance? Check out our easy how to clean your Instant Pot post with video.

Read Also: Tamales In Instant Pot

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Before You Convert A Recipe Ask Yourself: Is The Recipe A Good Choice For The Pressure Cooker

The 3 Things You Must Change When Converting Slow

The first step is picking a recipe that is well suited to the pressure cooker. The pressure cooker requires liquid to achieve pressure. So ideally the recipe will have some liquid in the recipe already. Slow cooker recipes, soups, meats, legume and grain recipes are generally easily adapted to the pressure cooker.

If you want a crispy, fried coating on your meat or veggies, pressure cooking is not the best method. If youre cooking meat thats very lean, or expensive and tender already, the pressure cooker is probably not the best method for cooking that meat.

The pressure cooker excels at taking tough, fatty meats and turning them into tender, succulent meat. It excels at making soups quickly that taste like theyve simmered all day long.

Its also perfect for cooking root vegetables. Two of my favorite vegetables to cook in the pressure cooker are potatoes for potato salad and spaghetti squash. Its the only way I cook rice now, and it makes cooking dry beans a breeze.

Read Also: Can You Use Crockpot Liners In An Instant Pot

Carnitas The Easy Way

According to Wikipedia, Carnitas are made by braising or simmering pork in oil or preferably lard until tender.

You guys, I have been doing this carnitas thing all wrong! I do NOT simmer my pork roast in lard or oil!

But guess what? My recipe for Instant Pot Mexican Pork still tastes a LOT like traditional carnitas–tender, juicy, and full of flavor. Just minus the lard and the HOURS of work!

So while this recipe may not be traditional, it is easy and delicious–and everyone loves these Instant Pot Carnitas!

How To Make Instant Pot Pulled Pork

  • Cube the pork into 3-4 inch chunks. This allows your pork to become SUPER tender and shred easily after pressure cooking.
  • Mix together the spices in a small bowl and then and liberally rub them over the pork, coating each piece in the spice rub.
  • Add the pork to the instant pot, along with the apple juice and liquid smoke.
  • Set high pressure on your Instant Pot by hitting the manual button or pressure cook button on your pressure cooker until high pressure lights up. To adjust the time use the + and – buttons. Read more about this on Instant Pot Functions.
  • Cook on High Pressure for 40 minutes for a pork shoulder or pork butt or on High Pressure for 30 minutes for a pork loin roast.
  • Once cook time has elapsed, it is very important to allow the pressure to release naturally for at least 15 minutes when cooking large cuts of meat in your instant pot. If you do a quick release or pressure, your pork can become tough, making it difficult to shred.
  • Place your pork loin into a large bowl and use 2 forks or a hand-held kitchen mixer to shred meat.
  • Mix with your favorite BBQ sauce, if desired. This meat is super flavorful without the need for added BBQ sauce.

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How To Use Instant Pot As Slow Cooker

Here are the steps you need to follow when you want to use your Instant Pot as a slow cooker:

  • Prepare the food for slow cooking and place it in the inner pot.
  • Close the lid .
  • Press the Slow Cook button.
  • Hit the Adjust button and make the setting to Normal or High .
  • Set the time.
  • Enjoy the magic :]
  • As you can see, its not complicated. Still, it may take a few tries before you discover the perfect settings for your preferences.

    Also, I recommend trying various recipes, to understand the differences between types of foods and cooking times.

    What Is The Slow Cooker Setting On An Instant Pot

    How to Convert Recipes to Instant Pot Recipes

    Now that you know the downsides of using an Instant Pot on the slow cooker setting, we will tell you how to set the Instant Pot onto the slow cooker setting. Following these steps will allow you to slow cook with an Instant Pot:

  • First, plug the Instant Pot into a power outlet.
  • Put the ingredients for the recipe you have chosen into the pot. There must be at least 1 cup of liquid in it. Put the lid on and seal it.
  • On the front panel, you will see many options but look at the very bottom of the panel. You should see a button labeled Slow Cook. Press the button.
  • Pressing the button will put your Instant Pot into slow cooker mode. The next thing you need to do is adjust the time according to your recipe. For example, if you are referencing a crockpot recipe, add 15 minutes per hour to increase the cooking time.
  • Adjust the mode to low, normal, or high after setting the time using the plus and minus buttons. Do this by pressing the button labeled Adjust.
  • After adjusting the mode according to your recipe, press Start, make sure your lid is closed correctly, and the knob on top of the lid is set to Venting.
    • Save

    While you can use your Instant Pot for slow cooking, please remember that its primary purpose is pressure cooking to speed cooking up.

    • Save

    Also Check: Can Instant Pot Go In Dishwasher

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    Instant Pot Vs Slow Cooker

    Theres also a heat source at the bottom of the Instant Pot

    But a ceramic inner pot will not hold heat in its walls

    for a very long time . Also, the heat is generated

    by the steam trapped in the pot, which is great for quick cooking

    but not so great for slow cooking. Heat is distributed unevenly during cooking

    which results in uneven textures and a slight change in taste. Therefore

    professional chefs and foodies may know you cheated

    and used an Instant Pot instead of a traditional slow cooker.

    The difference is likely to be incomprehensible to you and me

    Therefore, we find the Instant Pot to be a great option for slow cooker recipes

    Enjoy a variety of cuisines in the pot 3L multi-function electric hot pot. With a rustic design, white simple lines integrate with the home space without violation. Multi-meal is delicious and not heavy!

    $57.47

    Turning your favorite all-day slow cooker dish into

    a 30-minute pressure cooker special is simple and straightforward

    if you follow a few basic criteria, such as how much liquid to use

    and how to change the cooking time. You may use an Instant Pot as a slow cooker

    in two ways. You can either use the Slow Cook mode

    or the Pressure Cook option to produce the recipe.

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    Most Important Instant Pot Buttons

    There are a lot of buttons which can be intimidating. Most of these are just presets though with suggested cooking times set for that type of food . I rarely use these presets since I prefer to set times myself as specified in recipes. The 3 buttons that I use most are:

    • Manual : This is the most important button. This button allows you to set your own pressure cooking time. Example: Recipe says to pressure cook for 10 minutes: After locking the lid in place and setting the steam release valve to Sealing, just press the Manual button and use the and buttons to change the cook time to 10. After a few seconds, you will hear a series of beeps and the display will show On to indicate the start of the pressure cooking process.
    • Sauté: This button basically turns your Instant Pot into a regular pot which means that you can do it all without dirtying a second pot. This function is used with the lid off and allows you to sear/brown meats and sauté vegetables at the beginning of a recipe. You can also use this function to simmer and thicken sauces at the end of a recipe.
    • Keep Warm/Cancel: Use this button to cancel any function. If it is pressed while the Instant Pot is in standby mode, it will activate the Keep Warm mode.
    • Although I rarely touch any of the preset buttons, there is one exceptionthe Soup function. I tend to use this when making broth since this setting also controls the pressure and temperature to ensure that the liquid never goes into a heavy boiling state.

    Is A Browning Function A Must Have In A Pressure Cooker

    New Features Instant Pot Duo Version 2

    Although when preparing a meal it is easy to sauté or brown your meat and vegetables in a pan and toss them into the pressure cooker seems like a simple step, the added convenience of not needing an extra pan in nice.

    If the idea of a sink full of dishes to clean up after youve enjoyed a good meal is not appealing to you, then definitely get a pressure cooker that has this function.

    Not only will it decrease your prep time if you already frequently sauté your meals, it can also encourage you to try new recipes.

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    Which Lid Should I Use For Slow Cooking

    The best option is to get the Instant Pot glass lid. This lid has a steam vent and stainless steel rim, and it’s a great option when you slow cooking with the Instant Pot.

    It allows moisture loss and prevent your chili from swimming in water.

    And since it’s clear, it give you the option to peak in, which is always nice :]

    How To Make Instant Pot Yogurt Cups

    Yogurt cups are a convenient way to portion out your yogurt into individual or smaller servings. After adding the starter culture to the pasteurized or warm milk, carefully pour the milk into your yogurt cups and seal them tightly. Clean the inner pot thoroughly and place the steam rack/trivet on the bottom of the inner pot. Place the sealed yogurt cups on the steam rack and add water to the inner pot until the cups are submerged halfway. Follow steps in Fermenting Yogurt above.

    Also Check: Instant Pot C1 Error

    Understand The Difference Between Natural Release Vs Quick Release

    Natural release is usually for recipes that contain more liquid and that you want more tender. It can take anywhere from 5-30 minutes longer for the pressure to release than in the quick mode since your insta-pot does it gradually.

    Pro tip: For some recipes, you should be able to leave the natural release for 10 minutes before you do a manual quick release if you dont want to wait the full time for the natural release.

    Quick release is when you manually switch the valve to depressurize and are more for foods that cook quickly, like veggies or pastas.

    Pro tip: Since youre relieving the pressure quickly, make sure to aim the vent away from you and others for safety reasons and your kitchen cabinets to preserve them and prevent unnecessary damage.

    The Quantity Of Liquid

    Slow Cook in the Instant Pot

    We all know that IP needs some type of liquid to get to pressure. This is how it works and there is no way around this. The liquid is used to power up the pot and delivers amazingly with regular and steamed recipes.

    However, when you want something with a thick texture cooked slowly you need a traditional slow cooker. With a Crock Pot, even if the dish starts with more liquid, it will evaporate during cooking.

    With an electric pressure cooker like the Instant Pot , this isnt possible because the lid is tightly sealed. Sure, the steam release valve is open, so some steam is released, but the result just isnt the same.

    I made a few recipes using the slow cooker function in my Instant Pot. Some were great and some were tasty but a little watery.

    Your first try

    If you are cooking a recipe for the first time, use the same amount of water \ liquid as in the original slow cooker recipe.

    For example, If the recipe calls for 2 cups – use 2 cups. It may work and it would be tasty anyway.

    Your second try

    If the final dish on the first try was too watery, you have 2 options:

    1. Use less liquid than in the original recipe.2. Use another lid that isn’t as tight.

    Recommended Reading: Instant Pot Frozen Pork Loin

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