When Should I Use Quick Release
Quick Release is used to prevent your food from overcooking. Some dishes are sensitive, such as when cooking chicken in an Instant Pot or Macaroni and Cheese. The last thing anyone wants is for chicken to become rubbery or mac and cheese to be too mushy.
To prevent these things from happening, its essential to complete the cooking process as fast as possible. Using the Quick Release does just that.
You May Like: How Long To Cook Brisket In Instant Pot
Instant Pot Recipes Made Simple
Do you wish you could find one-pot meals that are simple and easy to make and your family will love?
Youre about to find out how simple it is to make healthy, one-pot meals with your Instant Pot or electric pressure cooker with my cookbook Instant Pot Recipes Made Simple. You can download it instantly to your phone, computer or e-reader, so its portable and can go with you anywhere!
With this book, youll get:
- Tried-and-true recipes the whole family will love including pot roast, spaghetti, tacos, carnitas, soups, and easy breakfast meals
- Instant Pot starter guide on how to use the buttons, tips and tricks, and more
- Printable shopping lists for ingredients
- Step-by-step video lesson on how to use your Instant Pot, pressure cooker safety, and some of my favorite tips and tricks
- Two-week meal plan that you can put into action for no-stress weeknight dinners
When Do You Do A Natural Pressure Release
You use a Natural Release in those electric pressure cookers recipes when you want the food to continue cooking.
Since the pressure releases gradually, thereâs less movement in the Instant Pot.
With the Natural Release method, the skin on foods like a whole chicken or turkey breasts stays intact since the pressure and temperature go down gradually.
This is similar to allowing meats to rest after theyâve roasted. In turn, this keeps meats juicy, tender, and flavorful.
For foamy foods like grains and pasta, doing a Natural Release reduces mess from foam. It also prevents a lot of liquid spurting out of the steam release valve or clogging it.
While Natural Release is the slowest pressure release method, it has advantages like retaining flavor and tenderness in meats.
Itâs also an excellent way to avoid foam spurting from the steam release valve when making Instant Pot potato soup, broths, beans, grains, foamy foods. Or recipes with large liquid volume or high starch content like congee and porridge.
You May Like: How To Defrost Ground Beef In Instant Pot
How To Use Your Instant Pot To Slow Cook
Instant Pots slow cook function works differently than a stand-alone slow cooker. Here I will explain how to use your Instant Pot as a slow cooker.
PIN FOR LATER
Ill keep it real with you. I came to the conclusion that while the Instant Pot is great at cooking things fast, if I want to cook low & slow Ill use an actual slow cooker. But I also happen to have 6 slow cookers so I dont need to use my Instant Pot to slow cook. I understand thats not the case for everyone . Have you ever tried to slow cook a beef roast in your Instant Pot only for the roast to be undercooked & the potatoes and vegetables hard? Youre not alone. Its happened to me too. Trust me, when used properly, you can successfully use your Instant Pot to slow cook.
How To Quickly Release The Pressure
If a recipe calls for a quick release, that means youll need to move the steam release valve from the Sealing position to the Venting position as soon as the Instant Pot beeps, signaling that the cooking cycle is complete.
Make sure that you dont place your hand directly over the vent, as steam will shoot out the top of the steam release valve. Instead, keep your hand to the side of the valve or use a spoon to turn the vent, if youre on the extra-cautious side. I always use my hand and have never had an issue.
Don’t Miss: How Long To Cook Frozen Pork Ribs In Instant Pot
Account For Instant Pot Prep Time
Instant pot recipes count the cook time as the actual time your food is being cooked in the pot. But, it does take a few minutes for the instant pot to reach the temperature and pressure to start its cooking, so keep that in mind. If your recipe says 15 minutes in the instant pot, add another 10-20 minutes for the warm up and cool down.
Pro tip: Use the time it takes for the insta-pot to warm up to take care of some of your meal prep.
How To Safely Remove The Lid
Are you worried about your Instant Pot exploding? That was my biggest fear when I got started, too. Luckily, the Instant Pot is loaded with safety features to help prevent that from happening, but the best thing you can do is learn how to use it properly to avoid any user errors.
Its NOT safe to remove the lid from your Instant Pot until all of the pressure has been released from the pot. Youll know its safe to remove the lid when the floating valve in the lid drops. This means all of the pressure is gone, and the Instant Pot lid will easily twist off.
Never ever try to force the lid off the pot if it doesnt twist easily. As a safety precaution, the Instant Pot locks the lid while the pot is still pressurized, so dont try to fight it.
Read Also: How To Make Yogurt In Electric Pressure Cooker
Does Instant Pot Turn Off Automatically
- Save
Cant remember when to turn off your Instant Pot? Are you here to ask, Does an Instant Pot turn off automatically? The Instant Pot manufacturers have got your back when it comes to this issue. Yes, your Instant Pot does come with an automatic shutdown function. You need to activate the timer, and when its done, the pot will shut off.
Here in the article, we will see how the Instant Pot turns off automatically, and well help you understand its workings.
Instant Pot Manual Setting
Depending on the model, the Instant Pot manual setting button will either say Pressure Cook or Manual. This is the setting youre likely to use the most. The temperature, pressure level and cooking times can be adjusted on the control panel.
- Turn the Instant Pot on. It should say OFF on the screen, indicating its in the Stand-By mode.
- Select Pressure Cook button . The default settings will be Normal mode on High pressure. If you press the Pressure Cook button again, it will change from Normal mode to Less or More, which simply changes the automatically programmed cooking time. Less would be 20 minutes and More would be 45 minutes.
- Use the +/- keys to change the cooking time in each mode. In most cases, you will leave it in Normal mode and simply adjust the time as needed.
- Use Pressure Level button to adjust the pressure level press it to toggle between High and Low. For most recipes, you will use High pressure except for cooking more fragile foods like fish, seafood or fast-to-cook vegetables.
- With the manual setting, you can use Natural Release or Quick Release or a combination of both once the cooking is done.
Don’t Miss: What Does It Mean To Natural Release Instant Pot
Sealing Vs Venting On Instant Pot
If you want the magic of Pressure Cooking, you must allow pressure to be trapped in your electric pressure cooker.
Pressure is trapped in your Instant Pot when no air is allowed to escape. Therefore, it is crucial you assure that you turn the valve on your Instant Pot to “Sealing” and that you inner ring is properly attached to your Instant Pot.
If those two things are not done, pressure will NOT be trapped and your Instant Pot will not reach pressure to begin the cooking time.
Pressure is reached on an electric pressure cooker, when the pin raises to the upright position, the lid locks, and the timer begins to count down the cooking time.
Having trouble with your float valve rising?Check out Reasons Your Instant Pot May Not Be Sealing.
The venting position is used to do a quick pressure release. Confused at what a quick pressure release is? Read on!
Should I Get A Pressure Cooker A Slow Cooker Or A Rice Cooker
-
We have a new favorite stovetop pressure cooker, the 8.5-quart Fissler Vitaquick.
Weve spent more than 200 hours researching and testing these cookersgoing through hundreds of pounds of rice, beans, meat, and stockas well as testing them over the long term in our own homes. This guide will help you figure out which type of cooker is best for your needs, whether thats cooking fast or slow, braising hearty pot roasts and stews, or making rice and steamed veggies.
If you have a little more time to cook, you might also consider a Dutch oven or a sous vide cooker. But those tools arent quite as helpful for times when youre out of the house or you need to get food on the table fast.
Dont Miss: Which Instant Pot Has The Recall
Don’t Miss: How To Cook Frozen Tamales In Instant Pot
Every Instant Pot Button Explained
Soup/Broth. This button cooks at High Pressure for 30 minutes. Adjusted to more cooks for 40 minutes. Adjusted to less cooks for 20 minutes.
Meat/Stew. This button cooks at High Pressure for 35 minutes. Adjusted to more cooks for 45 minutes. Adjusted to less cooks for 20 minutes.
Bean/Chili. This button cooks at High Pressure for 30 minutes. Adjusted to more cooks for 40 minutes. Adjusted to less cooks for 25 minutes.
Poultry. This button cooks at High Pressure for 15 minutes. Adjusted to more cooks for 30 minutes. Adjusted to less cooks for 5 minutes.
Rice. This button cooks at Low Pressure and is the only fully automatic program. It is for cooking white rice and will adjust the cooking time depending on the amount of water and rice in the cooking pot.
Multigrain. This button cooks at High Pressure for 40 minutes. Adjusted to more cooks for 45 minutes of warm water soaking time and 60 minutes pressure cooking time. Adjusted to less cooks for 20 minutes.
Porridge. This button cooks at High Pressure for 20 minutes. Adjusted to more cooks for 30 minutes. Adjusted to less cooks for 15 minutes.
Less | Normal | More. Adjust between the Less | Normal | More settings by pressing the same cooking function button repeatedly until you get to the desired setting.
and Buttons. Adjust the cook time up or down .
Slow Cook. Adjust to slow cook on low , normal , or high . Use and to increase or decrease the cook time.
Cancel. End a cooking program at any time.
Do You Seal The Instant Pot When Slow Cooking
No. There is no need to seal the Instant Pot completely when you use your Instant Pot slow cooker function.
When slow cooking in the Instant Pot, you can cover the pot using a tempered glass lid or the regular Instant Pot lid.
If you are using the Instant Pot lid, you need to move the steam release valve to the venting position.
Read Also: How To Defrost Frozen Ground Beef
The Tip You Cannot Skip
Reading the manual.
As excited as you may be when you get your instant pot, there are a lot of buttons and functions of your insta-pot that you might not be familiar with. The best thing you can do is read the manual.
That aside, lets go over some other tips you should be aware of to make the most of your insta-pot.
What Is An Instant Pot
An Instant Pot is an electric pressure cooker. It is a multi-use appliance that can cook foods quickly at high pressure. Steam pressure builds up inside the pot, which creates a higher temperature environment that cooks foods faster. Unlike old fashioned pressure cookers, the Instant Pot has many safety features that make it safe and easy to use.
An Instant Pot is a pressure cooker, sauté pot, slow cooker, steamer, rice cooker, yogurt maker and warmer all in one. Ive been amazed at the versatility of my Instant Pot and the flavor and texture of the foods that I am able to cook in it. The high pressure inside the Instant Pot can tenderize even tough cuts of meat. It creates rich, complex flavors seriously, Ive never had better chili than Instant Pot chili!
If you are not sure which Instant Pot to buy, check out my guide to the Best Instant Pots. Ive also tested out many Instant Pot accessories so that I can share my favorites with you.
Also Check: Heat Tamales In Instant Pot
Why You Need An Instant Pot
The Instant Pot is definitely not an old school manual pressure cooker. It has plenty of onboard safety features made possible through electronics. For example, a host of sensors help it self-regulate internal pressure and temperature. Theyre designed to ensure the Instant Pot operates within preset safety limits.
Sensors also detect whether the lid is locked or not. And unless the cover is firmly clamped down, the Instant Pot wont take on pressure. Likewise, once the cookers interior becomes pressurized, the lid automatically locks in place.
Factor in the numerous preprogrammed settings tailored to the type of food it cooks. All that makes Instant Pots light years ahead safety-wise of their ancient pressure cooker counterparts. Of course you still need to operate your appliance properly and with care.
Instant Pot Rice Setting
This button is made for cooking medium and long-grain white rice. The Rice setting uses low pressure and a 10-minute natural release is recommended for perfect results, however, we found that 2-3 minutes natural release followed by quick release is sufficient. Below is how to use the Rice setting on Instant Pot.
- Turn the Instant Pot on, it will say OFF to indicate the Stand-By mode. Add rice, water or stock and seasoning if you wish. Secure and lock the lid. Press the Rice button. The default setting is pre-programmed to set the pot to cook at Low pressure for 12 minutes, which is suitable for slightly larger rice kernels. If you press the button again, you can adjust the mode from Normal to Less or More .
- Less mode 8 minutes at Low pressure tender but firm to bite texture great for thinner white rice such as Basmati and Jasmine rice.
- Normal mode 12 minutes at Low pressure for normal texture white rice great for regular medium to long-grain white rice and for more al dente Arborio risotto rice.
- More mode 15 minutes at Low pressure for softer texture white rice great for slightly softer risotto.
If desired, use the / + buttons to further customize the time. The cooking time may be adjusted at any time during pressure cooking.
RICE COOKING TIPS
1 cup of dry white rice usually yields 3 cups of cooked rice.
The perfect grain to water ratio is 1 cup white rice to 1.25 cups liquid if cooking risotto rice, the ratio is 1 cup Arborio rice to 2 cups liquid .
Read Also: Instant Pot Venison Roast
How To Do A Timed Natural Release
The timed natural release process can take 10 to 20 minutes. You can keep the Keep Warm mode on or off while doing a quick release in bursts. If you wish to turn this mode off, press Cancel.
When To Use High Or Low Pressure On The Instant Pot
Electric pressure cookers can be surprisingly difficult to understand, thanks to the abundance of multifunction buttons and not a lot of explanation about what those buttons do.
Take the pressure settings. On some models, high pressure is the only option. Others offer both a high and low pressure setting. And one in particular even allows you to select a specific psi .
So whats a cook to do?
You May Like: How To Get Smell Out Of Instant Pot Ring
The Slow Cooker Setting On The Ip
Most electric pressure cookers have not only the slow cook function but and a whole suite of buttons on the interface. Were only going to dig into the slow cook button in this blog post. While this function is great, there are a few differences that will trip you up if youre not careful. With the Instant Pot, the slow cooker function has a set of temperatures ranging from low to high. These temperatures are NOT same as the ones which are on a typical slow cooker. Here are a couple of conversions to make a note of to ensure optimum cooking in an instant pot:
Slow Cooker WARM setting = Instant Pot Slow Cook LOW settingSlow Cooker LOW setting = Instant Pot Slow Cook NORMAL settingSlow Cooker HIGH setting = Instant Pot Slow Cook HIGH+
conversion chart
*The Instant Pot HIGH setting never gets as hot as the slow cooker HIGH heating setting. If you are using a slow cooker recipe which calls for HIGH heat in a slow cooker, put your Instant Pot slow cooker function onto high and then add an extra 15 minutesof cooking time for every hour of that the recipe calls for. The longer cooking time is needed to compensate for the difference in temperature between the two appliances and make sure your food is fully cooked all the way through.