Talk to me about: electric pressure cookers

[texsuze]

DH wants to get one of these appliances, based on rave recommendations from his brother. My only experience with pressure cookers are living with the antiquated, stove-top, noisy, scary ones that mom used to cook strange food in that I never liked My own brother does a hilarious imitation of the pressure cooker of our childhood days, complete with sound effects....

Anyway, having googled the new-fangled ones, I suppose it becomes a matter of which features, size needed, and reliability (i.e. which ones last more than a year). We are a 2-person household who does not do 'fancy'. And I presume they don't get hot enough to melt a Silestone countertop

Any thoughts, recommendations, things to consider would be appreciated!

[Larbear]

I have an electric pressure cooker (the Instant Pot) and I love it! It is soooo handy and not only is good for making cheesecakes but can do a whole bunch of other stuff with it. Lately I tend to do a lot of hard boiled eggs and chicken. Typically though I'm not organized enough to thaw stuff but I can chuck in the frozen chicken breast no problem. This past Thanksgiving I did a 6 lb frozen turkey breast in my Instant Pot and was done in an hour. I stuffed the bottom of the pot with rosemary, thyme and sage and you could taste the herbs (not strong) throughout the meat.

I bought mine just before Ultimate Dressage closed down based on all the reports. After reading them all I decided I had to have one

[Kelo]

So, I just got one a few weeks ago. So far been pleased with it, although my experience is pretty limited!

There's only me, so I don't cook THAT much. I got a 6Q, the base model, Instant Pot. So far I've found it simple to use and, maybe? a little bit faster. If you actually READ DIRECTIONS and maybe watch a couple "starter" videos on Youtube, it's very easy and has worked a charm for me.

My one complaint, I guess, is the time you see promised ("cooks in 15 minutes!") is misleading. With the time it takes to pressure up and depressurize, it can take a lot longer than they promise - that 15 min doesn't include the 5-10 min to pressurize or the 5-10 min to depressurize....

There are some pretty nutty IP fans out there that make it a point just to use it when a stove or oven are just as good, but I just search for easy, mostly dump-and-cook type recipes.

I've made a couple decent chicken recipes, a chicken tortellini soup, Kraft Mac & Cheese, and then a most excellent beef & broccoli.

The Mac & Cheese, I guess, was cool because it was a smidge faster, but mostly because you don't have to supervise the cooking process and less to clean. You just dump the stuff in, and then walk away til its ready (which was, like, 5 minutes). A lot fewer steps.

The other recipes, same deal - one pot, and you can walk away for awhile whilst it cooks.

All my recipes have so far made enough to feed me and have meals for leftovers (which is ideal - I take my meals to work, so basically cook 1-2x/week).

I found a treasure trove of "frozen dump" recipes for the slow cooker, which I have been using to great success. You put the ingredients together into a gallon bag and freeze them. Then when you're ready, grab one of these frozen pucks, throw it into the slow cooker and set for 8 hours. I LOVE these. Low effort, tasty, and then I just divvy them up for meals for the week.

I have now started collecting Instant Pot frozen dump recipes. I've yet to try them, but I'm promised that I can take these puppies from the freezer and have cooked food in an hour. Just dump, set, walk away. And if it works, then, *imitates Happy Days Fonzie* heeeeeeeeeeeeeyyyyyyy

[heddylamar]

I've used the IP a few times for mac and cheese. For some reason my SIL keeps asking me (no dairy; nearly vegan diet) to bring mac and cheese to family events she hosts?! Anyway, the IP is even better for making and traveling than the dutch oven ever was.

I combine per this recipe, (obviously, all water/vegetable broth, plus all cheddar, cheddar/swiss, cheddar/gouda, or whatever appeals) stick the lid on, and gather the rest of the ingredients. Then we drive 15 minutes to the in-laws where I plug the IP in, cook, and stir in the remainder of ingredients. No more transporting a hot, just out of the oven dutch oven!

[Kelo]

Nice! That sounds like a great deal!

Do you have any favorite recipes for the IP? I'm taking recommendations!

[heddylamar]

Nice! That sounds like a great deal!

Do you have any favorite recipes for the IP? I'm taking recommendations!

Have you checked out the earlier threads here and here?

I use the IP as just another tool, like a dutch oven. Most of my favorite dals and bean-based dishes (very few recipes there -- just cook by rote) like my Cuban uncle's mom's black beans and rice have migrated to either the stovetop PC or IP.