So, we got one of our tax returns back and decided to splurge on a gadget for the kitchen. I have been looking at the
Instant Pots for a while now, a lot of my online friends and fellow foodies have been getting them. I had originally looked at the DUO60 when it was on sale, but we didn't have the money at the time. Seriously glad we waited.
Hubby was going to surprise me, but realized he wasn't sure which pot I wanted, so had to ask. Like I said, looked at the DUO60, but it wasn't on sale, but the IP-LUX50 was and I had decided the LUX was just what I needed (no intention of doing yogurt and such, so don't really need the low pressure setting). The I noticed there was a new model that not only had everything I wanted, but some new extra setting AND was a 6 qt, rather than the 5 qt. And only $1 more in cost. So went for that one. Am so glad I did.
The cooker came with a very nice quick reference guide, a manual and a recipe book to get you started:
I do RTFM, esp since I am rather scared of pressure cookers in the first place. They highly recommend running a preliminary test to familiarize yourself with the cooker and I did. I highly recommend you do that also if you get a pressure cooker. This test was simply fill the pot 3/4 full and run it under the steam setting for 2 minutes. Not only did it give me a good feel of the way the cooker works, but also finished cleaning any impurities left over from manufacture if there are any (plus I had washed the pot and lit with good soap and hot water).
The first test I did was brown rice, which I have never been able to get a handle on no matter how many times or methods I tried. Measured out the rice, washed it and into the pot it went with water. Followed the instructions in the little recipe book and I had brown rice even hubby liked (he isn't a big brown rice fan).
So the next night was the next test. Hubby had texted asking what we were doing for dinner and I said hamburgers. He came back with "in the pressure cooker?" LOL! Funny...wait...
you can't use a pressure cooker to make hamburgers. In this case I made stuffed burgers. Found a recipe and tried it. Into the pressure cooker for a 5 minute cook. When I pulled them out I had big, cheese stuffed balls of meat. They were very tasty and juicy. Hubby quite liked them. I will try it again and play with the timing a bit to see if I can fine tune them.
The next test was chicken broth. I popped two rotisserie chicken carcasses in the pot, added a whole onion, quartered, some turmeric infused apple cider vinegar and a chunk of turmeric root. Set up the pot for 120 minutes and waited. The chickens had been lemon pepper, so there was plenty of seasoning from that.
The lovely aromas coming from the broth while it was cooking was too die for. When it was done I let is release naturally and then opened the vent. There was a LOT of steam still coming off and the smell of chicken broth was enough to make me want to pull the lid off before it finished so I could try it. I did wait and the wait was worth it. Very flavorful and will be fantastic in other dishes.
Got three lovely bags of stock that are now residing in the freezer for future use.
My next test was a picnic pork shoulder:
I had googled several sites for the process, read the recipe book and then set to work prepping the pork. I took the rind off (will use it to make cracklin) and then cut up the pork:
I then turned on the Instant Pot and pushed the saute button and once it was hot, added some oil and then started adding the chicks of pork that I had sprinkled with salt and pepper. When the pot said "hot" it meant "HOT!" There was some serious sizzling when the meat went in. I browned the meat in 3 batches and set them aside.
Added a little more oil and then added several generous spoonfuls of minced garlic. The smell was divine. Once that had sauteed a while I added a big of water to loosened the fond on the bottom and then added back the pork and the juices that collected on the plate. Added the rest of the water (1 cup) and a healthy splash of the turmeric infused apple cider vinegar.
Set the cooker to manual and set the time for 90 minutes. We had to pop out to the store for a bit and when we came back into the house, oh my Goddess the aroma was seriously to die for. Hubby said that was worth the price alone for the cooker.
When it was done I pulled the pork out and it was simply falling off the bone with little effort. Tried a bit and OH MY! Gave hubby a bit and he asked when's dinner LOL! Put the pork in a bowl and I had to use a skimmer as it kept falling apart when using tongs:
Took very little effort to shred the pork. Hubby had a couple of sandwiches plain with cheese. Decided he needed another and had it with some Longhorn BBQ sauce dribbled on. I had mine in steamed corn tortillas with cheese. NOM!!
Will be doing one more test this weekend with the slow cooker function. A recipe with chicken, mushrooms and mozzarella cheese. Will saute the mushrooms in the pot, then brown the chicken, add the other ingredients to slow cook for 6 hours. I fully expect it to come out wonderfully based on all the tests I have done so far.
All in all I am very happy with the IP-LUX60 v3 and can't wait to see what else I can cook in it. Once I am really familiar with it I will teach the hubby how to use it so he can start getting dinner ready before I get home from work. I do foresee it getting a lot of use.
I have a 6 qt slow cooker I absolutely love, but it I bought it in the mid 80s and I will not be getting rid of it. There are times I have not one slow cooker going, but 1 other, plus I have a 3rd that gets used quite a bit. I will tuck them into storage until I need to use them as I do occasionally do serious batch cooking.
I just however need to get a deep freeze and a pressure canner to store everything I will be cooking in my new gadget.
Will I recommend the Instant Pot to friends, oh yeah! Even friends who are not good at cooking may find this appliance to help them make better meals.
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