Instant Pot and Crockpot/Slow cooker users section Myths or Facts

440 Views 4 Replies 3 Participants Last post by Spenser, 18 d ago

Spenser

Discussion Starter · 1 mo ago

This is something I got into decades ago, pressure cooking food and slow cooking food. Of course, each to their own, some may prefer one over the other, and some may use both, I fit into that category.

While I love slow cooking food for that ultimate tender pull off the bone greatness for making my soups, stews, and meats, I find my Instant Pot just as useful for making foods like Quinoa, Couscous, Rice, Artichokes, potatoes, etc., at the fraction of the time compared to cooking on the stovetop.

There are some kind of Myths going around out there that I have fallen prey to. The 'al Dante' 3-minute Rice for example, and no they didn't mention this was al Dante', that just was the end result. It mentions preboil water or stock and then cook everything in Instant Pot for 3 minutes and then let it natural release.

Ok, it was edible, but it wasn't that soft fluffy Chinese rice that I love. This is where eyeglasses would have been helpful, as I noticed the 'RICE' button feature after the fact which cooks the rice 10-13 minutes (once it reaches pressurization) followed by a 10 to 15-minute natural release. What works for me is 1 cup of rice mixed with 1 cup of stock and 2 TBSP of water. (Also curious why this works so well when stovetop requires 2 cups of liquid, should have not dozed off in Nutrition class)

Now about pressure cooking meat. This is where I am curious of other people's experiences and preferences here. I have tried pressure cooking meat, but maybe I am too picky or set in my ways, but I can tell the difference how much more tender slow cooking is. Hmm, I guess there is an exception.

Have any of you tried velveting meat and then pressure cooking it. For those that are not familiar with this process, Think Chinese Food. Velveting is the process of marinading meat in a tenderizer. For example , cornstarch and egg whites (some variants use Rice wine vinegar) and letting it sit in the fridge for 30 minutes to an hour, or another way to velvet meat is using Baking Soda and either water or Rice Wine Vinegar.

I have not tried this method as of yet, and it won't be this week either as I am slow cooking chicken stock as I write this thread. BUt I am very curious if anyone has tried this method and if it will make a huge difference, as it does when using the boiling method, then stir frying it.

I love being able to cook Artichokes in under 20 minutes including time it takes to pressurize, vs the 45 minutes to an hour steaming it on the stovetop.

What foods do you all prefer to use pressure cookers for and what do you guys n gals prefer to slow cook?

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trike lady

· #2 · 28 d ago

I just have a 2qt slow cooker and I have made chicken soup in it, a small pot roast and a small brisket. and it comes out very good. The pot roast and the brisket just flake apart. I use chicken breast for my soup and all the spices, I add diced potatoes with carrots and green beans. I cook up jasmine rice and add some to the finished soup (and have leftover rice). I use jasmine rice because it cooks quicker. I will alternate between the rice and the potatoes as not to have excess starch in my soup. I never used a pressure cooker or Instant-pot.

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Spenser

Discussion Starter · #3 · 27 d ago

trike lady said:
I never used a pressure cooker or Instant-pot.

The one thing I like about a pressure cooker or the instant pot for example, is that It takes 14-15 minutes of cooking then 10 minutes for the pressure to naturally release, which overall is a lot faster than cooking rice on the stove top, not to mention less water/stock needed. (2 cups water for stove top, 1 cup & 2 TBSP of water for Instant Pot)

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sparky5

· #4 · 19 d ago

I use my Instapot for pot roasts, lengua, barbacoa, and wild game. I like that it cooks faster than my slow cooker. It's great for rice and mashed potatoes too. I won't ever do chili in it ever again...ever. I've never heard of Velveting process.

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Spenser

Discussion Starter · #5 · 18 d ago

trike lady said:
I just have a 2qt slow cooker and I have made chicken soup in it, a small pot roast and a small brisket. and it comes out very good. I use chicken breast for my soup and all the spices, I add diced potatoes with carrots and green beans. I cook up jasmine rice and add some to the finished soup (and have leftover rice)

You probably are already aware of this but just in case you are not, the chicken soup that you made with chicken breast is a chicken broth instead of a chicken stock. The main difference between the two is that stock has chicken bones and cartilage in it which results in a gelatinous final product, having a richer & more intense flavor than a broth, not to mention it ends up looking like Jell-O.

sparky5 said:
I use my Instapot for pot roasts, lengua, barbacoa, and wild game. I like that it cooks faster than my slow cooker. It's great for rice and mashed potatoes too. I won't ever do chili in it ever again...ever. I've never heard of Velveting process.

I will only slow cook chili myself, I wouldn't use an instant pot either, for a chili, less using the instant pot as a slow cooker rather than a pressure cooker.

Velveting meat is a common practice in Chinese cooking and is why their beef and chicken are so tender and can be cut with a spoon. Only set back is sodium content, which is why I thoroughly rinse the meat prior to stir frying.

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