Pressure cooker/slow cooker

[mneeley490]

I've had the Crockpot Express 10 quart a few years now and am satisfied with it. My wife, however, hates the thing. She says it has too many buttons, confusing her and got herself an old school crockpot to cook with. lol

I was, like, press the slow cook button, select high or low, adjust cook time if necessary, and hit start. Nope, she hates the thing and will not use it lol.

My ex thought she had to have one of those. I think Weight Watchers recommended them. She used it once or twice, then gave up for the same reason. I never tried it. I kept the analog crockpot in the divorce. Just 3 settings, Off, Low, High. Suits me just fine. In fact, I just picked up a couple nice beef shanks (which are hard to find in this area for whatever reason), and will do an Italian braise on them soon.

 

[millerbuilds]

We have two instant pots, I call it the magic pot. I would go with the bigger one. Aside from making meals, which it is great. My favorite item is making stock with it, in 2-3 hours you can make stock compared 2-3 days on the stove top.

- Jason

 

[DougE]

I kept the analog crockpot in the divorce. Just 3 settings, Off, Low, High. Suits me just fine.

Lol, sounds about what my wife said about my Crockpot Express. I was, like push the slow cook button, choose low or high, and adjust cook time if necessary, then hit START.

"Ummm, nope I hate that thing and want a simple crockpot with a dial. I refuse to even wash it if you cook something in it I've eaten."

 

[clifish]

We have two instant pots, I call it the magic pot. I would go with the bigger one. Aside from making meals, which it is great. My favorite item is making stock with it, in 2-3 hours you can make stock compared 2-3 days on the stove top.

- Jason

Don't forget perfect hard boiled eggs!

 

[Fueling Around]

Bought the 6qt Instant Pot model.I trust ATK reviews and went for it.

Congrats on your purchase.
My wife's cousin has been trying to talk her into one for many years. We almost pulled the trigger on the combo pressure cooker & air fryer.
Also just the 2 of us now and never in that much of a hurry to cook a meal.

 

[millerbuilds]

Don't forget perfect hard boiled eggs!

YES, Absolutely the best eggs!!

- Jason

 

[DougE]

Don't forget perfect hard boiled eggs!

Thought they were delicious. The wife didn't. The yolks and whites were done without being overdone. I've always found the yolks on regularly boiled eggs to be hard and dry, and the whites rubbery. The ones I did were, for lack of a better term, "Velvety". Wife hated them.

 

[Straw_Sticks_Bricks]

So going on a spree and getting rid of the mediocre stuff.

Next up is a slow cooker/pressure cooker and have been eyeballing the Instant Pot brand Pro Multi-Use Cooker.It's just the two of us so the decision comes down to 6qt or 8qt.

Feedback from anyone who owns a multi-cooker especially on the the Instant Pot brand.It's an ATK best pick but still wouldn't mind hearing from others.

I may be a bit late to the party, but I've got two 8qt. Instant Pots and they are great. I think they are the best way to cook beans, broths, and a slew of other things. Pretty much everything they say they can do, they do well. Except replace a slow cooker. I've never been happy with the slow cooker function on my IPs. If I'm making a slow cooker recipe, an actual slow cooker seems to develop better flavor than the IP does. I think the big heavy crock makes a difference for slow cooking. But for single pan meals, pressure cooks, and even yogurt, the IP is hard to beat.

 

[millerbuilds]

Thought they were delicious. The wife didn't. The yolks and whites were done without being overdone. I've always found the yolks on regularly boiled eggs to be hard and dry, and the whites rubbery. The ones I did were, for lack of a better term, "Velvety". Wife hated them.

I guess they are not for everybody, but for me it is the best way to make them. In addition, they peel super easy!

- Jason

 

[Peterk1234]

The pressure cooker is a wonderful thing. Want to make perfect creme brulee? Pressure canner. How about venison ribs? Throw them in there until the weight starts to jiggle then take it off the heat. All the waxy tallow will be gone and it will be tender. Throw on your favorite rub and finish off in the grille.

And don't forget about canning. We can a lot of stuff. I'm new here but c'mon, you gotta be canning if you are into smoking food. Both are forms of food preservation!

Canning is also one of those lost arts. Comes in handy when you run out of freezer space.

 

[philpom]

YES, Absolutely the best eggs!!

- Jason

The hard boiled eggs we do in the instant pot are always the easiest to peel, they'll basically just falls off once you get it started.

Anyone thought about doing your eggs sous vide? You can find a temperature chart online to get any level of doneness you want.

 

[normanaj]

Since I donated the crock pot we're giving the slow cooker mode a try with a chuck today and see how it comes it.

Anybody use the sous vide mode on their Instant Pot?Aching to give that a try too.

 

[normanaj]

It'll be interesting to see the difference between a pressure cooked chuck and one done in slow cook mode.

 

[Winterrider]

The hard boiled eggs we do in the instant pot are always the easiest to peel, they'll basically just falls off once you get it started.

Anyone thought about doing your eggs sous vide? You can find a temperature chart online to get any level of doneness you want.

That's how I do mine all the time. 190° for 20 min. Ice bath very easy peel.
How long and temp you do in Instant ?

 

[philpom]

That's how I do mine all the time. 190° for 20 min. Ice bath very easy peel.
How long and temp you do in Instant ?

1 cup of water, as many eggs as you want on the trivet. 5 minutes high pressure, 5 minutes natural pressure release, in the ice bath. This is for easy peel regular hard boiled eggs.

 

[Peterk1234]

Technically slow cooking here. Dutch oven, low and slow. Chili with small chunks of cold smoked pork shoulder. I only smoked the meat two days because it got to minus 18 at night. Has a nice smoke but I'd like to keep it in the smoker for a week next time.

 

[chopsaw]

How long and temp you do in Instant ?

I do 1 cup water . Up to 12 eggs up off the bottom . High pressure for 2 minutes , 15 minute natural release , then ice bath .

 

[normanaj]

Completely useless as a slow cooker in slow cook setting.It never even gets hot enough to get out of pre-heat mode,it gets close and then cools down and stays luke warm at best.

What I've discovered is if you put it on the saute setting and use custom settings to put it at the lowest possible temp in saute that it will get hot enough to act as a slow cooker but when you do this the max time you can set is 30 minutes.

Unfortunately I went back to the thrift store to buy back my crock that I donated but it was already gone so now I need to re-invest in a new slow cooker.

Love having a pressure cooker but as a slow cooker this thing sucks and to be honest I probably wouldn't have bought it if I knew it couldn't slow cook,I could've easily bought a dedicated pressure cooker and kept my old crock.

It does cook rice insanely well and does steam veggies well.Will have to try eggs also.The yogurt function is useless to me with my lactose issues.The saute and pressure cook in the same pot is its best attribute,I guess I have to use it more to appreciate that it does more than one thing and that pressure cooking does make for really fast meals!

 

[chopsaw]

I never tried mine as a slow cooker . Maybe there's something else you need to do ?
I saw something about adjusting the temps .

 

[normanaj]

I never tried mine as a slow cooker . Maybe there's something else you need to do ?
I saw something about adjusting the temps .

It just plain sucks as a slow cooker.I been playing with it all day and it just doesn't do well as a slow cooker.Like I said it will work well as a slow cooker in saute setting in custom mode with the lowest possible temp but the 30 minute max time means babysitting it.

My enameled cast iron dutch is just as good as any plug in slow cooker so I'm good.My last post was just out of frustration.