Yep, I’ve jumped on the Instant Pot bandwagon! I got mine last July (an 8 quart model) but it took me until last week before breaking it out and trying it. It sounded great but for some reason, all the options, terminology and cooking under pressure intimidated me. I felt as if I needed to set aside an entire day to learn how to use this new gadget.
In truth, It was less than three hours from the time I opened my box to the time I had successfully made Beef Goulash! But I’m getting ahead of me.
Instant Pot Setup
First, the intimidation factor. There’s a pretty decent size manual. But when I looked at it, I realized it’s one manual in three languages! Here’s the portion that actually pertains to English and part of that is just generic warnings and trouble shooting – yada, yada, yada stuff.
Not much to that is there?
But I’ll be honest, what’s there isn’t that helpful. I spent five minutes spinning my wheels because it was not clear to me how or where to put the Condensation Collector.
Google and Amy & Jacky of Pressure Cooker Recipes to the rescue! Amy & Jacky don’t know it but they’re my new BFFs if only for having this post: Set Up Your Instant Pot – 7 Easy Steps to Instant Pot Setup. Boom Step 5 – Install Condensation Collector.
The rest of the information was incredibly helpful too. Though some not necessary. For example, my electric cord is attached to my machine. No need to connect it. And my sealing ring (step 3.2) came attached. It looked good to me.
I also learned that natural release (NR) is when you just let your Instant Pot sit after cooking so that the pressure releases naturally (just what it says). You can tell when the pressure is released by the Floating Valve.
When it’s up like that it means the pot is still under pressure and do NOT take the lid off.
I also learned that Quick Release (QR), is when you move the Venting Knob to let the pressure out quickly.
You have to be careful when doing this because hot steam will come out quickly. Here check this out to see what I mean:
It’s not difficult to move the venting knob. It’s not tight or anything. I do it using a pot holder or oven mitt but I’ve seen others say they do it with a long spoon. You can read more about Quick Release and Natural Release here.
Instant Pot Use
I also used Amy and Jacky’s instructions for the Instant Pot Water Test. You do this to make sure your pot is set up correctly and pressurizes.
Then I moved on to an actual recipe and used my Instant Pot to make Beef Goulash. I couldn’t believe how good it was and how quick!
But my favorite thing to make in the Instant Pot is hard-boiled eggs! I had resorted to buying hard-boiled eggs because no matter what I did, my eggs never came out good. Not anymore! I’ve done it twice so far and both times I got perfect eggs that were easy to peel! I used this recipe and the included trivet for the eggs and they’re amazing! I may soon invest though in this multi-level egg stacker.
Instant Pot Issues
The only thing that bothers me about the Instant Pot, and it’s minor, are the guides to align the lid in Open and Closed positions. Check this out.
You can clearly see the guide indicators on the lid but see the up arrow indicating the Open position on the base, circled in yellow in the pic in the corner? Yeah I don’t see it either. I run my finger along the base to get to it and then put the lid on the Instant Pot. Again, a minor inconvenience but an inconvenience nonetheless.
Final Thoughts
I need to use it as a slow cooker next but if that works, I’m tossing my crockpot and steamer. I’m very excited though by the prospect!