Instant Pot Recipes - I
  Re: Instant Pot Recipes - I by Mare749 (So, it seems that I ...)
Jean, that thingy is just fine. It's hard to remove it, but it does come off for cleaning. Ron had to wrestle it off for me. I usually just rinse it intact, but one time thought it might be gunked up, so we took it off.

I feel so bad that this did not meet your expectations, especially since I probably won't make stock any other way now. Maybe Alina will know what went wrong.
Maryann

"Drink your tea slowly and reverently..."
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  Re: Instant Pot Recipes - I by Mare749 (So, it seems that I ...)
O.K., I got that cover off and cleaned - it wasn't bad at all, thank God.

I will give the darn thing another try. I'm cooking short ribs in the slow cooker today, or I'd play with those in it. But, got to admit I thoroughly enjoy the aromas in the house with slow cooking/braising. So, I'm sure even when I'm more successful with it, I probably won't use it that often. In fact the only thing I use it for every week is for hard-cook eggs!!

But, I don't have the busy schedule you have. thanks for leading me thru this.
Retired and having fun writing cookbooks, tasting wine and sharing recipes with all my friends.
www.achefsjourney.com
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  Re: Instant Pot Recipes - I by Mare749 (So, it seems that I ...)
I believe it was too full. You want to fill it only about 2/3 of the pot (one of the reasons I love the 8 qt. never any issues). Paradoxically, it is the liquid that is the problem if too full.

Things to check: the rim of the liner is clean. Nothing has dribbled or spilled onto the ledge between the liner and the pot (the black rim), nothing on the bottom of the actual pot (not the liner). The seal is well seated on the lid (I run my nail on it all the way around to make sure it is in place below the steel bar all around), the valve moves freely up and down before closing the lid (sometimes there is gunk and the valve sticks a bit so it won't come all the way up for pressure).

I usually wash the lid with the thingee on as well. If I've had the pot really full, I take it off, and clean all the holes, the cover and the little gasket. Make sure to do this over a covered drain since the gasket is easy to loose (ditto for the valve which can also come off for heavy cleaning). Most of the time I just leave the thingee covered and use my dishwasing brush to clean it while on.

Remember the higher the pot is filled, the longer it will take to come to full pressure.

I just made 4 cups of rinsed long grained white rice (with 4 cups of water, 1 TBS. of bacon fat and 1 TBS of liquid coconut oil) in my 6 qt., so it was filled more than usual for rice. I pressed the rice setting and it took about 15 minutes to come to pressure. I usually turn it off and leave it, but this time I got distracted, so it went into keep warm for over an hour and completely depressurized. It is the best white rice I've ever made and I didn't have to watch it all. The pot rinsed clean without scrubbing at all (I did anyway because...)

One other thought, in the 8 qt., I made a Cuban stew with 4.5 of beef with 4.5 lbs. of russets, 1.5 cups of onions, about 7 oz. of tomato sauce, 1.5 green bell and spices, 1.5 cups of dry sherry and .75 cups of water. When it was done, there way way more than the original cups of liquid. After I stored the meat etc. with liquid in 2  2.75 qts. Pyrex dishes, I still had over a qt. of liquid left over. The potatoes and the onions yield a lot liquid as they cook, so I'm going to omit the water next time. The point is that making broth with veggies that yield liquid, you need to be extra careful.

Sorry for the verbosity, hope some of it is helpful.
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  Re: Instant Pot Recipes - I by Mare749 (So, it seems that I ...)
Lots of great info, Alina. Thank you!

So, I had an unexpected "issue" with my IP tonight. I put some ribs in it with a cup of water on the bottom, closed the valve, and used the manual setting, high pressure for 20 minutes. Well, I was doing something else on the counter and my arm brushed the cancel button. When I tried to re-set it, the whole thing just seemed to freeze up! I think it messed up the programming.

So, after trying to reset it a few times with no luck, I decided to just release the pressure, open the pot and start all over. That worked and all was well once again. There does seem to be a learning curve.
Maryann

"Drink your tea slowly and reverently..."
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  Re: Instant Pot Recipes - I by Mare749 (So, it seems that I ...)
Thanks to you both, Alina and Maryann - I'll figure out something to 'practice' with later this week and give it another go. I'm just glad I didn't ruin anything.
Retired and having fun writing cookbooks, tasting wine and sharing recipes with all my friends.
www.achefsjourney.com
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  Re: Instant Pot Recipes - I by Mare749 (So, it seems that I ...)
I eat brown basmati mainly because the carb content is about 30% lower than standard white rice and on my cut I need to limit carbs wherever I can to fit my calorie goal.
White basmati is probably my favourite rice, along with jasmine. I don't really like the standard white long grain.
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  Re: Instant Pot Recipes - I by Mare749 (So, it seems that I ...)
Welcome R2D2!  Basamati is our favorite!  We don't eat a lot of rice, but when we do, it is Basamati more often than not.
Daphne
Keep your mind wide open.
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  Re: Instant Pot Recipes - I by Mare749 (So, it seems that I ...)
This is an awesome thread!

Cuisine at Home has a new Slow cooker cook book out that has an IP recipe section. I just ordered the DUO80. Getting ready for Fall & Winter cookin. Big Grin
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  Re: Instant Pot Recipes - I by Mare749 (So, it seems that I ...)
Thanks for the heads up, Blane!  I need to check it out!  I've already started thinking about fall recipes.  I even made a pot roast recently!
Daphne
Keep your mind wide open.
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  Re: Instant Pot Recipes - I by Mare749 (So, it seems that I ...)
Thanks, Blane. I was thinking of ordering that slow cooker book. You are going to love the IP. I still use mine once or twice a week, sometimes more. I keep it out on the counter because I use it so much.

Please let us know what recipes you try when you receive it.
Maryann

"Drink your tea slowly and reverently..."
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