Insta pot

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Chicagolms
Chicagolms Posts: 7 Member
in Recipes
Looking for recommendations. Someone suggested I get an insta pot. I don’t want another appliance. I saw there was a 3 qt one. I need to meal prep on the weekend and need to have protein cooked and avail on fridge. I hate cooking chicken as it always seems dry. Someone said insta pot keeps it moist. ? Any thoughts. Thanks

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  • Sumiblue
    Sumiblue Posts: 1,597 Member
    edited October 2019
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    I love my 6 qt. Ultra Instant Pot. I use it several times a week. Most IP recipes are for the 6-8 qt size. Most savory recipes start with sautéing vegetables & meat in the IP first. The smaller size may mean you have to do that step in batches.
    I’ve used my IP for chili, soups, hard boiled eggs, dried beans, made yogurt & cheesecake in it. I’m planning on making Mulligatawny Soup later today.
  • montylilly
    montylilly Posts: 2 Member
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    Regarding chicken we had the same problem. So we brine it in water and salt for and hour, rinse, them cook in the oven. Comes out so moist every time.
    Also - I love my instant pot!
  • Chicagolms
    Chicagolms Posts: 7 Member
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    Do you use skinless chicken?
    montylilly wrote: »
    Regarding chicken we had the same problem. So we brine it in water and salt for and hour, rinse, them cook in the oven. Comes out so moist every time.
    Also - I love my instant pot!

  • biggiwig4483
    biggiwig4483 Posts: 90 Member
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    Mainly use mine to cook oatmeal or brownies. Love it!
  • OldHobo
    OldHobo Posts: 647 Member
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    Chicagolms wrote:
    Looking for recommendations. Someone suggested I get an insta pot. I don’t want another appliance. I saw there was a 3 qt one. I need to meal prep on the weekend and need to have protein cooked and avail on fridge. I hate cooking chicken as it always seems dry. Someone said insta pot keeps it moist. ? Any thoughts. Thanks
    My thought is, if you don't want another appliance, don't buy one. InstantPot is a pressure cooker, not as some would have you believe, a magic talisman for new cooks. There nothing a pressure cooker does that can't be done without one. I use mine to cook beans if I'm in a hurry.

    So get one or don't as your light leads, but please try to avoid becoming one of the cultists who feel compelled to answer every question with, "First you need to go buy an InstantPot ..."
  • pjwrt
    pjwrt Posts: 166 Member
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    I thought it was insta-thc. rip off thread.
  • Katmary71
    Katmary71 Posts: 6,558 Member
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    A lot of people cook a whole chicken in the Instant pot. I only eat chicken breasts and get them at Costco, they're stuck together so I defrost just enough to separate, put in pot with 3/4 cup of water and cup of salsa for 7 minutes with natural pressure release. You could use a cup of broth as well.

    If you have the space most recipes are for a 6qt. I'm cooking for just me so I eat what I cook for a week or freeze half. I make yogurt when my favorite isn't on sale. Lentils and beans don't need to be soaked first, I did black beans recently on the stove top it took 3 hours longer than the Instant pot.
  • CrmpetsNTea
    CrmpetsNTea Posts: 23 Member
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    I love my 6 Qt Instapot! I make hard boiled eggs in them in no time, and they peel more easily than traditional boiling does. Add Water, 4 Minutes, let sit 8-10 minutes, quick release steam, transfer to ice water to cool, and voila!
  • melking1969
    melking1969 Posts: 12 Member
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    i have a 3qt for the ski hill, and an 8qt for home. I use them all the time. Chicken comes out amazing. I love chicken and generally that is all I eat for protein.
    When i cook the chicken in the instant pot, just use some garlic and then when done, I slice, dice, or make soup. I do recommend them. Look on social media sites for the used ones. Sometime you can get them very reasonable.
  • redgrudge19
    redgrudge19 Posts: 10 Member
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    hey guys! I just purchased the 8qt ninja foodi (it was a 3:00am online shopping purchase to avoid work...). So far I have made two delicious, easy, fast, and nutritious veggie soups. both recipes were from Vegan Richa (lasagna soup and chickpea and potato stew). both cooked up in less than 15 minutes start to finish! my husband said it was better than anything he’d ever had in a restaurant 😊❤️! for me, it is a good way to get more tasty veggie servings into my diet.
  • amy19355
    amy19355 Posts: 805 Member
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    I recently retired my microwave oven and gained a nice chunk of counterspace!

    Why?

    Because, I can reheat the frozen stuff I prepped last week easily using the same Instant Pot that cooked it in the first place. If it takes 15 minutes to reheat my food instead of 5 minutes, I've accepted that I won't die waiting.

    I also have a cooktop with four burners that do just fine warming up a pan or pot full of something.

    (gotta admit - I've never really warmed up to microwaved food and threw away an awful lot of over-waved stuff throughout the years. and, it's a kind of spooky sort of energy that isn't as friendly as a nice blue gas flame.)

    Here's to Pressure Cooking for the win - electric or stove top - it's the bomb!!!
  • puffbrat
    puffbrat Posts: 2,806 Member
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    Why are you asking for Insta Pot recommendations if you don't want another appliance? There's nothing magical about it in terms of meal prep. You can prep the same meals using a stove and oven. As for dry chicken, look up recipes online and use a meat thermometer to make it better. Much cheaper and smaller.
  • hesn92
    hesn92 Posts: 5,967 Member
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    I don't usually cook chicken in mine, I don't really care for chicken shredded all to hell. Unless it's for chicken salad. But that's just me. I do like the instant pot for some things, but I admit I don't use it as much as some other people. I like it for beef stew and pulled pork, carnitas, other large chunks of meat. I use the slow cooker more, but you can use the instant pot as a slow cooker as well. I definitely wouldn't get the smaller instant pot though. Get a larger one if you are going to get one at all.
  • dreamer12151
    dreamer12151 Posts: 1,031 Member
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    After what seemed like years of debating "Should I/Shouldn't I get one" myself, I finally broke down and got one (during the Amazon sales, got a 6qt for like $40). Now I ask myself why I waited. I love it!

    Do you HAVE, OH MY GAWD HAVE to have one? No. Plenty of food prep can be done with stove/micro/hotplate/rice cooker/slow cooker or whatever your prefered method is. Does the IP make it a bit easier? Oh ya!
  • chantelbrooks24
    chantelbrooks24 Posts: 5 Member
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    Do you check your chicken with a meat thermometer? Chicken should not be dry unless it is overcooked. Same goes for pork.

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