20 Instant Pot Thanksgiving Recipes If You Just Want To Eat ASAP (2024)

FAQs

What foods should not be cooked in an Instant Pot? ›

In fact, there are a handful of foods that just shouldn't be pressure-cooked. Among them are dairy and fried foods, as well as burgers and steaks.

Just like in a slow cooker, most dairy products such as cheese, milk and sour cream will curdle in an Instant Pot, no matter if you use the pressure cooking setting or the slow cooking setting. Add these ingredients after the dish cooks or avoid making the recipe in the Instant Pot altogether.

Yes, you can boil milk directly in the Instant Pot. However, there are some important tips to keep in mind to prevent the milk from scorching or curdling.

If there's one food group you should avoid in the Instant Pot, it's dairy. The high heat and pressure can cause milk and cheese to curdle, separate or clump together.

Mostly we boil potatoes in a pressure cooker, but like rice, potatoes also contain a lot of starch. This is the reason why boiling or cooking in this pressure cooker is not considered good for health. If you still plan to use cooker for the same, add a lot of water and wash them thoroughly post cooking.

You can still pressure cook leaner pieces – like eye of round and top sirloin – but these work best if they've been stuffed, shredded or rolled (with other ingredients). Best cuts of beef to use: Chuck steak, Round Roast, Shoulder, Pot roast, Ribs, Brisket, Oxtail.

Chuck roast, brisket and short ribs are the best cut because they contain a lot of connective tissue. During both slow & pressure cooking, that connective tissue breaks down and turns into gelatin giving the beef a rich, meaty flavour and a tender, juicy texture.

The pressure cooker can tenderize the most stubborn cut of meat and turn tough chewy fibers into gelatin, but a few wrong moves can turn meat into a shriveled tasteless lump. Here are my do's and don'ts for getting the most flavor out of your pressure cooked meat. DO brown or broil it.

Steam penetrates food easily under pressure. So connective tissues in cubes of beef for soups or stews soften in 15 minutes or less, and a pot roast will be medium-rare in 30 minutes. Be sure to follow instructions carefully; at this speed, it's easy to overcook things in mere minutes.

Thickeners. Adding cornstarch or flour to your recipes at the beginning of pressure cooking can cause your food to burn or for the pressure cooker to not reach pressure.

What happens if you pressure cook without liquid? ›

It cannot cook your food properly without water, and the pressure will build to such an extent that the lid, pressure valve, plugs, and hot food could be thrown all over the kitchen. This can seriously harm you, your kids, and your pets, not to mention property damage that comes from flying projectiles.

My Evaporated Milk Story

About 3/4 gallon of milk in the instant pot and busied myself with something else. I gave the milk a good stir when it reached a good boil. About 15 minutes later it had reduced quite a bit and by the time the IP shut off I had enough milk to make my favorite dessert. No stirring!

One of the easiest ways to thicken milk is by boiling it on the stove. As it heats up, the liquid parts of the milk will start to evaporate. Remember to keep stirring the whole time!

The proteins in milk, primarily casein, can coagulate or clump together when exposed to heat or acidic conditions. This can cause the milk to form lumps or a skin on the surface, rather than thickening in a uniform manner.