Why should you buy an Instant Pot? Don’t you already have a slow cooker, pressure cooker, rice maker, Dutch oven, skillet and yogurt maker?
I do, in fact. But normal people don’t. I’m not about to chuck all those things and replace them with this device, but if someone gifted me an Instant Pot, I’d be happy.
Why? Because it’s the slow cooker of pressure cookers, in that I can walk away and not worry about it overcooking. The machine shuts itself off when it’s done. It’s also (almost) the Le Creuset/ceramic casserole dish of slow cookers, in that you can sear and then slow cook your food in the same pot.
Sure, it doesn’t give a nice sear like cast iron does (keep that skillet!), but as an all-in-one machine that has an automatic shut-off, it’s awesome.
If you’ve never used an Instant Pot, you have a bunch of different settings and a manual setting, so you just follow a trusted recipe (I read through a bunch online before making risotto, since some call for different settings and some Instant Pots use different words for the same buttons).
And if you want to make rice and something else, you’re still going to need that rice cooker.
But for making chicken stock (or cooking dry beans or whole grains), it’s awesome. If you only have a slow cooker or are used to making stock on the stove and your whole kitchen steaming up, this will be a revelation. You chuck everything into the pot, add the top and click the right button and within an hour you have stock. There’s no quick release like a stove top pressure cooker (one downside), but there’s also no risk of an explosion (not so much a concern with modern pressure cookers, except with user mistakes…).
But chicken stock is child’s play, you say. Most people who already make their own stock probably have their system down. And most people who don’t already make their own stock aren’t going to start because of this handy machine.
But then there’s risotto. And risotto is finicky in a pressure cooker because of the timing. If you have the heat just a bit higher on your stove, it’ll burn. A bit lower and it won’t cook enough, after which you’ll need to bring the pot back to pressure and guess on the appropriate number of minutes to finish the dish. Then release the pressure again and, inevitably, burn the risotto. Or maybe that’s just me?
The Instant Pot won’t let you do that. Sensors are supposed to stop the cooking before the burning.
The other point of genius is there’s no more half hour of stirring like you would when you cook it over the stove in a pot or skillet because the starch releases from the grains (what makes risotto creamy) thanks to the high pressure, not stirring. In just five minutes. Did I mention that the risotto cooks in five minutes in an Instant Pot?
You also use less of your precious homemade broth compared to making risotto on the stove in an open skillet. Less evaporates. Most pressure cooker and Instant Pot recipes call for a 2:1 ratio of broth to rice. In a regular pot, it’s at least 3:1. And if you have the heat a little higher or don’t stir consistently, it’ll take more, or you’ll end up with some cooked grains and some uncooked grains.
So on Day One I made chicken stock. I strained it, refrigerated it overnight, removed the layer of fat from the top the next day and then used it to make risotto. I sautéed some onions and garlic in olive oil, added the rice, then deglazed with white wine (right in the instant pot) and then added the stock. I sealed the lid and cooked it for just five minutes (roughly following this recipe, but with olive oil instead of butter, and letting my dinner companions add their cheese at the table).
And it was perfect.
And so easy.
Don’t buy a slow cooker. Don’t buy a pressure cooker. Buy a very big Instant Pot. Or wait until the Wifi technology is more advanced so you can turn it on and off from work. Perfect risotto just as you get home? Yes, please. But when it cooks in twenty minutes anyway, who cares? You want time to drink that glass of white wine (without standing at a stove stirring. A little salumi, olives and sundried tomatoes as an aperitivo? Perché no?
I received no money to write this post. If someone lovely at Instant Pot does want to send me a review Pot, I’ll take it and start cooking and give an honest review of each recipe that works or doesn’t. I did it for a Sous Vide Supreme Demi once. Best shrimp and bison of my life.
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