Things I've made in my insta pot (that are worth repeating)


 

Clint

TVWBB Olympian
So I did ribs that needed a little persuasion,

I did pork carnitas twice (first time 4#, 2nd time 8#)

Then tonight I did this butter chicken (Indian).
https://www.newyorker.com/culture/a...dy-who-made-indian-cooks-love-the-instant-pot

I got pretty big into Indian food between 2014 & 2017, trying every local place I saw (first remember eating it with friends sometime around 2009/2010). I got her cookbook, I don't recall making any other Indian food (from a CB, I've made curries & other hot (delicious) messes... anyway, simple, quick, easy, & delicious.

I just ate it with a pita but rice would've been good.

Urvashi Pitre’s Instant Pot Butter Chicken

Serves four.


1 (14-ounce) can diced tomatoes (do not drain)
5 or 6 garlic cloves, minced
1 tablespoon minced ginger
1 teaspoon ground turmeric
1 teaspoon ground cayenne pepper
1 teaspoon ground paprika
2 teaspoons garam masala, divided
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1 teaspoon salt
1 pound boneless, skinless chicken (breasts or thighs)
4 ounces butter, cut into cubes, or ½ cup coconut oil
½ cup heavy (whipping) cream or full-fat coconut milk
¼ to ½ cup chopped fresh cilantro

In the inner cooking pot of the Instant Pot, add the tomatoes, garlic, ginger, turmeric, cayenne, paprika, one teaspoon of garam masala, cumin, and salt. Mix thoroughly, then place the chicken pieces on top of the sauce.
Lock the lid into place. Select Manual or Pressure Cook, and adjust the pressure to High. Cook for ten minutes.
When the cooking is complete, let the pressure release naturally. Unlock the lid. Carefully remove the chicken and set it aside.
Using an immersion blender in the pot, blend together all the ingredients into a smooth sauce. Let the sauce cool for several minutes.
Add the butter cubes, cream, remaining teaspoon of garam masala, and cilantro. Stir until well incorporated. The sauce should be thick enough to coat the back of a spoon when you’re done.
Remove half of the sauce and freeze it for later, or refrigerate for as long as three days.
Add the chicken back to the sauce. Preheat the Instant Pot by selecting Sauté and adjust to Less for low heat. Let the chicken heat through. Break it up into smaller pieces, if you like, but don’t shred it.
Serve over rice or raw cucumber noodles.
 
So, Clint, can anyone post things in this thread that they've made in the IP and would make again? If so, I've got another one from tonight.......

Chile Colorado with Chicken. It's based off THIS RECIPE. The recipe in this link is just for the sauce to be used however you like (I'd eat it poured over a flip flop!), but I went ahead and tossed in 3.5 lbs of boneless/skinless thighs figuring that would just add to the flavors (and it did....as far as I know, since this was the first time I made it.) After the 10 minute cook, and 10 minutes before I did a manual pressure release, I just removed the chicken, then proceeded with the blending, reducing and thickening of the sauce.

One addition I made to the recipe was to add one square of unsweetened baker's chocolate. Once it was thickened up as desired, we ladled it over the chunked up chicken and served it alongside some "mexican" rice and flour tortillas. The best thing was I ended up with a couple of servings of chicken with some sauce, and a good 2 cups of sauce to freeze for enchiladas or some other endeavor.

Good stuff, and firmly in the "do again" pile!!

R
 
Yes of course! ((((pics are welcome too as far as I'm concerned))))

I've never made Chile Colorado but I've looked at several recipes and have wanted to try it many times. I'll give this a shot. Your way sounds good, I also made some enchilada soup that I could use any extra with.

I had Chile CO in a restaurant many years ago & loved it, so-so results the other few times that I've ordered it since then. Nice thing about making it at home is tweaking it, instead of being presented with it at a restaurant. Thanks for the suggestion.
 
Hmmm, probably too late for pics, but I'll see what I can do tomorrow when this is my lunch! :)

My biggest tip with any recipe that calls for dried chiles is you MUST find a source for good, freshly dried chiles. The ones that are brittle and have been sitting on the market shelf for a year will just not taste like anything. So, if you haven't already, find your best local latino foods market, and test those chiles for pliability through their wrapping before you buy! If you must, you can order from Penzey's (I did once, before finding a local source, and they were fantastic!)

.....I also think this one is going to be even better tomorrow......will let you know.

R
 
I happened to notice a Penzeys just a few miles away from me 2-3 weeks ago! I was stuck in traffic & looked over & saw it. I can't wait until I get in! There are several respectable supermercados near me too..and with my recently enhanced Spanish skills..... ...... ...... I'll still just be another gringo :) My chile assortment is probably all dried out. I buy the big bags & then put them into ziplock bags so they keep fresh for a while, but I've been noticing tips like you just mentioned (make sure they're not completely dried)..that's new to me as of 1-2 weeks ago, if that.
 
I made the Chile Colorado just a little earlier, I used New Mexico chiles, guajillos, I think a total of 3 kinds - I lost count while I was tearing the tops off & pouring out seeds, I wound up with a 12" skillet full of pepper pieces to be toasted. They weren't the freshest (I now know to make sure they're pliable) but I was eating the pieces like chips as i toasted them in the skillet.

3 people came by for dinner & it wasn't too hot for anyone (it wasn't hot at all), next time I might throw in a hab, I actually bought 6 jalapenos and planned to mix some in but that never happened. I'm sure I skipped a step or two, but I did run the sauce all through a sieve, pressing it around with a rubber spatula... reminded me a little of brewing beer.

After I got everything in the IP, I set 4 largish boneless/skinless chicken breasts on top of it & let it go @ pressure for 10 minutes, I then let it sit @ pressure for 10 minutes, dropped the pressure, removed the chicken to a plate/cutting board, blended/strained the sauce (omitted the 4th cup of water. I used tortilla chips again in place of the maseca like I did with the enchilada soup not long ago.

I chopped the chicken, then into the sauce, made a quick/easy refried beans (laziest ever), & we used tongs to remove the chicken from the pot to make tacos. This is a really good enchilada sauce, not sure how else I'll eat this or even what's traditional, but I'm thinking shredded beef would be good.

https://www.thecentsableshoppin.com/instant-pot-red-chile-colorado/

Red Chile Sauce (Chile Colorado)
Prep Time: 10 minutes

Cook Time: 20 minutes

Total Time: 30 minutes

Yield: 2 1/2 C.

Ingredients

6 dried guajillo chiles
6 dried New Mexico chiles
4 C. water, separated
1/2 chopped white onion
5 cloves garlic, peeled
1 tsp dried oregano
1 tsp ground cumin
2 Tbsp maseca (corn flour)
1 Tbsp kosher salt, or to taste
1 1/2 tsp sugar, or more to taste

Instructions

Remove the stem from the chile and discard - shake out what you can of the seeds (you will not get them all).
Heat a cast iron griddle on medium and toast the dry chiles for 20-30 seconds - be careful not to burn them. Flip them to toast the other side.
Add the chiles, onion, garlic, cumin, oregano and water to the Instant Pot.
Place the lid on the Instant Pot and seal the valve. Set the pot for 10 minutes on high (manual) pressure.
Once done, release the pressure, and dump the contents into your blender - be careful as heat will expand the liquid.
Add the additional cup of water at this time and puree until smooth.
Add 1 Tbsp olive oil to a skillet on the stovetop and bring to low/medium heat - push the red chile through a sieve (mesh strainer) into the skillet, toss away the remaining seeds/skin left in the strainer.
In the same blender, combine 2 Tbsp maseca with 1/2 - 3/4 C. water and puree until smooth. Pour that mixture into the skillet and whisk to combine - bring to a simmer until the chile mixture on the stove has thickened. You may need to add more water or maseca if desired.
Add the salt and sugar at this time and adjust amount as needed.
Once finished, pour into jars or use immediately to make enchiladas.
 
Glad you tried and liked it, Clint! For the maseca, I just whirled up some grits in my spice grinder to flour consistency, seemed to work fine. I have enchiladas on my list with the leftover sauce......perhaps combined with some of the frozen pulled pork in the freezer.....

R
 
We do a lot of crock-pot cooks during the winter (Rich's indoor Weber) I assume the Insta-Pot cooker is pretty much a "programmable crock pot?"
 
We do a lot of crock-pot cooks during the winter (Rich's indoor Weber) I assume the Insta-Pot cooker is pretty much a "programmable crock pot?"

Pretty much, but throw a pressure cooker into the mix and it turns into a really fast crock pot. The higher end units are programmable to the precise degree so they can be used to sous vide I believe. I got an 8 quart duo that was on sale for black friday iirc

This might help explain: https://tvwbb.com/showthread.php?69505-Instant-Pot-What-a-Machine
 
We do a lot of crock-pot cooks during the winter (Rich's indoor Weber) I assume the Insta-Pot cooker is pretty much a "programmable crock pot?"
In a sense. Because it only heats from the bottom (crock pot is bottom and sides), it is not "as efficient" as a regular crock pot. Tends to get "hot spots" on the bottom if left on high. It'll work as such but I still use a crock pot for crock pot based recipes.
 
Glad you tried and liked it, Clint! For the maseca, I just whirled up some grits in my spice grinder to flour consistency, seemed to work fine. I have enchiladas on my list with the leftover sauce......perhaps combined with some of the frozen pulled pork in the freezer.....

R

I made this a third time - posted it in the Photo Gallery:
https://tvwbb.com/showthread.php?73017-Chicken-Chili-Colorado-on-the-22-quot-amp-in-the-instapot

Last Friday I made it with 5# chuck roast. Tonight's was the best.
 
Saw your thread in photo gallery and want to give it a try using my indoor winter Weber to make it. Don't have an insta pot so the indoor weber will have to do.
 
Saw your thread in photo gallery and want to give it a try using my indoor winter Weber to make it. Don't have an insta pot so the indoor weber will have to do.

You won't regret it! I'm not sure how to tell you to mod the technique for the winter weber (crockpot :) ), I kind of combined the butter chicken IP technique with the Chile Colorado to get this.
 
You won't regret it! I'm not sure how to tell you to mod the technique for the winter weber (crockpot :) ), I kind of combined the butter chicken IP technique with the Chile Colorado to get this.

One of the things I try to do is avoid canned sauces or soups because of the ridiculous amounts of sodium in them. I've become quite good at making low salt or no salt sauces and soups in the crockpot. The low temp and long cooking times really meld the flavors.
One of our favorite things to make is enchiladas, but the canned enchilada sauces are loaded with salt and don't taste that great. So my goal is just the Chili Colorado sauce, plus I get to play with my boat motor (stick blender). Yeah I know, it doesn't take much to make me happy anymore.
 
One of the things I try to do is avoid canned sauces or soups because of the ridiculous amounts of sodium in them. I've become quite good at making low salt or no salt sauces and soups in the crockpot. The low temp and long cooking times really meld the flavors.
One of our favorite things to make is enchiladas, but the canned enchilada sauces are loaded with salt and don't taste that great. So my goal is just the Chili Colorado sauce, plus I get to play with my boat motor (stick blender). Yeah I know, it doesn't take much to make me happy anymore.

I hear you there - I'm not watching my sodium per se, but I do read the labels and avoid excessive amounts. When I made my enchilada soup with canned enchilada sauces, I got 2 cans & used the one that a much lower amount. When I made this Chili Colorado the first time I might've completely omitted the salt - I thought about adding it but it wasn't needed or missed. When I made it with the beef I had to add salt & more seasonings for some reason.

Not sure that you need to crock pot this either but no reason you couldn't, but another option for the Chile CO would be to just saute/simmer the peppers w/o the chicken for ~20-30 minutes, bust out that boat motor, & then simmer the chicken in it for a while. Do what makes sense to you though!

The little bit of smoke is noticeable and good in this third batch.
 
So, Clint, can anyone post things in this thread that they've made in the IP and would make again? If so, I've got another one from tonight.......

Chile Colorado with Chicken. It's based off THIS RECIPE. The recipe in this link is just for the sauce to be used however you like (I'd eat it poured over a flip flop!), but I went ahead and tossed in 3.5 lbs of boneless/skinless thighs figuring that would just add to the flavors (and it did....as far as I know, since this was the first time I made it.) After the 10 minute cook, and 10 minutes before I did a manual pressure release, I just removed the chicken, then proceeded with the blending, reducing and thickening of the sauce.

One addition I made to the recipe was to add one square of unsweetened baker's chocolate. Once it was thickened up as desired, we ladled it over the chunked up chicken and served it alongside some "mexican" rice and flour tortillas. The best thing was I ended up with a couple of servings of chicken with some sauce, and a good 2 cups of sauce to freeze for enchiladas or some other endeavor.

Good stuff, and firmly in the "do again" pile!!

R

I finally tried the other version you posted and this one wins again! The other is good and I used pork instead of beef (used chicken twice & beef once in this version), and subb'd something (NM for the Chiles de arbol), 1.5x'd the recipe, but this one here is my favorite so far.

>...here's some other versions the Chile CO King has been working on - probably an incomplete list: https://tvwbb.com/showthread.php?73755-Again-with-the-Chile-Colorado-Rich-!&highlight=chile+colorado

the one featured in the quoted post gets 5 stars, this one gets 4 imo, but my opinion might change: http://www.lemonlavenderlove.com/2016/04/chile-colorado-in-the-instant-pot/
 
Hi Clint. What are the chances of getting that carnitas recipe posted?

See if you can access it here - I'll PM it to you if you can't. I modified this (see the thread for more details) I think so let me know if you have any questions: I've made it at least 3 times, up to 7# in my 8 qt insta pot.

https://www.americastestkitchen.com...utm_content=carnitas&utm_campaign=atkfacebook

https://tvwbb.com/showthread.php?72...(Carnitas)-quot-recipe-mod&highlight=carnitas
 

 

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