Shumski - How to Instant Pot: mastering all the functions of the one pot that will change the way you cook

How to Instant Pot

Mastering ALL the Functions of the One Pot that will Change the Way You Cook

Daniel Shumski

Author of Will It Skillet?

Workman Publishing New York

Acknowledgments

My second-favorite thing about food is its power to bring people together. Im just being real here; my favorite thing about food is its power to be so freaking delicious.

As with food, writing a cookbook brings people together. This book could never have happened without the work and wisdom of a lot of people. Its tough to find the words to say how grateful I am, which is awkward because my job is, you know, finding words. But here we are.

Let me start by saying thank you to Amy Matthews and Kerrie Ahern, whose attention to detail and kitchen know-how saved us all from some recipe blunders.

Without exaggeration, every book of mine owes a debt of gratitude to Megan Nicolay, who took a gamble on a waffle blogger a few years back. I hope she thinks it paid off.

Kylie Foxx McDonald, the editor of this book, who has been such a good sport about the twists and turns along the road to publication: Now that the book is out, I promise not to email or call you for at least a week. Thats pretty much the best thank-you gift ever, no? (Full disclosure: I originally wrote for at least a month, but Im trying not to set myself up for failure here. So I rolled it back. Talk soon!)

My thanks also to Rachael Mt. Pleasant for her behind-the-scenes heavy lifting. Probably I should be thankful to her for doing work I dont even know about, which is so often the work for which a person should be extra grateful.

I am so appreciative of Chloe Puton, Rebecca Carlisle, Selina Meere, Kate Karol, Ian Gross, and too many others to name at Workman Publishing for the amazing work they do to help put this book in peoples hands and kitchens.

Thank you also to Becky Terhune, Anne Kerman, and the people at Waterbury Publications for making me look good and making it look easy.

You want to know whos really been a good sport? The guy who asks, Whats for dinner? each night and never has a cross word to say about the answer. Hes the same guy who told me that he believed in me when I was halfway through writing this book and I couldnt quite see the light at the end of the tunnel. Thank you, Bryan.

My agent, Stacey Glick, has been a trouper about dotting is and crossing ts and Im very grateful to be able to work with her.

Nicholas Day and Mark Lucera have been so patient, smart, and good-humored. I wonder if they know how much I appreciate that. They do now, assuming they read this book.

This is probably a good place to mention that my mom bought me my first Instant Pot as a birthday gift. Neither of us had any idea where it would lead, but now this book is a thing. I cant help but feel that I owe her big-time for something beyond that first Instant Pot, thoughmaybe its the decades of unwavering support? Thats probably it. I love you, Mom.

Contents

Introduction

M aybe your initial reaction to seeing the Instant Pot was like mine: It does all those things? Really? Hmm.... Okay. But does it do them well?

Was the Instant Pot just a trendy kitchen appliance trying to tackle too much? I already owned a slow cooker. And I could steam things and make rice on the stovetop. True, I didnt own a pressure cooker. But neither did I own an Elvis costume. Was either really necessary? Bottom line, did I need an Instant Pot?

As it turns out, the answer was yes. (For the Instant Pot, not the Elvis costume.)

Yes, to yogurt that all but makes itself while I sleep. Yes, to dinners I can prep in the morning and leave to cook all day. Yes, to dried beans that I can make for dinner without the foresight to presoak them. Yes, to steaming vegetables without having to fiddle with the stovetop temperature. Yes, to rice that comes together quickly without moving it on and off the heat. Yes, to things I couldnt have imagined I would be saying yes to: quick-pickled vegetables, no-fuss hard-boiled eggs, mulled cider.

In short, yes to the Instant Pot.

On the day my Instant Pot arrived, I opened the package but had only begun to unwrap the mystery. I was excited but... what had I gotten myself into? I grasped the idea of the Rice button, but why was there a Porridge button? What were the valves on the lid for?

How did I use this thing? I know how to bake, boil, skillet, and waffle (Ive written books on the last two). But how to Instant Pot?

Cooking in an opaque, sealed chamber requires a culinary leap of faith. After the lid is locked tight, you cant cook by sight or smell. Was I willing to take the plunge? Sure, but I had two goals:

1. Dont ruin dinner.

and

2. Dont anger the machine.

I was willing to sacrifice No. 2 if it meant that No. 1 could be accomplished.

Im here to tell you that you can have it both ways. Not only that, you can take advantage of a unique and useful tool that may nudge its way onto center stage in your kitchen and change the way you cook. In short, you can master the Instant Pot.

The Instant Pot presents a new paradigm even for experienced cooks, but its one that you can master regardless of your experience or comfort level in the kitchen. While there is a bit of a learning curve, this book is here to make it more of a gentle slopeand one that lets you eat as you progress.

The Instant Pot is useful but not immediately intuitive. Thats where this book comes in. The main functions of the Instant Pot are coveredpressure cooker, slow cooker, rice cooker, yogurt maker, steameras well as the auxiliary functions that allow you to saut food and to keep food warm.

Youll learn:

What the buttons mean

How to decipher the LCD screen

How to convert your favorite recipes for the Instant Pot

How to clean your Instant Pot

How the Instant Pot is different from other pressure cookers

Which optional accessories you might want for your Instant Pot

In short, youll learn how to Instant Pot. Now, lets get cooking.

How to Use This Book

T his book arranges its chapters by function. You have a machine that offers many functions in one. What better way to master those functions than by breaking out and exploring each one separately? Of course, two functions are used mainly in conjunction with others and do not have their own chapters:

The Saut function plays a key role in many slow-cooker and pressure-cooker recipes.

The Keep Warm function can serve a valuable purpose, but is perhaps less useful on its own.

For information on how to use each, see .

Chapter 1

Instant Pot Basics

L ook, I get it. You were hoping this book would help you avoid reading the Instant Pot manual. If thats the case, go to your happy place (puppies! kittens!) as you read this next bit: While this section covers the basics of the Instant Pot and hits the highlights of using and maintaining the machine, its worth looking over the manual that came with it. There wont be a test later, but you might learn a few things.

The following pages cover all the ins and outs of this marvelous (and occasionally maddening) machine, but if it all feels like a bit much, take heartthe chapter introductions explain the use of each of the pots main functions, and the recipes tell you which buttons to push and when. No guesswork needed.

One final note up front: The recipes in this book were developed for a 6-quart Instant Pot (models IP-DUO60 and IP-DUO Plus60). They can also be used with the IP-Ultra (see ).