The Instant Pot (pressure/multicooker) thread.

MrsDangermouse said:
That looks fab SandwichShortOfAPicnic - can't wait to see the end result (and hear your opinion of it). It reminds me that I keep meaning to have a go making chicken rillettes - could probably use a very similar method.
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So I wasn’t blown away by the potted beef which surprised me. The flavour was really very mild which was not what I was expecting at all. I think using shin of beef meant the extended cooking time to make everything fall apart made the other ingredients become bland. Salt and pepper were much needed for the rescue.

I was also very surprised that butter does not work as well as other fats.
Butter becomes too solid. It does not wish to return to a spreadable consistency once combined with the beef and refrigerated no matter how long you then leave it out of the fridge.

I ended up heating it gently in the microwave and as soon as it was vaguely softened I ate it.
The butter does not taste anywhere near as good as you would think it should. It tasted oily/greasy.

The rillette (also done in the IP on slow cooker setting) which I made with lard (something I do not like) tasted so good this was a comparative let down.

I’d try the recipe again but with pork and lard because I’m certain the anchovies, mustard seeds and thyme must be bold if cooked for less time but in the meantime I’ll stick with the far more successful Rillette.

Recipe - Rillette
 
SandwichShortOfAPicnic said:
So I wasn’t blown away by the potted beef which surprised me. The flavour was really very mild which was not what I was expecting at all. I think using shin of beef meant the extended cooking time to make everything fall apart made the other ingredients become bland. Salt and pepper were much needed for the rescue.

I was also very surprised that butter does not work as well as other fats.
Butter becomes too solid. It does not wish to return to a spreadable consistency once combined with the beef and refrigerated no matter how long you then leave it out of the fridge.

I ended up heating it gently in the microwave and as soon as it was vaguely softened I ate it.
The butter does not taste anywhere near as good as you would think it should. It tasted oily/greasy.

The rillette (also done in the IP on slow cooker setting) which I made with lard (something I do not like) tasted so good this was a comparative let down.

I’d try the recipe again but with pork and lard because I’m certain the anchovies, mustard seeds and thyme must be bold if cooked for less time but in the meantime I’ll stick with the far more successful Rillette.

Recipe - Rillette
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Disappointing :(
I'm not too surprised about your comments re the butter going hard though....you're in effect clarifying it, and if you think about the layer of clarified butter on top of pate - that never really softens either.

I wonder if you need to pre-cook the beef to shredding point first, before re-cooking with the added seasonings and fat? I'd suggest using beef dripping if you can get it, but lard is a pretty neutral flavour so that should work with beef too.

If you fancy experimenting further - the recipe I really want to recreate is the roast chicken rillettes we have on holiday. I suspect its double-cooked because there is a definite "roast" flavour that I don't think you'd get just cooking the meat in the fat. I reckon the chicken is roasted, shredded, and then cooked down again with the carrots, seasonings and fat.

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MrsDangermouse said:
Disappointing :(
I'm not too surprised about your comments re the butter going hard though....you're in effect clarifying it, and if you think about the layer of clarified butter on top of pate - that never really softens either.

I wonder if you need to pre-cook the beef to shredding point first, before re-cooking with the added seasonings and fat? I'd suggest using beef dripping if you can get it, but lard is a pretty neutral flavour so that should work with beef too.

If you fancy experimenting further - the recipe I really want to recreate is the roast chicken rillettes we have on holiday. I suspect its double-cooked because there is a definite "roast" flavour that I don't think you'd get just cooking the meat in the fat. I reckon the chicken is roasted, shredded, and then cooked down again with the carrots, seasonings and fat.

View attachment 124842
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Thanks for the input 😊
I think changing the fat for lard or beef dripping and slow cooking rather than low roasting is possibly the key.
Also perhaps using a different cut. Shin of beef can be quite cartilaginous and that doesn’t add to the texture here.

I’ve never had chicken rillette so I wouldn’t know what I was aiming for but it sounds marvellous. I wonder if you treat it like a confit duck first?
Thanks for the picture and explanation, it gives some clues!
 
SandwichShortOfAPicnic said:
I think changing the fat for lard or beef dripping and slow cooking rather than low roasting is possibly the key.
Also perhaps using a different cut.
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" The first time you try a new recipe, follow it exactly. After that, you're on your own" (James Beard)
That's exactly what you're intending to do and is the only way to ensure your final dish (rillete) is how you want it.
Make notes (yes, I know that sounds absurdly old-fashioned) and more notes and more notes. Eventually (maybe quicker than you think) it'll come out just right.
 
karadekoolaid said:
" The first time you try a new recipe, follow it exactly. After that, you're on your own" (James Beard)
That's exactly what you're intending to do and is the only way to ensure your final dish (rillete) is how you want it.
Make notes (yes, I know that sounds absurdly old-fashioned) and more notes and more notes. Eventually (maybe quicker than you think) it'll come out just right.
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If you check the Rillette recipe I posted in the Oils n Fats challenge you’ll see I didn’t follow any recipe to any extent and cherry picked the bits I liked from several different sources, and all on the first outing (oh shock horror).
There are also notes on the bottom of that recipe 😉

To my great joy nailed it on the first go.

As for following a recipe exactly the first time I think that’s useful for newbies.. my newbie days are long gone.
If there’s a good chance of success I will follow it but I’m too long in the tooth now to ignore my instincts and produce disappointments!
 
SandwichShortOfAPicnic said:
As for following a recipe exactly the first time I think that’s useful for newbies.
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Well, each to their own. I'm of the opinion that following a recipe exactly , the first time, at least gives you a feeling of what the recipe should taste like. Since I rarely cook English or French food, but love to dig into weird things like Georgian stuffed aubergines and Laotian red prawn curries, I generally do the newbie thing first and then wonder why on earth I'd ever dreamed of making a dish with 10 chiles in it...
And sometimes, there are little subtleties in recipes that, if you just wing it, you miss out.
Years ago, we walked into a clothes shop in Margarita, called Sai Baba. The owners were from Mumbai. We became friends, and Komal started offering me Indian food every time we went. Her recipe for gulab jamun looked easy, so I made it. Disaster; some charred bullets of powdered milk and yoghurt.
Then I made the things again and it said " mix powdered milk, yoghurt and flour together to make dough. Not too soft, but not too hard."
When I finally worked out what "Not too soft, but not too hard" actually meant, my gulab jamun started to come out perfect.
 
I'm a bit in between.
If I cook something that I am totally unfamiliar with, I follow the recipe.
But even then I may have to change some ingredients due to availability.
If I vaguely know the style, I'll chop and change.
Mostly I up the amount of spices, reduce salt and sugar.
 
It’s more to avoid disappointment and not ignore your own knowledge than it is to deliberately alter a recipe but sometimes it is because after a bit of research you can see why chefs/cooks have made certain tweaks and it helps you to create a recipe better suited to your own style.

Obvious examples would be when you read a recipe and you think “WHAA? HOW MUCH SUGAR? NO THANKS” or read “First fry the garlic then add the onions” and you know damn well that leads to bitter burnt garlic so you ignore it, or perhaps you read a recipe and it has 20 extra steps in it because the writer lacks the ability to simplify and condense the instruction so re-write it before you even start.

I don’t think I could say this anywhere else but I’m fairly certain I’m in good company on this forum for this - you read a recipe and realise the person who wrote it doesn’t have a lot of experience in ingredients or techniques and after your own decades in the kitchen you appreciate you might have a tiny bit more experience.
 
Just to get back on topic with Instant Pot.....I have to report that their customer service is excellent!

The power cable on my 10 year old IP started to split where the cable joins the plug (at the moulded C13 connector at the Instantpot end, not the wall plug end, so not repairable). The wires inside were partially exposed so it needed replacing but I couldn't find any replacement leads on their website. I found plenty of generic replacements online, but I decided to contact them to confirm the spec before ordering one. Anyway, I got a reply within hours asking me for a photo of the damage, and then - even though my IP is well out of warranty, and I no longer have the receipt - they sent me a replacement free of charge which arrived a couple of days later :happy:
 
MrsDangermouse said:
Just to get back on topic with Instant Pot.....I have to report that their customer service is excellent!

The power cable on my 10 year old IP started to split where the cable joins the plug (at the moulded C13 connector at the Instantpot end, not the wall plug end, so not repairable). The wires inside were partially exposed so it needed replacing but I couldn't find any replacement leads on their website. I found plenty of generic replacements online, but I decided to contact them to confirm the spec before ordering one. Anyway, I got a reply within hours asking me for a photo of the damage, and then - even though my IP is well out of warranty, and I no longer have the receipt - they sent me a replacement free of charge which arrived a couple of days later :happy:
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That is good customer service, that little bit of give helps encourage brand loyalty doesn’t it. I have had excellent customer service from Ninja and as a result I always check out what their offering is before deciding on a kitchen gadget.
 
Bobbed around in brine for three days, rinsed and then in the Ninja 15in1 using the steam/bake setting. The steam setting on it’s own would have been good too as it would have been easier to slice without a crust but the concentrated flavours on the outside are delicious so 🤷‍♀️

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I used the integrated thermometer and set it to stop cooking at 60c knowing the cookover time would take it to about 67c which it did.
Cooking to less than the UK’s recommended 75c (which is way too high) means it stays a lot juicier. I always use an instant read thermometer at the end to double check a few areas just to be on the safe side but steam seems to be a reliably penetrating heat.

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With no nitrites you don’t retain the dayglo pink of shop bought just a blush colour. It more resembles roast pork but in my completely unbiased opinion 😉 tastes like the best ham you’ll ever eat!
It also works out at £5 per kg. In the UK for ham that’s incredibly cheap. Apart from making lovely (nitrate free) sandwiches you can as I did here cut it thick for knockout ploughman’s.
 
The first chicken rillette recipe is underway. Half the chicken is for rillette and half for chicken melts.

For rillette most recipes suggest oven at 120c or simmering on the hob until it falls apart.
I’ve opted for slow cooking in the pot as I’m hoping to slide the skins off whole and make some chicken crackling to go with chicken melts later.

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Chicken rillette recipes are all over the place when it comes to method and ingredients. Some say to confit it in duck fat, some say to tightly pack and add a little stock, some say to heavily reduce stock and wine at the end and add duck fat last and some say heavily salt at the beginning whilst others say don’t add salt until the end.

The herbs and spices also vary a lot with thyme and garlic being the only two constants.
I used mace and will do a wine n stock reduction at the end as this sounds the most interesting.

I did not know that mace is the lacy outer casing of nutmeg so that was nice to read about.
 
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