In addition to knowing how to use the Instant Pot® from a technical standpoint, understanding how the recipes in this book are written will make cooking with it that much easier.
Recipe Selection
With the exception of the blogger favorites, every recipe in this book was created new for the Instant Pot®. We wanted this book to be comprehensive—to be largely built on classic dishes everyone loves to make and eat adapted for the Instant Pot®. You know you can turn to this book for superlative versions of your favorite foods. But we also included a selection of innovative dishes or standards with a twist to keep things fresh and interesting. The recipes are written so that if even if you’ve never used the Instant Pot® before, you can easily follow them.
How We Tested
Every recipe in this book was tested in a 6-quart Duo 7-in-1 Multi-Use Programmable Pressure Cooker. (Note that the size of Instant Pot® you use can affect the timings slightly. A larger pot will take slightly more time to come up to pressure, while a smaller one will take slightly less.)
The purpose of recipe testing is to make sure a recipe works every time you make it, that the timings are accurate, that it tastes great, and that the finished product is of the highest quality possible. We tested these recipes until we got the results we wanted: Perfectly cooked meats and poultry that were juicy, tender, and never dried out. Vegetables that maintained their bright colors and fresh flavors, with an optimum texture that was appropriate to the dish—whether that was creamy and tender baby potatoes or barely cooked zucchini that still had a bit of a bite. And fish and shellfish that came out of the cooker with their delicate textures and flavors intact.
Understanding the Timings
One of strongest advantages of the Instant Pot®—inherent in its name—is its ability to help you make fresh food fast. So the timings in the banners at the top of each recipe contain very important information. Here’s how we define each term:
Prep Time: This refers to everything in the method that is done before the lid is secured on the pot and the button is selected for the first (and often only) closed-pot cooking function. That includes preparing and chopping fresh vegetables and browning and searing meats and poultry. Some recipes require a little bit of additional prep work while the pot is cooking—and if so, that time is included in the Total Time—but most don’t, so you can walk away and do other things.
Function: This simply refers to which function(s) on the Instant Pot® is used to make that recipe and at which level it is used.
Closed Pot Time: This is important to note. It is not the cook time, which is specified in the recipe, but rather the entire time the lid is on the pot, which—in the case of pressure cooking—includes the time it takes for the pot to come up to pressure, cook, and depressurize, whether by a natural or quick release. For slow cooking, it refers to the minimum cooking time given in the recipe.
Total Time: This refers to the Prep Time and Closed Pot Time totals, plus any additional steps that are not part of that (such as marinating, chilling, standing, or simmering). Those are noted separately after a + sign in the Total Time box.
Reading the Recipes
The recipe method is broken down into three sections: Prep, Cook, and Serve.
Prep: See the “Understanding the Timings” section above for a definition of Prep. This step always ends with securing the lid on the pot and either closing the pressure-release valve (for pressure-cooking and steaming) or opening the pressure-release valve (for slow-cooking and all other functions except sautéing, which is done with no lid).
Cook: This includes the selection of the cook function and, if pressure cooking, the type of release that should be used when cooking is complete. If there are a few additional cooking steps that follow, they are also included in this step.
Serve: This refers to the last steps in the method—often it is simply seasoning a dish, sprinkling it with fresh herbs, or transferring it to a bowl or platter—that are done to get ready to serve the dish.
*Note: The recipes in this book refer to the steam rack that came with your Instant Pot® as “the trivet.” This is to distinguish it from a collapsible basket-style vegetable steamer—both of which are used in these recipes. Sometimes just one is used; sometimes both. Particularly if your vegetable steamer doesn’t have legs, it is helpful to stack it on top of the trivet in the pot to keep foods out of the water or other liquid at the bottom of the pot.