instantPotOriginalRecipes - i prepared this tonight

@Yoda_Daenerys this made me chuckle so I went looking into it. Apparently someone made a song called Rice and Beans. All of the pictures associated are dudes in underwear.

@Yoda_Daenerys

@RiotDemon who-da-thunk-it?

@sarahsandroid sounds like a plan

@Yoda_Daenerys what’s an instantpot?

@jbartus czech here and here

@jbartus had to look it up too: “Instant Pot is the latest 3rd Generation Programmable Pressure Cooker designed by Canadians” - http://instantpot.com/
I love it that these folks took pride on the “Designed in Canada” aspect.

@LinnE this will be my first attempt to use it, sharing with a whole bunch of family in OH-IO, i sure hope it works out (and i don’t forget and leave it in the state up north)

/youtube it’ll all work out

@linne i have to report a sad ending to the cornsotck story. i had frozen it and was saving for this much anticipated thanksgiving get together since august.

it traveled from MI to OH-IO and the stock was thawing at mom’s house, with anticipation building for the next day’s delicious corn bread.

my sister was getting ahead of the curve and was doing some dishes, so decided to get rid of the dirty dishwater soaking in the containers in the sink - hmmm, i wonder why there are ice chunks in that dirty dish water? - oh well, better dump it.

there were a lot of people in the house, so i asked my spouse if they knew the whereabouts of the prized cornstock.

well, it was down the drain - that was no dirty dishwater, that was hours of prep and months of preparation, down the drain, literally

/image sad trombone

@Yoda_Daenerys OMG, I am so sorry for you! AND you had to endure a loss to OH-IO. I hope there wasn’t a lot of gloating about the football and that your SIL gave up an extra piece of pie to compensate the loss of your corn stock.

@LinnE no worries, i am a buckeye, I just live in that state up north.

/giphy osu vs. uofm

@Yoda_Daenerys I probably should have gathered that by your description of the state to the north (thanks, Woody!). My brother married into a Buckeye family and while the rivalry isn’t exactly the same, the Badgers/Buckeyes game is always a family event.

@Yoda_Daenerys Sorry about the cornstock. That hurts. Next time make up some cards ‘TOUCH THIS AND I WILL KILL YOU’.

@PocketBrain they don’t cook so well in here, but can be inspirational for a fleeting moment

@suewalsh1 you can put the steamer basket on top of the trivet and use it to keep your food out of the water for pressure steaming. I use a silicone steamer basket that has a handle on top. This is my favorite way to do tamales.

@suewalsh1 I did the same thing your mom did. Plastic burns, and it has toxic fumes. Fortunately I had silicone oven mitts and a tile floor, and melted plastic comes right off the stovetop. Sautéing is very easy, because the pot is so deep that splatters are few. I use a screen lid when reducing juices for gravy.

@OldCatLady @suewalsh1 i don’t care for the saute function for sealing roasts - the word escapes me - there isn’t enough heat input to keep up with the searing (i think that’s the word).

the instantpot does make a good pulled pork from a cheap rump roast though.

i bought the steamer basket when i lost the included one. i use it to keep the eggs off the bottom when making hard-boiled eggs.

@OldCatLady Note to self: no IP on the stove. For T’giving I had 2 of the 3 crockpots going - 1 over each of the front burners. Not too bright I am.
How’s the sous vide coming?

@OldCatLady BTW, I’m relieved to hear the thing just didn’t self-immolate. I’m OK with human error, just wanted to be sure IPs don’t have a vendetta against the human race and want us all to die in a fiery inferno. (I’ve been watching waaay too much Dr Who)

@suewalsh1 Sous vide for pork loin roast was… educational. ‘Keep warm’ held the water at 160-165, ideal. The meat was indeed perfectly cooked and incredibly tender. Seasoning and finishing will be a learning curve. Note: when it says ‘dry the meat’ before putting it into a bag or foodsaver sealed package- DRY THE MEAT. Next adventure will be brined chicken breast, DRIED BEFORE BAGGING.

@OldCatLady ‘Educational’ usually doesn’t work out real well for me, but it sounds like progress for you. Perfectly cooked and incredibly tender sounds like a score! The ‘drying thing’ was your lesson, huh? Do you think it’s worth it?

@suewalsh1 Yes. No question. In order for the hot water to cook it, the meat must be touching the plastic bag directly. Tender without being stringy, and in less time than I thought. All those cooking chemistry terms are real, and muscle fibers can be cooked without turning into rope.

@OldCatLady Amazing. A month ago I’d never even heard of sous vide. And the plastic bags don’t have BPA or nastiness in them? What kind of meats/cuts work best? Just in case I take the dive… This still sounds a little magical for me.

@suewalsh1 and anyone else who may like to get into sous vide:

You just missed the Anova Precision Cooker $99 sale, which is probably the gold standard for home units. But the cheapest immersion circulator deal I’ve seen is still good through tomorrow. Kohl’s has the Gourmia circulator for $89.99, minus 20% with code DEALSEEKER and free shipping. http://m.kohls.com/product/prd-2706222/gourmia-digital-sous-vide-pod-immersion-circulator-precision-cooker.jsp is in stock currently in white. Black is out of stock and gold is regular price.

You can also do hacks with a crock pot and controller or an ice chest, tea kettle, and instant read thermometer if you want to get a feel for it. But the circulator is the way to go for hassle free sous vide. Just about every meat, vegetable, egg and more are great prepared sous vide.

@djslack @OldCatLady There is something wrong with me (again) - I just bought this for $77! I keep buying kitchen appliances I don’t know how to use. But the thinking (if you want to call it that) went like this: enough of you, with @OldCatLady leading the charge, are raving about this, I bought the vacuum bag food sealer on Meh a while back, and I had the opportunity to buy this thing for like 1/3 the price - so how could I not? The video makes it look easy, and I’m gonna have a lot of food in those vacuum bags… Thanks @djslack, I think you just broadened my world!

@djslack @OldCatLady @suewalsh1 I think there was a sous vide ‘cooker’ on Woot not too long ago (for cheap, IIRC) but I couldn’t pull the trigger. Might be ready to give InstantPot a go, however

@compunaut Y’know, a couple of months ago I wouldn’t even have known what sous vide was. I think you’d like the IP, it does everything! (Don’t tell @OldCatLady but I still have my 3 crockpots - she said she gave hers away a month after buying the IP. I’m not there yet.)

@compunaut looks like woot had a Nutrichef 1200W model for $70 and a Kalorik 850W unit for $90 recently. I didn’t know either of those circulators existed before today. They could be worth checking out if they come back up, but I’d check reviews first.

@djslack @OldCatLady What container do you use for sous vide? I’ve been on Amazon - everyone loves this unit! But I see some use a commercial Rubbermaid square container and cut the lid to fit the heater. Being in NE, I have a couple of lobster/clam pots - how deep does the container have to be so the heater doesn’t touch the bottom?

@compunaut If you’re seriously considering, Kohls is having a kick-ass sale with a 20% off coupon - expires 11/30, so you’d have to pull that trigger today - DEALSEEKER gets you the 20% discount (courtesy of @djslack) http://m.kohls.com/search.jsp?search=instant+pot&isFromSearch=true&isFrmTypeAhead=true&submit-search=mobile-ta-keyword

@djslack @compunaut Every review on Amazon gave the Gourmia 5 stars (almost!) And I got it for $77 at Kohls on sale with 20% off! I didn’t see the other brands. Plus that one - the gold standard - that starts with A just seems to have the Bluetooth feature for a lot more. I’ve got enough going on without trying to control my kitchen bots from my phone!

@suewalsh1 I mostly use a 12 quart heavy aluminum stock pot (my big camping pot), or occasionally another stock pot. Aluminum foil for a cover on longer cooks to cut down on evaporation. Any bigger pot will do, there is a limit to the size it will keep heated but that limit should be around 5-6 gallons, and you can do more with an insulated container.

I do have one of those square Rubbermaid containers on my list (i think I’d get better circulation when I do bigger bags that touch the sides on the round pot) but haven’t bought one. A lot of sous vide geeks love cambro containers but i think they’re overpriced.

Both my circulators can touch the bottom of the pots, but you need a certain depth of water to reach the minimum. There will be marks for minimum and maximum water levels on your cooker. Looks like those depths on yours are between 2.75" and 4.88". And yours does need to stay off the bottom.

@djslack Most reviewers were happy with the Rubbermaid, just unhappy the lid wasn’t included, but if you click the choice button, there’s an option to order it with its lid. Most agreed the Cambro wasn’t worth the extra $$. And lots said that the square shape allows them to get more bags in to cook vs a round pot. Think I’ll try my trusty lobster pot first. I’ve got 2 sizes- large and Yuge. You’ve got TWO circulators???

@suewalsh1 Yeah. I got an Anova a long time ago and then preordered a Joule which I just received. Great for being able to do meat and veg at the same time, although that’s a lame excuse for feeding my gadget habit.

@djslack @compunaut Both of these brands are on Amazon. Kaloric: https://smile.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B01IDS4O52/ref=mp_s_a_1_fkmr1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1480495824&sr=8-1-fkmr1&pi=AC_SX236_SY340_QL65&keywords=Kalorik+850W+sous+vide
Nutrichef has 3 or 4 on Amazon: https://smile.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B01M11F3GH/ref=mp_s_a_1_fkmr0_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1480496042&sr=8-2-fkmr0&pi=AC_SX236_SY340_FMwebp_QL65&keywords=Nutrichef+1200W+sous+vide and https://smile.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B01L7TOZN0/ref=mp_s_a_1_fkmr0_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1480495961&sr=8-1-fkmr0&pi=AC_SX236_SY340_QL65&keywords=Nutrichef+1200W+sous+vide are 2 of them. I can’t eval cuz I don’t have the depth of experience.

@suewalsh1 i haven’t yet attempted from scratch tamales, but I do want to. One of the grocery stores in my area has some decent premade tamales in their deli section that I pick up once in a while, and I take them right from the fridge to steam for 10 minutes under pressure, quick release and it’s dinner time.

When I do get around to making my own I’ll share if they’re any good.

@suewalsh1 if you don’t have a pinterest account, now might be a good time. they have a bunch of good instantpot recipes.

so does do the inter webz.

@djslack That’s a great idea! Let the experts make them! We have a vibrant Hispanic community here in RI and they can cooooook!

@Yoda_Daenerys Yep, yer right - 500 tamale recipes! I just can’t stay focused long enough to read them all. I do much better if someone says “I’ve got a recipe for tamales that will blow you away” and I do whatever s/he says. That way I get awesome tamales too without the interwebz overwhelm. But in a pinch, I’ll do a search. There’s also a site on Facebook just about IP cooking!

@suewalsh1 well in that case, please check out the ORIGINAL beans and rice recipe i made up, at the top of the thread.

i really enjoyed it, and don’t be afraid to give it your own flare (except grain/bean/water ratio).

@Yoda_Daenerys I am totally inspired by your culinary creation! Saw it yesterday, I’m in awe of anyone who looks at food and instinctively knows how to prepare it. I don’t ‘cook’ I ‘assemble’, I just need to be told how to do it. Then I can make delicious meals too! Thanks for sharing your inspiration.

@suewalsh1 Recipes aren’t for real cooks (I’m not one of those), who don’t need them to make great food. Recipes are how real cooks share great food with more people.

@compunaut I really like that sentiment. Makes me feel less like a kitchen barbarian! People enjoy the food I put in front of them cuz I’m smart enough not to attempt ‘cooking’. I ‘assemble’ other people’s recipes and everybody’s happy! Thanks!

@compunaut you are welcome, i think