More Instant Pot Love- Just Because!

I know, I am posting about dumb **** I had a snow day, so apparently too much unstructured time on my hands. Went to make my first turkey breat in it, thank you alouisa for the idea. Ended up when it was done, I no longer wanted potatoe and gravy with it. Turned it into turkey soup intead, so a healthy homemade broth, some veggies, and of coure the protein. Much better, and the pot kept it warm until the hubby made it home. 1 pot. Literally just threw stuff in and pushed a button. Yea, I am just that lazy when I cook. On plan though and good for a cold Michigan day.  

Oh, and I posted last week about the Amazon Warehouse deals (previously returned pots) where you could get them about half off. The one I ordered was in perfect shape. Will be getting another one next pay check cycle. :) 

I made carnitas in mine -the whole family loved them!

That is on my list to try. The pulled pork this past weekend turned out great, so I imagine carnitas does well too.

Sorry about the typos- the S on my keyboard is sticking!

You should really post some photos of your creations.  I'm thinking about buying one.  Pictures are inspiring 

I bought one because of the yogurt function. I have made yogurt for years, but this was so easy. Came out perfect. Have made chicken soup and made shredded buffalo chicken thighs in 15 minutes yesterday (about 20 minutes total with coming to steam). I missed out on the Amazon Warehouse deal, would have done that for sure... I also cooked some frozen chicken I had in a lemon garlic marinade right in there- frozen hunk of chicken. in the pot with 1/2c chicken broth..I think I cooked it 25 minutes, can't remember. came out perfect, took the chicken out and then turned the saute function on and thickened the sauce.

I'm going to try yogurt for the first time this weekend.  When you make it, do you add powdered milk to it?  I've seen a few variations and was just wondering.

I've been making it for years and never felt the need to add powdered milk, and it always came out fine. I will tell you though what effects my success is the starter yogurt. Even though they say active cultures I've have not had success with all brands. I have had good success with Dannon, and Stonyfield farms. This time I had some left in my plain greek yogurt container from Aldi and it worked well. You do not need greek yogurt starter to make greek yogurt if that is what you want. If you want it thicker you will need to drain it after.

Some things they say that I have never found true:

Can't use ultra-paturized milk (ie. organic, fairlife)- Nope always worked fine for me. I do use whole milk.

Need to heat to 180 - Nope it is already pasturized, you can but not necessary. Look at Alton Brown's recipe for yogurt. he is a food scientist(in a sense) and doesn't heat to 180. If you do heat to 180, can use an ice bath to cool it down.

I heated it in the microwave in intervals (In my pampered Chef batter bowl). kept stirring and checking temp. When it was under 120 degrees - about 118 I added the yogurt and whisked gently. By the time I added the yogurt it was at the below 115 degree mark the Instapot recipe recommends.

Put it in the instapot -pushed the button and walk away. I did it over night, and it was on the 'warm' function for several hours. The bottom looked a little grainy,(which I don't normally get)  but once chilled and stirred it was fine.

Good Luck and Happy Yogurt making!

Thanks!

I do, but it is  not neccesary per se. The higher the fat content of the milk typically the thicker the yogurt. Since many times I am starting with skim milk, I add powdered milk. The first time I used the pot, I followed this recipe and it worked awesome. Since I had yogurt culture (this stuff here) I did not use Fage or something similar as starter. After my first batch, I set aside a cup to use as starter for the next batch. I only do this for 6 batches (reuse starter) before switching starter again. If you are using grocery store yogurt- fresh matters so check dates, and ensure it has live cultures. You can also dump out probiotic capsules and that will work (apparently) too. 

I do boil first- which is not a true boil in the Intanst Pot, but the display will change to boil. After it beeps (about an hour) I take the pan out and let it cool 1 hour, stirring occasionally and talking the skin off. Then back in the cooker, add my starter after checking temp is below 115, stir well and gently. 10 hours is my preferred gestation length, but that makes it more tart and thicker. You can do 8, less tart, and drain a bit longer for milder greek.