Five amazing pressure cooker meat tips & tricks! (2024)

FAQs

Five amazing pressure cooker meat tips & tricks!? ›

Bring up to full pressure over medium-high heat, and cook for 20 minutes. Carefully release pressure according to the manufacturer's instructions. Check to make sure meat is fork tender. Let the meat rest for 15 minutes.

Bring up to full pressure over medium-high heat, and cook for 20 minutes. Carefully release pressure according to the manufacturer's instructions. Check to make sure meat is fork tender. Let the meat rest for 15 minutes.

That' where the meat is covered in cooking liquid and the goal is to reduce it to concentrate the flavor. For these recipes, it's OK to use a faster pressure release. The liquid insulates the meat and keeps it from losing moisture.

So if you cover the roast or loin with an excess of liquid, the results will be decidedly bland. It can seem like a catch-22 — you need liquid to get your pressure cooker to work, but too much will make your meat taste blah.

Marinate

Give it a boost by marinating! Not only does marinating infuse flavor, but it can tenderize too. A key ingredient in most marinades is acid (in the form of vinegar, citrus juice or yogurt) that starts to "cook" or break down the meat before it hits the heat.

Baking soda (Sodium bicarbonate). If you find the meat has a spongy texture aside from being very tender, then very likely the restaurant put baking soda (Sodium bicarbonate) in the marinade. The sodium in baking soda chemically reacts with the meat and make the meat very tender and soft.

Place steaks in the bowl and fully coat them with the seasoning. Place on a separate plate and refrigerate for 30 minutes. After they have chilled, use the Saute setting on your pressure cooker and sear the steaks for 2-3 minutes. Then lock the lid and cook the steaks on high pressure for another 8 minutes.

Pour in at least two cups of water; use 1 to 2 cups more if the beef is a tough cut or to reach the minimum amount recommended by the pressure cooker's manufacturer. Seal the lid and bring the cooker up to full pressure over high heat. Reduce the heat to low, maintaining full pressure, and cook for 1 1/2 to 2 hours.

Steam penetrates food easily under pressure. So connective tissues in cubes of beef for soups or stews soften in 15 minutes or less, and a pot roast will be medium-rare in 30 minutes. Be sure to follow instructions carefully; at this speed, it's easy to overcook things in mere minutes.

Unfortunately, once you overcook a piece of meat in the pressure cooker, there's no going back. You'll be left with a pile of dry, crunchy, tasteless fibers and no amount of additional pressure cooking is going to put that moisture back into the meat.

How do I get more flavor in my pressure cooker? ›

Replace water with other, more flavorful liquids

You can also use 50/50 mixtures of broth and a liquid sweetener, but avoid using all sweetener, as those can burn on the bottom of the pot.

20 minutes high pressure, 10 minutes Natural Pressure Release: Chicken was cooked through, but dry. (Sometimes cooking meat longer results in more tender results, but I didn't find that to be the case with boneless breasts.)

You can still pressure cook leaner pieces – like eye of round and top sirloin – but these work best if they've been stuffed, shredded or rolled (with other ingredients). Best cuts of beef to use: Chuck steak, Round Roast, Shoulder, Pot roast, Ribs, Brisket, Oxtail.

Brown it

Pressure cooked food doesn't brown so it's worth doing this at the start of cooking before adding liquid and putting the lid on. Meat looks and tastes more appetising with a little browning. Onions, garlic and spices also benefit in the flavour stakes from pre-cooking.

To prevent a chewy beef steak, you need to avoid using too much high-pressure heat. Of course, start with pressure cooking your roast (that's why you're using the Instant Pot anyway), but keep that high-pressured phase to a few minutes only.

The pressure will in fact make your meat super tender, almost as if you slow cooked it for the better part of a day. You still have to figure out how long to cook it though so for that I invite you to read a little further.

Pressure cooking is particularly effective at tenderizing tough cuts of meat. As the pressurized steam penetrates the meat fibers, it breaks down collagen and connective tissues, transforming tough cuts into melt-in-your-mouth delicacies.