Understanding How to Convert Recipes to the Instant Pot or Makeup your Own Pressure Cooking Recipes

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Pressure cooking is more of a formula than a recipe. You need to have certain key elements in order for a pressure cooking recipe to work. You need:

• A minimum amount of liquid is needed to pressurize the pot
• If browning or sautéing ingredients, you need to deglaze the pot
• When combining foods, you need to balance the cooking times
• When adding dry pasta, you need enough liquid to cook and hydrate
• When using thick ingredients, like cream soups, or tomato products, you need to layer ingredients. Keep thick ingredients on top and don’t stir them into the food or liquid below
• Some dishes will need to be made pot-in-pot instead of directly in the steel liner pot
• Ingredients like delicate veggies or dairy items like milk, sour cream, and cheese will need to be added once the cooking portion is complete
• Wrapping foods will foil will slow down the cooking process because foil acts as an insulator (such as wrapping potatoes for baking). This can actually be a benefit if you are choosing to slow down the cooking process

So, when I make up my own recipe or convert a regular recipe I ask myself these questions:

• Is there enough liquid to pressurize my pot?
• Do I need to brown the meat or veggies first? If Yes, then I need to deglaze the pot
• Do the foods in this recipe cook in relatively the same amount of time?
• How much liquid do I need for my pasta? 3-4 cups of liquid for 1 lb box of pasta
• If I have cream soups or tomatoes or tomato paste, I need to layer those on top and DO NOT STIR them into the rest of the ingredients.
• Is my recipe too thick or not have enough liquid to pressurize (au gratin potatoes, lasagna, egg dishes like quiche), then I need to consider doing this recipe Pot-in-pot

Is this all confusing? Not really. These are just some of the basics of pressure cooking. I would recommend that you begin by using reliable pressure cooking recipes first to see how the pot works and how the foods turn out. Then, later on, branch out and try some things on your own. Pretty soon these basics will come naturally to you.