Post by nybirder on Jul 23, 2018 7:49:04 GMT -5
This might develop into a series as I try to get the perfect timing on a supper I really like. In fact, I tried doing pork chops in the Instant Pot not too long after I bought it. I did some research online for the timing, took the one that seemed to be the most reasonable, and ended up with chops that fell apart but were as dry as dust.
I bought Janet Zimmerman's Instant Pot Obsession this week and was surprised to see that her cooking time was way, way shorter than anything I had seen before. Her recipe called for browning the chops in the pot on saute setting, removing them, browning the veggies, adding liquid and chops back, and pressure cooking. I'm not really reviewing her recipe, since I used my own, but the cooking method.
Since I was doing just one chop, I browned it and then the veggies in a small skillet and added them to a little cream of mushroom soup in a 1 1/2 quart stainless steel bowl sitting on the trivet in the pot with a cup of water in the bottom. That way, I did not have to dilute the gravy in order to get enough liquid to bring the pot up to pressure. This Pot-in-Pot method doesn't make any difference in the actually cooking time but may add a little time for the pot to get up to pressure. It works well.
My aim was to get a chop with an internal temperature between 145-150° which is the new USDA guideline for being safe. Carryover cooking will take it up a little higher.
The original recipe calls for 1 1/2-inch thick boneless loin chops browned for 3 minutes on both sides. The pressure cooking timing was 1 minute on LOW pressure and the NATURAL RELEASE time at 4 MINUTES. Considering the fact that I have seen cooking times on various recipes taking as long as 45 minutes at High, this seemed to be a radical change. Cooking time in a pressure cooker really depends on the thickness of the meat, not the total amount. So one chop cooks pretty much the same time as 4, but it takes a little longer for the pot to come up to pressure first with a larger amount.
I used a 1/2 inch thick boneless chop browned on both sides lightly. I wanted to pressure cook it less because of the thin chop--but how do you go less than 1 minute? Yes, folks, you can set it for 0 minutes--it comes up to pressure and when the pin comes up, it immediately goes into natural release. So, cooking time on this one--LOW pressure setting and timing set at 0. When the pin popped up, the pot stopped cooking and went into natural pressure release which I kept for 4 minutes and then manually released rest of the steam. The pork chop's internal temperature was around 165-170°. I would have preferred 145-150° but it was still tender and not dry. Not falling apart but not tough and dry. Next time, perhaps cooking time of 0 and natural release of only 2 minutes.
I will try thicker chops the next time, perhaps 1” since a 1 1/2 inch chop is too much for me.
Stay tuned . . .
Birdy
I bought Janet Zimmerman's Instant Pot Obsession this week and was surprised to see that her cooking time was way, way shorter than anything I had seen before. Her recipe called for browning the chops in the pot on saute setting, removing them, browning the veggies, adding liquid and chops back, and pressure cooking. I'm not really reviewing her recipe, since I used my own, but the cooking method.
Since I was doing just one chop, I browned it and then the veggies in a small skillet and added them to a little cream of mushroom soup in a 1 1/2 quart stainless steel bowl sitting on the trivet in the pot with a cup of water in the bottom. That way, I did not have to dilute the gravy in order to get enough liquid to bring the pot up to pressure. This Pot-in-Pot method doesn't make any difference in the actually cooking time but may add a little time for the pot to get up to pressure. It works well.
My aim was to get a chop with an internal temperature between 145-150° which is the new USDA guideline for being safe. Carryover cooking will take it up a little higher.
The original recipe calls for 1 1/2-inch thick boneless loin chops browned for 3 minutes on both sides. The pressure cooking timing was 1 minute on LOW pressure and the NATURAL RELEASE time at 4 MINUTES. Considering the fact that I have seen cooking times on various recipes taking as long as 45 minutes at High, this seemed to be a radical change. Cooking time in a pressure cooker really depends on the thickness of the meat, not the total amount. So one chop cooks pretty much the same time as 4, but it takes a little longer for the pot to come up to pressure first with a larger amount.
I used a 1/2 inch thick boneless chop browned on both sides lightly. I wanted to pressure cook it less because of the thin chop--but how do you go less than 1 minute? Yes, folks, you can set it for 0 minutes--it comes up to pressure and when the pin comes up, it immediately goes into natural release. So, cooking time on this one--LOW pressure setting and timing set at 0. When the pin popped up, the pot stopped cooking and went into natural pressure release which I kept for 4 minutes and then manually released rest of the steam. The pork chop's internal temperature was around 165-170°. I would have preferred 145-150° but it was still tender and not dry. Not falling apart but not tough and dry. Next time, perhaps cooking time of 0 and natural release of only 2 minutes.
I will try thicker chops the next time, perhaps 1” since a 1 1/2 inch chop is too much for me.
Stay tuned . . .
Birdy