this week’s Episode of Dinner SOS, Test Kitchen Director and host Chris Morocco joins Senior Test Kitchen Editor Silpa Uscokovic to help caller Jennifer overcome her fear of using an Instant Pot.
Although Jennifer has quite a few kitchen appliances that she uses all the time, there is one appliance that she has never touched and is afraid to use: the Instant Pot. Although she doesn’t know what to cook in the Instant Pot, she hopes to take advantage of its speed to make dinners quickly and easily. During busy weeks, Jennifer and her husband are often traveling with their three dogs, who compete in agility competitions.
Chris hires Shilpa, who is knowledgeable about cooking with an Instant Pot and a manual pressure cooker, both of which use trapped steam and pressure to cook food faster than on a stove or in an oven. The Instant Pot is easier to use because it’s electric and has multiple safety features, meaning it won’t explode, as Jennifer fears. Even releasing steam at the end of the cooking process is nothing to be scared of. Shilpa recommends handling the pot with a kitchen towel to prevent steam burns.
To show off the appliance’s best features, Chris and Shilpa suggest recipes that are hassle-free and get big results. Shilpa chose Pork Spare Ribs with Jamaican BBQ Sauce, which cooks in the Instant Pot in under 15 minutes and can be finished under the broiler or on the grill for extra browning. Chris chose Instant Pot Pork Carnitas., It requires very little prep and only 35 minutes of cooking time to produce tender, fall-apart meat.
Listen now to hear which recipe Jennifer chose to make using her Instant Pot for the first time, and whether it could become her new favorite cookware.
