Quote:
Originally Posted by Parttimehobbyist
Quote:
Originally Posted by JdeHog
I love to cook, especially with my crock pot.
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Yaaas!! So many easy crock pot recipes out in the interwebs! I love making pot roast, cheese dip, and meat loaf using my crock pot.
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Haven't touched my Crock Pot® since My Great And Good Friend introduced me to the Instant Pot two Black Fridays ago (she'd had her eyes on one, and basically saw that Amazon had it at a good discount on Black Friday 2015). She told me about the deal, I took a look at it, and decided to get myself one on impulse. One of the two best kitchen purchases I have ever made.
This is the 6 quart 7-in-1 DUO model, which is what I own. Basically, it's a pressure cooker, rice cooker, slow cooker, steamer, yogurt maker, saute appliance, and food warmer, with 14 pre-programmed selections that cover just about anything you'd like to make. And as attested to by Serious Eats Chief Culinary Officer J. Kenji Lopez-Alt, the pressure cooker can do anything a slow cooker can do, and do it better:
Why Anything Slow Cookers Can Do, Others Can Do Better
("Others" in this context being either a pressure cooker or a Dutch oven.)
The second of the two best kitchen appliances I've ever bought: I also have two Anova Precision Cookers, which I combine with a 3 gallon polycarbonate food storage container (with lid) or some other container (like a stock pot) to make a very servicable
sous vide rig:
The basic concept here is that by immersing your food, sealed in a vacuum bag, in a water bath kept at a very precise temperature, you basically cook it to the exact degree of doneness you want, with absolutely no risk of overcooking. After a quick searing step to finish (because
sous vide techniques cook at temperatures too low to facilitate the Maillard reaction), you're left with some of the most perfectly cooked meats you've ever tasted.
Why two? So I can cook my main course (steak, ribs, pork chops, chicken breasts, fish, other seafood, etc.) and a side
sous vide at the same time. (Generally vegetables will cook at a different temperature than your main protein; for example I'll cook a steak medium rare at about 131° F, while a typical vegetable (corn on the cob, say) will cook at about 180° or so.)
On a typical weekend I'll cook something sous vide one day (a steak, chicken breast, or pork chop, usually), and on the other day I'll use the Instant Pot to cook up something bigger (pot roast, pork roast, chili, stew, soup, pasta with meatballs) which will provide plenty of leftovers for the work week.
Cheers,
bcg
My Bio Page - Arkansas
My Bio Page - Arkansas
I miss it greatly...