Monday, December 9, 2019

Winner Winner, Chicken Dinner!!!

This company is making a killing around the world.  I joined a Facebook group of Instant PotHeads who are obsessed.  I have to admit it's a pretty fun toy to play with in the kitchen.  If you have frozen chicken and you need dinner in 45 minutes, you can do it.

You can even make some of the most tender baby back ribs I've ever eaten, although they look rather disgusting with no browning feature at all.  You must put everything into the oven on broil to get the desired dark brown crunchy crust we all know and love.

That's why I got pretty excited when I saw the review of this latest and greatest instant pot ... with an AIR FRYER.  The thing I forgot to check was the number in the bottom left hand corner.  That big 8 stands for 8 quarts, meaning it's a beast.  It measures fifteen inches across (the counter space required)  with the unit itself being about twelve.  That's about three inches wider than my six quart.
That means I can now cook for a crowd of thirty with no problem.  Do you know how many times there has been 30 people in my house?  Exactly NONE, but the lure of crispy chicken wings won out.  I first did the obligatory water test.  About three cups, turn it on to high pressure and see if it works.
A few things have changed, like you now have to hit a start button.  I forgot and it turned off.  I'm pretty sure every single instant pot out there is different in some way.  It's a test to keep you sharp.  Anyway, I put all of these pieces together, which nested very nicely in the pot.  No water was used in this endeavor.

The RAW wings went on the metal strainer at the top.  I suppose I could have pressure cooked them first, but since he didn't do that on the review, I didn't think I needed to.  I carefully placed the lid on top, hit BROIL (it automatically turns to 400 degrees) and set it for twelve minutes.

By now I was salivating ..... ooooh these are going to be good!!  At the halfway point, I lifted off the lid and placed it on the handy dandy lid holder so it wouldn't burn my counter.  They were not even close to done.  I flipped them over, put the top on and added more time.

Tapping my toe, I waited for the ding.  STILL not done.  I turned them over again and added another ten minutes.  DING!  By now I'm getting irritated.  In the review, it only took ten minutes.
At long last, an actual 26 minutes later ...... CHICKEN DINNER!  Do they not look fabulous?  Oh my goodness they were delicious!  I might point out however that I probably could have done the same thing in my Breville Oven, although that would have raised my PG&E bill $25.  I was able to cook about twelve pieces at a time.
I had slathered them with garlic butter, so they were not only crispy, but tasty!!  Winner winner!!  Chicken dinner!!  Then came the cleanup.  Yes you do have to wash every single piece shown above.  Washing dishes is NOT my thing (remember, I'm the one who uses strictly paper plates), but I powered through.  Possibly you could use your dishwasher for everything except the metal screen.  Maybe some spray Pam would have helped.

Next up?  Air fried fish.

Would I recommend this to anyone?  Yes and no.  Yes if you have counter space and no oven of any kind that will crisp things up.  Yes if you have lots of people over for dinner or a big family.  For just two people in an RV?  As I said, it's huge.  I never even begin to fill up my 6 quart pot when cooking for me, although frozen leftovers are a good thing.  Maybe I'll use it at RV Rallies requiring potluck dishes.  

Besides that, it was an expensive $140 ON SALE!!  That's a big chunk unless you also want to dehydrate fruits and vegetables, make jerky or need enough yogurt for two months.  So there you have it.  I'll let you know how the fish fry goes.  I'm also thinking onion rings.





18 comments:

  1. Sounds like a great toy to play with and figure things out. Your wings do look delicious gotta say! I don't think i'll get on the bandwagon though. My little kitchen is crowded enough..and 90% of the time it's just hubby and me. I barely have room for the crockpot under the counter. I do admit I love being a stalker and seeing what people can create in these IP's! So I will continue to stalk you and others for the foreseeable future LOL. Cook on Nancy!!

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    1. I love kitchen stalkers ... I'm actually one myself!! It's just me and my appliances, so I'm careful what I cook. My limit for leftovers is about three days!!

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  2. Maybe you needed to Pressure Cook the wings first before Crisping the outside.
    Be Safe and Enjoy!

    It's about time.

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    1. I do think that would work better but I'm not sure if it's faster. I'm going for the 30 minute meal.

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  3. The fryer feature does sound tempting but that is a monster. I think I will just open our 6 quart one and Tom can do the browning on the Weber Q... lol Those wings do look good though.

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    1. Agreed ... my only problem at the moment is I have only those tiny canisters for bbq fuel. Yes, it's HUGE!! Good for that turkey dinner for 25 relatives! LOL

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  4. Thanks for the post. I appreciate it. The wings do look wonderful though!!

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    1. They were delicious, I'm just not sure if they were worth the dish washing!! LOL

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  5. Yum.....wings looked delicious. I haven't jumped on the IP wagon but I do enjoy the pictures of the foods cooked in one. Have a fun day!

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    1. If you do Elva, get the SMALL one. I have to admit, they made the best green beans I've ever tasted! Made them for an RV rally!!

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  6. We took our 6 quart sous vide model out of the box yesterday. We made chicken adobo which was good. What is confounding us is how to set the saute heat level (less/more) AND set the time (less, less). In the end we took the default saute setting and used a kitchen timer to know when time was up. I guess some time is going to be spent viewing youtube how to videos.

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    1. Oh yeah .... this does sous vide too. I have an inkling of what that is, but have no idea what I would cook that way! As to the time and temp, there's an on-line instruction book for every model. Have fun!!

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  7. I have the 6-quart Instant Pot and I made lots of chicken soup. I also made several times chicken wings and spare ribs. Good results so I continue using the recipes. Meat loaf is good, too. I bought a small bundt pan that can be used for a meat loaf. Regarding the Air Fryer....I bought one that is also a toaster oven as well as bake/broil by Cuisinrt. My Breville 'start' button was going flaky so I have that in another RV but will get rid of it because it is too bulky. I was told by other Air Fryer cooks, after using the Instant Pot for chicken wings and spare ribs, take the meal and use the Air Fryer for a few minutes to get it crispy and complete. I have not done so yet, will try the method in the future. Putting the ribs and/or the wings under the broiler in my toaster oven, is too messy and takes forever. I made a cornish hen in the Air Fryer and other meals, but need practice. Egg bites is another wonderful snack/breakfast in the Instant Pot. David does not care for them so I did it once and probably not again. Others just love the fast and easy method for breakfast. Lynn Cross

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    1. I haven't tried egg bites, since I need yet another special pan. Sounds like you've pretty much got it down!! Yeah that broiling after cooking is kind of a pain.

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  8. Doesn't look like they make a IP Air Fryer except for the 8 quart. Perhaps when we get home we will get one.

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    1. Yup that's true. You certainly can do large cuts of meat and huge meals. Things that are freezable would be great ... like maybe lasagne!! And meatloaf. It also makes almost full size cheesecakes!!

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  9. That fryer/instant pot sounds interesting, Nancy. I have the instant Vortex Plus air fryer oven and use it frequently.

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    1. I have heard that air fryer is pretty cool. It's amazing how I never use my oven any more, except maybe at Thanksgiving for the big turkey!!

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