I'm an Instant Pot Convert

Danger, danger, Will Robinson!

 You've probably heard people raving about the Instant Pot, right?  I have too. When I learned that it is a pressure cooker, instantly (ha, see what I did there!) I had flashbacks to my mom's old school pressure cooker from the '70s. (See the horrifying contraption pictured above.)


You remember, right? It was a huge pot with a locking lid, that little rocking doo-dad on the top of the lid that would jiggle back and forth and then, of course the WARNINGS.  "Kids, whatever you do, DO NOT TOUCH the pressure cooker.  Don't even go near the pressure cooker.  Don't even look at it."  It was so terrifying that I couldn't even tell you what mom cooked in that damn thing.  I just stayed the hell away from it.  

Then, there's the storage issue that I have.  I live in a smallish mid-century downtown house. Storage is at a premium. I have 4 crockpots (it's a long story), a rice cooker (what??), a stand mixer, a pasta attachment, stock pots, etc.  You get it.  But, all of a sudden, my beloved Ball-N-Chain asked me if I'd ever heard of the Instant Pot.  Then, more and more frequently, he brought up the Instant Pot.  Finally, it dawned on me.  The man wants an Instant Pot.

Viola. 

Long story short, I've joined the Instant Pot world. Man, what a crazy invention this thing is.  It's a pressure cooker, a crockpot, a saute pan, a yogurt maker, a jar sterilizer, a rice cooker and as we learned tonight, a RIB COOKER. Yes, folks, I made BBQ ribs tonight in under an hour.  An hour, that's only 60 minutes, friends. 

I can't take any credit for this recipe; I googled it.  Because of my childhood terror surrounding the pressure cooking phenomenon, I am strictly following step-by-step instructions.  I found B1G1 ribs the other day and assumed that someone could teach me how to cook them in the Instant Pot and Google doesn't disappoint.  

I made a dry rub, which I rubbed all over the meat (duh!). I used the Instant Pot trivet and coiled the racks and stood them up on their sides.  Cooked at high pressure for 20 minutes.  Yes, 20 minutes.  Now, the pot takes about 15 minutes to come up to pressure, then actual cooking time is 20.  Then, I took them out, laid them flat on a cookie sheet, brushed with sauce and broiled for about 6 minutes.  Done. 

CAN YOU BELIEVE THAT?  

I am amazed.  They were ridiculously tender, falling off the bone, and it was all ready in record time.  I think the beloved Ball-N-Chain is happy that we've joined this Instant Pot society. 

Served with pole beans and hush puppies.  I used a Kansas City style BBQ sauce; I cheated, not homemade this time.  

The moral of this story?  The Instant Pot is pretty darn cool.  I found out today that a friend of mine just killed her crockpot, so I'm donating one of mine.  That opens up some storage!  Anyone need a rice cooker?