Instant Pot 3-quart Duo Mini - 25% off (Vet's Day Sale)

[OTW]

I've been flirting with the Instant Pot but didn't want the 5-6 qt. particularly for my TT. I did not know they've now come out with a 3-qt! YAY! Let alone the "Duo" which has more features. Perfect size for 1-2 people.

Target has it on sale today - 25% off from its $69 retail pricing and also with free shipping if you don't have a Target near you. So after the discount it's only $52. I checked on its dimensions - appears to be 10" x 11" (not sure which is height) but that's definitely a right size for all that the instant pot does, particularly the Duo.

[Bethers]

Love my pressure cooker... Not an instant pot. You'll like this. Mine is a smaller one, also.

On another note.. Moving this to Gadgets and Gizmos.

[OregonLuvr]

I liked my 8 qt so well (for the house) that I bought a 3 qt Mini for the RV. Doing ribs in mine today....one of my favorites.

[Azusateach]

If you're an Amazon Prime member they've got them there for $52 as well. Trying to decide whether or not I want to take a trip to Target or just order it. Decisions, decisions ...

[OTW]

This morning Amazon had the 3-qt. priced at its usual $69 but yeah, it's now $52-something.

I've unpacked it and I'm still not sure. I do have 4-qt. and 6-qt. stovetop pressure cookers (vintage Presto but they're both the safe lid slide-locking and stem-rising regulator style) and this Instant Pot is still awfully big by comparison. Now if it truly operates well as a slow cooker and yogurt maker also, then its bigger size might be worth it. Ditto its Keep Warm feature. Could anyone who has an Instant Pot please comment on how it compares with a stovetop pressure cooker and if possible also how it compares with dedicated yogurt makers and crockpots??

[OregonLuvr]

The crockpot function isnt good. I dont use it. It only heats from the bottom not like a regular crockpot so I just use my regular crockpot. But not much anymore because the Instant Pot just works so well and so fast. As far as using the old pressure cooker vs the instant pot, no comparison . I just gave my old one away yesterday LOL I like the safety features on the Instant Pot. Push a button and forget it. Turns itself off or goes to keep warm cycle
I dont like yogurt so I dont use that function but I have friends that love it. I am going to make a cheesecake in it tomorrow (first time for that) and made ribs today. I have the 8 qt here in the house and bought the 3 qt mini for the RV but all I have made in it so far is boiled eggs. I love doing my eggs in the instant pot. Set pressure for 5 minutes, let natural release for 5 minutes, put them in ice water for 5 minutes (it is called the 5-5-5 method) and they almost jump out of their shells. Tons of videos out there and I like the Instant Pot for Beginners Group on Facebook, I have learned lots of tips from them.
I think the biggest learning curve is how long to cook. Some things have been overcooked and others had to go back in for a bit but overall it is very easy to use.

[OTW]

Thanks for the feedback on it. That was another question I was going to ask just now -- whether the big hype surrounding Instant Pot is due to people having never used a pressure cooker of any kind, where this is their first PC experience, or whether within the world of pressure cooking, the Instant Pot beats stovetop ones. From what I can see so far it seems to take longer. I make a killer beef stew (whole uncut carrots, whole onions and halved potatoes) in 9-10 minutes at 15 lbs. pressure in my manual ones, then do a quick release under tap water on the side of the lid. All the beef stew recipes I've found for the Instant Pot seem to want 35 minutes and their veggies seem to always be cut much smaller. Some of that time might be something like including getting up to pressure time (not counted in my 9-10 minutes) but if I'm reading the manual right, you set it for 35 minutes at high pressure and it starts counting only once it comes to pressure.

Playing Devil's Advocate. Thare 2 things that do appeal to me a LOT about it, particularly in a camping situation where I'm likely as not to be hanging out outside, are the keep warm function as well as "set and forget' aspect of it because I always feel compelled to be around the stovetop PC just to make sure it's not going over 15 lbs. pressure. (Decisions decisions).

[MandysMom]

I have a stovetop PC and really liked it until I got my IP. Haven't used the stovetop unit since I got the IP. It's not having to babysit the IP that appealed, plus the various settings. I think yogurt is the only setting I haven't used.
Velda

[Bethers]

I can't compare. But I often take mine outside. I don't like releasing pressure inside, so after I'm ready, I set it up plugged in outside. Like Karen I haven't used my crockpot since getting my electric pressure cooker. I've been able to modify my crock pot recipes for the pressure cooker.

[OTW]

Well I think I'm going to keep it. For one very lame sounding example but meaningful if you think about real life as it happens, I was running late this morning, desperately needed some sort of protein I could scarf up quickly and just had zero time. I stuck a single egg in the IP (by then knew at least how to hard boil eggs via pressure) and it was just so no brainer -- let alone perfectly done. So yeah, the set-forget aspect of it is a biggie. The keep warm feature will be too. Those two together? Hmmm. And it fits into a corner on my counter. Dang, swore I was done buying appliances. But I can already see how this thing could end up being a real treat. And testimonial from someone who has both a stovetop and an IP. Good price, and I think this little 3-qt. is going to be an ideal size too. Now for recipes?? Stews, soups, but how does it do with things like chops and chicken? Get them soggy?

[OTW]

PS - will try the yogurt sometime this week. I'm not that thrilled with how it comes out of a dedicated yogurt machine (too liquidy) so I doubt this method will be worse. But with yogurt, I keep a thermometer in the milk so I can bring it to exactly 180 degrees (watch-intensive) and then more watching closely until it cools down to 118 degrees. After adding the starter, then it goes into the machine. If this thing makes just one of those steps less watchful, and at least as firm as dedicated yogurt machine turns it out, then its stock price goes way up, lol.

[AlmostThere]

Chiming in with my review:
I’ve had my 6 qt Duo 7 in 1 Instant Pot (IP), for over a year now. When I first got it I joined the Beginners FB group and learned lots of good tips, but YouTube has been my go-to info source. I did the hardboiled eggs. Perfect, as Karen said. I made yogurt once, turned out perfect, but as I pretty much cut out dairy I haven’t made it again. I made one cheesecake, too. Turned out delicious, and love that it makes a smaller size as I cook for only myself.
As for meat, I only cook whole chicken, mostly because I feed the meat to my dog as a treat, and I use the bones to make bone broth for my soups/stews, which is mostly what I use my pot for.
I do love love the convience of throwing a whole butternut/accorn or spaghetti squash in the unit. So much easier than cutting/cleaning the squash beforehand.
Last week I was given some beets. Threw them whole in the unit, too. When they are done I use a paper towel to easily rub the skins off.
That said, it sounds like you are pretty proficient with a stovetop cooker, so an electric one might not live up to your expectations. I tried a stovetop one years ago and it scared the heck out of me. I appreciate the ‘set it, and forget it’ ease of the IP.

[OTW]

Well now that I've had the IP for a few days, I've been playing with it nonstop. Partly because I'm finding it to be THE most convenient and versatile appliance I've ever met, and partly because with something this multifunctional, it's a learning curve. I've found that for steel cut oats to fully bloom, it takes 20 minutes (not 12-13 as most recipes seem to call for) and then it's worth it to let it hang out on Keep Warm for 30 minutes or so because the little rim of water remaining fully absorbs (if not calling for just a tad more than 3:1 for that reason) but not only do you get the most tender steel cut oats but also the dried cranberries rehydrate to a beautiful state. I also discovered that when making yogurt (a biggie for me), after letting it go through its milk heating mode (erroneously called "boil" on the machine), to hit Cancel and re-do that same mode a second time, which keeps the milk at 180 for a bit longer, resulting in a much thicker end result. This would be very hard to do stovetop, requiring focused hands-on tending. I did get the same half-quantity amount after greeking it, but it's not sloppy to begin with and the end consistency is the best I've ever gotten, ever! And that's after many times with 2 dedicated yogurt machines plus the ice chest method.

So this thing to me is a total no-brainer keeper. Its Set-and-Forget aspect is worth its weight in gold because it eliminates the tending and babysitting of otherwise cooking, and a whole lot of extra clean-up of pots/pans/utensils involved in prep otherwise too. Plus its auto Keep Warm feature lets me get distracted or finish an email with no compromised food product. In all, it's just way easier than my stovetop pressure cookers and leaps and bounds easier than non-pressure cooking. Love it. I'm still working on soft boiled eggs that are runny enough to treat as poached eggs on toast but where none of the runny is "glutinous" (whatever's a right word for snotty). But soft or hard cooked eggs, either/both are just primo tasting in this thing. I always cold-bathe my boiled eggs which helps a lot in easy peeling and thought that was why people found IP eggs to be so easy to peel, but they actually are even more so when pressure cooked IMHO.

I did try a single serving of beef stew in it (didn't want to chance wasting a whole package of beef in case I missed) and found the cooking times given in ALL the published recipes I've found are just way too long. So while not sure, I used as a guide my proven stovetop pressure cooker timing for beef stew but accounting for the lower pressure this thing reaches (only 10-12 psi vs. a stovetop's 15 psi) I added a guessed 3 add'l minutes for a total of 12 minutes on High Pressure. I'm not recalling if I did natural depressurization all the way or if I did it for 10 minutes or whatever, then quick released the rest but will remake it again in small quantity and nail that down. So that's the learning curve right there. It'll take some time of experimentation, but the potential for pretty perfect results is most definitely there. And the convenience? Just completely unparalleled.

As for the size of the 3-qt. both in storage (especially in an RV) vs. its smaller capacity, while the 6-qt. would make more, I would not make that added size trade-off if cooking for 1-2 people. I mean 2 quarts of chile or stew or whatever - it's enough for leftovers even for 2. Cooking for 3 daily, marginal and for 4, iffy. But I'm beyond thrilled with this size and it definitely earns its storage space. LOVE IT!!

[Bethers]

So glad to hear your review. Mine isn't the instant pot, but is just as valuable to me. And I've not completely followed any recipes lol

BTW, if you like rice in some stew/soup like recipes, I discovered I can use Uncle Ben's original long grain and wild rice (in the box)... Toss the packet that comes with in the garbage... Just use the rice in the recipe. Make sure you have enough liquid... Only needs about 8 minutes cooking time. So depending on the meat I'm using, I'll saute first enough so that 8 minutes will work for it, too. Oh, experiment lol

[OregonLuvr]

I love my Instant Pot too. I have the 8 qt for home, as I like to freeze ahead meals. I just bought a new freezer so now have plenty of room. I have the 3 qt for the RV.

I agree the biggest learning curve is the timing. I did learn to let meat Natural Pressure release as if you quick release it I guess the pressure pulls the moisture out of the meat and can make it tough. Everything I have made has turned out either fantastic or just okay...due to timing. Everything as been edible but I will tweak the time next time I make the same dish. I also do Pot in Pot alot with rice and steamed veggies are the best.