More instant pot wisdom and helpful tips

When I first wrote about Instant Pots back in 2017, it was with the ardor of new love. I had fallen hard for my first electric pressure cooker, delighting in the myriad ways it could improve my kitchen life.

The question was, would the habit stick? Or would my Instant Pot end up like so many panini presses and sous vide wands — on a shelf in the basement, fuzzy with dust?

I’m happy to report that, nearly five years in, it has remained an integrated and well-used kitchen tool. After hundreds of meals, I have learned a few very valuable lessons.

Here are some of my best practices and tips for getting the most out of your Instant Pot:

Play to Its Strengths

The most important thing I have learned is to stick to what the Instant Pot does well. Any dish that traditionally needs long, slow cooking in a moist environment will turn soft and succulent a lot faster in an electric pressure cooker.

Tough cuts of meat become incomparably

tender and silky. Pork shoulder — stewed with wine, herbs, root vegetables and olives or capers for brightness — becomes a staple as soon as the weather turns cool.

Lock That Lid

It’s bound to happen at some point: You have filled your Instant Pot, set the pressure to high, then opened the lid to find dinner only half cooked. What went wrong?

The sealing ring may be slightly askew. Before cooking, make sure the ring is pressed down all the way around the inside cover of the pot. After the machine starts counting down, check that the pressure indicator at the top is firmly in its locked position.

Avoid the Dreaded ‘Burn’

Your electric pressure cooker can’t tell the difference between the tasty, caramelized bits that stick to the pot after you brown your ingredients and food that is smoldering to a crisp. And that is a common reason the burn message appears.

If you have seared your ingredients using the sauté function, add some liquid to the pot, bring it to a simmer, then scrape up all those browned bits thoroughly before locking the lid.

It’s also important to use enough liquid, at least a half cup, even if the recipe doesn’t direct you to. Older Instant Pot recipes, my own included, might have been tested on earlier models of the appliance, which had a less sensitive burn sensor. These recipes might not call for that much liquid because the old models didn’t need it.

If the burn message does come on midway through cooking, don’t panic. Simply release the pressure, open the pot and give everything a big stir, scraping up anything stuck to the bottom. If the pot looks dry, add a few tablespoons of water or other liquid, then reseal the pot and continue cooking.

Pork shoulder is one of the most glorious things to cook in an electric pressure cooker. The meat becomes velvety and suffused with rich, brawny juices. In the recipe below, red wine, tomatoes, rosemary and sage perfume the pork, while olives, stirred in at the end, give it brightness. This stew is even better cooked a day or two ahead, giving the flavors time to meld. Making it in advance also gives the fat a chance to solidify, so it’s easy to remove before reheating. You can reheat the stew in the electric pressure cooker using the sauté setting. Serve this with good bread to soak up the meaty sauce.

Instant pot pork stew with red wine and olives

Ingredients:

• 2 pounds pork shoulder or pork stew meat, cut into 2-inch chunks

• 1 1/2 teaspoons kosher salt, plus more as needed

• 3/4 teaspoon black pepper, freshly ground, plus more as needed

• 6 garlic cloves, grated, passed through a press or crushed into a paste

• 1 tablespoon fresh rosemary, chopped

• 1 tablespoon fresh sage, chopped

• Large pinch of red pepper flakes

• 1 teaspoon coriander seeds

• Olive oil

• 1/2 cup dry red wine

• 1 (15-ounce) can whole plum tomatoes, peeled

• 2 medium carrots, sliced 1/2-inch thick (about 1 cup)

• 1/2 cup pitted and torn green olives, such as Castelvetrano

• Parsley or basil, chopped, for serving

Directions:

Season the pork all over with the salt and pepper. In a large bowl, combine the pork, garlic, rosemary, sage and red pepper flakes.

In a small dry skillet, toast the coriander seeds until fragrant, 1-2 minutes. Transfer to a mortar and pestle and coarsely crush. Add crushed seeds to the pork and toss well. Refrigerate for at least 30 minutes or overnight.

Set the pressure cooker to the sauté function on medium. Add 1 tablespoon oil and let it get hot for a few seconds, then add enough pork chunks to fit comfortably in one layer with a little space around each piece. Let brown for 2-3 minutes per side, then transfer the cubes to a plate. Add a little more oil if the pot looks dry and continue browning the rest of the pork.

Add the wine to the pot and let simmer, scraping the browned bits from the bottom, until it reduces by half, about 2 minutes.

Using kitchen shears or your hands, break the tomatoes into pieces and add them, along with their liquid, to the pot.

Return pork to the pot, stir in carrots and 1/2 cup water.

Seal the pot and cook on high pressure for 45 minutes. Let the pressure release naturally.

Using a slotted spoon, transfer pork to a serving platter. Use a fat separator to separate the fat from the juices, or just spoon the fat off the top.

If the sauce seems thin, use the sauté function to simmer it until it thickens. Stir in olives, then taste the sauce and add more salt, if you like.

Spoon the sauce over the pork, then top with chopped parsley or basil and serve.

Total time: 1 1/2 hours, serves 4-6.