What am I doing wrong with my instant pot?

[bisous]

I am having a problem making food turn out. I tried the pasta thing and ended up with lots of water and not cooked noodles. I followed the directions online to a T, can't remember where I got them.

Then I made chicken from frozen (which would be awesome if it worked since I just bought a whole bunch of chicken breasts on sale and froze them!). One was PERFECT. It was tender, moist, absolutely delicious. The other breast, cooked at EXACTLY the same time was so hard I couldn't hardly cut it with a fork. They might have been different sizes but honestly they looked very similar in size.

Sign. I want to use it again (with frozen chicken breasts again) but I'm nervous!

What could I possibly be doing wrong?

[hillview]

not sure -- i don't do frozen chicken in it. I think if you are using the poultry setting with frozen chicken you would need more time for it to cook. Pasta shouldn't be too bad if you drain it -- i make a pasta and sauce in it and it works just fine. What recipe book are you using?

[Aishe]

I am having a problem making food turn out. I tried the pasta thing and ended up with lots of water and not cooked noodles. I followed the directions online to a T, can't remember where I got them.

Then I made chicken from frozen (which would be awesome if it worked since I just bought a whole bunch of chicken breasts on sale and froze them!). One was PERFECT. It was tender, moist, absolutely delicious. The other breast, cooked at EXACTLY the same time was so hard I couldn't hardly cut it with a fork. They might have been different sizes but honestly they looked very similar in size.

Sign. I want to use it again (with frozen chicken breasts again) but I'm nervous!

What could I possibly be doing wrong?

Were the chicken breasts frozen individually or were they stuck together in one frozen lump?

[TwinFoxes]

I cook frozen chicken breasts on high for 11 minutes. They turn out great. The poultry setting didn't work as well. I actually don't use the preset buttons.

For the pasta, were you just cooking pasta, or was their sauce etc? I've never done plain pasta. Post the recipes and maybe we can trouble shoot.

I've had things that weren't to our tastes, but nothing that wasn't cooked properly.

[RiverRat]

Is it sealing properly? I’ve had mine come up to pressure but not cook because the seal ring was too hot or not installed properly


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[hillview]

oh river rat is right -- make sure the seal is settled properly into the lid itself

[123LuckyMom]

Did adjusting the ring work? I hate to think of you struggling with your instant pot!


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[mikala]

Was one of the chicken breasts submerged in water and the other exposed? I've had the best luck cooking frozen meat with lots of liquid. This site explains why liquid helps. https://www.hippressurecooking.com/h...k-frozen-meat/

I too wonder if the silicone ring might have been out of place on your other recipe or if the vent was left open during cooking. That's my one complaint with the instant pot- it doesn't give error codes if it isn't able to get up to pressure.

[bisous]

Wow. This was helpful. I'm trying another chicken breast using only 11 minutes on high like twinfoxes. I don't think I put enough liquid in though. I only put in one can of chicken broth. Might be tough... We'll see! I dream of the day I can stick a frozen chicken breast in that thing and have moist delicious chicken without having to lift a finger, lol!

[bisous]

Chicken worked out better! It was for a shorter duration and I only cooked one (extremely large and very frozen) breast. I will try with more liquid next time and I think it could be even better.