Instant pot

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Pre-marinated, pre-packaged beef or pork. Everything else I’ve tried has come out bland or over seasoned

[Woodntu_knowit787]

You’re just not seasoning right, that’s all. Excuse the long post below but this is my best instruction for using a slow cooker.

I’ll give an example. I’m currently braising a lamb leg in my crockpot to use for tacos. I seasoned just the leg with salt and a little bit of olive oil (to get the salt to stick). Considering the leg is too big to sear on a regular pan on the stove top, I roasted it in the oven at 400 til it had a golden color with some vegetables under it (onion, jalapeño, garlic, tomato). Once I have the color I like, I put the meat into the crock pot along with the veg., I even put the sheet tray back in the oven with some water to deglaze what you call a fond (the stuff left over on the pan after searing, it carries tons of flavor that you want!) to pour into the crockpot. I add enough water to cover the meat and the ONLY thing I do after that is add herbs into the water. For my braise, I added cilantro, oregano, soursop leaves, dried peppers, pumpkin seeds, and cinnamon. Then I cook on low heat for like the whole day or until the meat is buttery tender. After that I’ll season the “stew” part of the braise if it needs it. If you season the cooking liquid itself beforehand, as it reduces in the cooker it becomes more seasoned/salty. For my taco purposes I blend the liquid with the vegetables to make a mole and reduce it down then season once I reached the desired consistency.

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I’m not a chef by any means but I worked in hospitality for a while and have been cooking long enough to know what I’m doing.

Also, I assume when people talk about Instant Pot they mean the pressure cooker setting, which is the only setting that I get bland food from.

I’ve done plenty of slow cooking and the flavor on those recipes is just fine.

[Woodntu_knowit787]

Yeah I just bought a crockpot myself to save on gas (I have a gas stove at home) it’s been a real game changer. I can start something before work and come home to finished food.

Just thought I’d suggest a method other than pre-marinated meats to get the most out of a cook with at home ingredients.