Instant Pot Beef Stew - A Healthy and Hearty Slow Cooker Stew Recipe (2024)

FAQs

Is beef stew better in Instant Pot or slow cooker? ›

The Instant Pot is a fantastic tool because it cooks even frozen meats to tender perfection. Pressure cooking beef stew is much faster than cooking beef stew in the slow cooker. Also, to get the beef, potatoes and carrots really tender, you have to cook it longer in the slow cooker.

Update the cooking time: Instant Pots are designed to cook much faster than slow cookers, so you'll need to adjust the cooking time accordingly. As a rule of thumb, you can cook most slow cooker recipes in an Instant Pot on high pressure for one quarter of the slow cooker time.

It's not necessary, but is sometimes done for certain meats just to give a few more flavors that develop with browning (even then it's optional however). It's more likely to be done, for example, when cooking only meat in a pressure cooker, and then most often meats like beef or pork.

This completely depends on the type of meat you are planning on cooking. Because slow cookers take longer to cook, they are better suited to breaking down fat in meat while adding moisture. So if you are planning on cooking a whole rump beef, then a slow cooker is a better choice.

Both appliances produce deep flavors.

Slow cookers utilize long cooking times to develop these richer flavors, while pressure cookers use high heat and pressure to impart as much flavor as possible in a shorter time.

Yes, if you are using meat and dried beans and/or lentils as the pressure cooker cuts down on cooking time dramatically! For other soup vegetables not so much unless you're in a hurry, when it would speed things up. Otherwise the slow cooker is a better option for long slow cooking.

If you're planning to cook your meals mostly when you're not home or overnight, then sticking to a Crockpot might be a better choice, since the heat distribution is more even and there is no need to stir at all.

A slow cooker and a Crockpot are the same thing, essentially. A slow cooker is an appliance of which there are lots of brands. Crockpot is one brand of slow cooker. Crockpot popularized slow cookers when they launched their version in the 1970s.

Unfortunately, once you overcook a piece of meat in the pressure cooker, there's no going back. You'll be left with a pile of dry, crunchy, tasteless fibers and no amount of additional pressure cooking is going to put that moisture back into the meat.

Consider Adding Flour

Melvin also recommends dusting the meat in seasoned flour before browning it. The flour will add body to the dish and help thicken up the sauce that comes together while the ingredients cook low and slow.

What is the best meat for stew? ›

Go for the chuck

The most common beef used for stew is chuck steak, also known as gravy beef or braising steak. Beef chuck comes from the forequarter of the animal consisting of parts of the neck, shoulder blade and upper arm. It is easy to find and it's affordable, making it a great choice for your stew.

If you prepare meat in a pressure cooker and it turns out dry, this is usually because the meat has cooked too long & the natural juices have been squeezed out. The result is a tasty gravy but dry meat.

The meat was overcooked: Slow cookers are known for their ability to tenderize meat, but if the meat is cooked for too long, it can become overcooked and tough. It's important to follow the recommended cooking time for your recipe to ensure that the meat is cooked to the correct doneness.

While you may cover meat almost completely for a conventional braise, use just enough liquid for the cooker to reach pressure – during pressure cooking the meat will release it's own juice and braise in that flavorful liquid, instead.

It's not gonna really affect the taste per say. But browning the meat 1st, creates a crust on the meat that will inturn seal in flavors of the meat, especially when it's being stewed. It makes it extra delicious. It will look grey and unappetising but will taste fine and be safe to eat.

Is it necessary to brown meat and poultry before pressure cooking? A. No, however, browning adds a rich, robust flavor to a recipe. It is recommended in many instances to enhance the flavor, but it is not necessary if time is short.