I love quick and easy recipes given my busy work schedule. Even though I work from home, it seems like I have less time to cook a delicious meal than I did when I worked outside the house, so I’m always looking for ways to speed up the process. I’d been looking at different pressure cookers for some time but never could decide on a stovetop version or an electric cooker, but when Amazon had a deal on CyberMonday on Instant Pot pressure cookers, I decided to take the plunge and get one.

I’m so hooked on this Instant Pot, and I can’t believe it took me this long to actually get one. It really does deliver a taste that you think took all day to achieve but in the fraction of the time. The first recipe I tried was a traditional beef stew. I had a cheaper cut of beefsteak plus some leftover prime rib to use in my stew, and to be honest, you really couldn’t tell the difference between the two in the finished product as far as tenderness, although you could still tell which type of beef it was based on texture. This Instant Pot is going to be a great way to buy more inexpensive cuts of meat and still end up with a tender bite in the end, and I can’t wait to try a beef roast in this.

I looked at various recipes on Pinterest for pressure cooker beef stew, mostly to get an idea of the times each stage of cooking would take. Some recipes called for adding all ingredients at the same time to the pressure cooker, but I decided to pressure cook the beef first and add the rest of the vegetables at a later stage. If you have an Instant Pot, it has a sauté feature where you can brown your meat in the pot itself, but I like to brown meat in my cast iron skillet. I then added the browned meat to the Instant Pot and continued as the recipe says. It turned out fantastic.

Pressure Cooker Beef Stew

2 pounds beef roast, cubed into 1-inch pieces

About 2 tablespoons flour

3 tablespoons olive oil

Salt and black pepper

8 ounces beef stock

8 ounces dry red wine (I used a Merlot)

1 pound carrots, cut into 1-inch pieces

1 large onion, diced into medium-sized pieces

2 cups of medium-diced potatoes (about 4 to 5 potatoes)

1 teaspoon garlic powder (or to taste)

1-1/2 teaspoon dried thyme (or to taste)

Select the sauté function on the Instant Pot, and add the olive oil. Dredge beef cubes in the flour, and sauté beef in the olive oil until browned on all sides. Salt and pepper the beef to taste as it browns. Add the beef stock and wine, and place the lid on the pot, making sure the lever is set to the pressurize setting. Using the manual button, cook on high pressure for 15 minutes. Using the quick-release valve, release the built-up pressure, and remove the lid. Add the remaining ingredients to the pot. Replace the lid. Again using the manual setting, cook on high pressure for 30 minutes. Either let the pressure naturally release, or you can use the quick-release function again to release the pressure. Remove the lid and serve the stew.
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