{"id":48626,"date":"2022-06-22T11:07:43","date_gmt":"2022-06-22T15:07:43","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.cruisingworld.com\/?p=48626"},"modified":"2023-05-06T18:19:11","modified_gmt":"2023-05-06T22:19:11","slug":"favorite-instant-pot-recipes-for-cruising","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.cruisingworld.com\/how-to\/favorite-instant-pot-recipes-for-cruising\/","title":{"rendered":"Sailing Totem: Favorite Instant-Pot Recipes for Cruising"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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\n\t\t\t\t\t\"Jammy <\/div>\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\n
\n This delicious breakfast photo has us dreaming about eggs cooked in the Instant Pot, thanks to Susan and Travis Ruse on Motu<\/i>.<\/span>\n Courtesy of Travis and Susan Ruse<\/span>\n\n\t\t\t\t <\/figcaption>\n <\/section>\n\t\t\n\n\n

After six months of using my Instant Pot<\/a>, I have some opinions. One I\u2019m sure of: This gadget is going to make the short list of galley MVPs on board our Stevens 47, Totem<\/em>. Another strong opinion is that the benefits of an Instant Pot are largely similar to a conventional stovetop pressure cooker. Both will reduce galley heat, lower fuel consumption and allow great shortcuts that I detailed a few months ago in \u201cIs an Instant Pot Worth it?<\/a>\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Readers asked for favorite Instant Pot recipes. I\u2019ve had a lot of time to try standard family favorites, and I\u2019ve been exploring additional recipes to fit our sailing life. I polled friends and a favorite forum to glean the onboard favorites from other folks, too. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Preparing meals ahead helps<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

When I solicited input on the Pressure Cooking on Boats<\/a> Facebook group, Cindy Smith on her Oyster 54 Oyster Reach<\/em> jumped in to say, \u201cJust made pulled pork tonight in prep for passage from New Zealand to Fiji.\u201d She\u2019s been patiently waiting for a weather window and is now on her way. One of her favorite recipes? Bobotie, a South African specialty we\u2019ve come to love. Not just an easy make-ahead, but easily reheated in a pressure cooker too. The recipe she shared is below.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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\n\t\t\t\t\t\"Canning <\/div>\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\n
\n Canning meat is one of many reasons Behan loves having a pressure cooker on board. Shown here are three different kinds of beef, canned with an Instant Pot Max.<\/span>\n Behan Gifford<\/span>\n\n\t\t\t\t <\/figcaption>\n <\/section>\n\t\t\n\n\n

One-pot meals win underway <\/h2>\n\n\n\n

\u201cBeans are one of our go-to passage meals,\u201d says Erin Easingwood, who sails Skookum V<\/em><\/a>, a Leopard 40, with her family, and has shared a few winning recipes with me in the past. And she\u2019s right: When you can cook a meal in one pot (especially if juggling the helm and\/or two busy children), your day at sea just got one tick easier. Simplified prep, fewer dishes and pressure cookers have locking lids by design, which means added safety if seas are spicy. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Meals (and treats) made easy<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Not gonna lie: I felt a little homesick when Roberta Darrow , who owns the Islander 36 Mystic<\/em> in Mexico and the Transpacific Eagle 53 trawler Happy Talk<\/em> in Puget Sound, posted from the Pacific Northwest about how the Instant Pot is ideal for preparing fresh-cracked Dungeness crab on her boat. Another new trick I learned? Whole coconuts are easily peeled after a few minutes under pressure. Cooking under pressure was a lifesaver for my hearty carnivores since unaged (and never refrigerated) meat in remote locales tends to be tough otherwise.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A well-fed crew is a happy crew<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Sometimes, it\u2019s easy, healthy snacks: Setting an exact cook time on an Instant Pot results in hard-boiled eggs that are perfect and easy-peel. Sometimes, it\u2019s more substantial sustenance, such as comfort food readily prepared after a hard day\u2019s boat work.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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\n\t\t\t\t\t\"dolphins\" <\/div>\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\n
\n Underway in the South Atlantic with dolphins for company. One-pot meals win underway, and beans cooked in the Instant Pot are a go-to passage classic.<\/span>\n Behan Gifford<\/span>\n\n\t\t\t\t <\/figcaption>\n <\/section>\n\t\t\n\n\n

The recipes<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Here\u2019s a roundup of recipes that I hope you all enjoy. The first few are staple recipes referenced by many sailors. The rest are favorite recipes for pressure cooking on board. Some are linked, some are written out, all are delicious. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Yogurt<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Being able to DIY yogurt on board is helpful for access (it\u2019s not sold in many places) and reducing waste (no more plastic tubs). The Boat Galley has a great yogurt recipe<\/a>. It uses powdered milk and a thermos, but readily adapts to use the yogurt function on an Instant Pot. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

One boater who uses this recipe in her Instant Pot says: \u201cI got rid of the thermos to make more space, and I don’t think the Instant Pot uses much power to maintain a temperature of about 115 degrees Fahrenheit for eight hours.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

I might actually move our single-use, rather large EasiYo Yogurt machine off the boat now.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Rice<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Rice has been the most widely available staple along the entirety of our circumnavigation<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

As a college student, I researched wet rice agriculture\u2014including living in a village in the foothills of an Indonesian volcano and helping with the harvest. It is the standing family joke that I am terrible at cooking rice on the stove, but having a rice cooker on board? Who does that? Then, I was introduced to perfect-every-time rice in a stovetop pressure cooker. The Instant Pot\u2019s set-it-and-forget-it capability leveled me up.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

One cruiser takes it a step farther: \u201cYou can even cook rice in your pressure cooker. I put my rice, seasoning and water on the bottom, then slice sausage on top and pressure cook. Total meal in one pot. The sausage juices drip down and seasons the rice. Yum!\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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\n\t\t\t\t\t\"Indonesian <\/div>\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\n
\n Indonesian rice paddies at various stages of growth. The Instant Pot\u2019s set-it-and-forget-it ability to cook rice is a game changer.<\/span>\n Behan Gifford<\/span>\n\n\t\t\t\t <\/figcaption>\n <\/section>\n\t\t\n\n\n

Passage beans<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

The ease of stowing dried beans makes them a favorite among cruisers. They taste better than their canned brethren, and create less garbage. Cooking dried beans is often the first thing new pressure cooker owners learn to appreciate. Aboard Skookum V<\/em>, Erin makes what she calls Passage Beans that are similar to what we enjoy, too, based on this recipe<\/a> and interpreted for an Instant Pot. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Ingredients<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n