From what I read on the Instant Pot community FB site, you shouldn't have opened it until it released the pressure itself - NPR / natural release. That seems to be especially important for meat. It continues to cook while it is releasing the pressure. on things like pasta, you do a QR / quick release - often in several quick, short releases. pasta that stays under pressure once it beeps, will get mushy. I've been reading on several IP FB sites this past month and there is a wealth of info on them on how (and what) to cook in the IP. I've read on there of numerous users who have cooked a small chicken whole in their pot. It depends on the size of the chicken and the pot. I bought a 3 qt and some have cooked a whole chicken in that size! That's not something I'll ever do. I'd only do 2-4 chicken breasts and most of that would be cut into strips to freeze. There's a recipe for I think it's called Mississippi pot roast that many just rave about and so I'll try that - maybe with a very tiny piece of roast. More so than meat (I don't eat that much meat), I got one for making yogurt and possibly cottage cheese. Many say they use the plain yogurt sometimes in place of sour cream. I also want to be able to cook beans without soaking them and make my own refried beans (no more canned beans). For those who make bread, you can proof it in the IP if it has the yogurt button. I think the LUX is the one that doesn't have it. It can still be used to make yogurt, but not to proof bread. hard boiled eggs usually take 5 min cook time and 5 min of release time and then 5 min in cold water. From what I read, the shells easily slip off of the egg. you can go to the site and read. I think you need to 'join' (which is no big deal to do) in order to ask questions or comment on posts. I had to join on other sites just to read the posts. They also post links to many of the better recipe websites. I'll post a few in a bit if I can find them. It's a fast moving site but most questions are asked frequently by those who have just received their new IP (and answered by those who are seasoned in using it) . You can just scan down the pages and look for things you might want to cook. I skip over a lot of them because they aren't things I'd ever make for myself. In the past week they had a lot of posts on making dog food in the IP - that's something I am interested in for my furgirl. tomato products can easily cause a burn notice as can sugary sauces / liquids. and if you're making something like spaghetti, there's an order to how you layer them in the pot for pressure cooking. Always water on bottom, then any meat (on the trivet), pasta is spread out over that with the sauce poured over that. they often say to then add the water around the edge of the inner post / food so that it reaches the bottom of the pot (which is why I listed it first - it needs to be on bottom in order to heat and create the steam). And do NOT stir it or mix them together. here's one sample on cooking chicken that I copied out (making pages of notes for myself) - Moist, Sliceable chicken breast using a 6 QUART Instant Pot 1 minute per oz This recipe is for a 9 oz breast..Manual 9 minutes with a 10 minute NPR 4 to 6 ounce breasts..1 minute per ounce with a 5 minute NPR 7 to 11 ounces breasts.. 1 minute per ounce with a 10 minute NPR Ingredients Fresh or frozen 9 ounce chicken breast 1 cup of water Steps Add 1 cup of water to your pot Put your trivet in with the breast on top. You'll need to know the weight of the breast Close and seal your pot Set your pot to manual 9 minutes Allow for a 10 minute NPR sites often posted as good and safe recipes are Amy and Jacky, this old gal and pressureluck. and I think all 3 of those have videos for newbies on how to use the IP - things to know before you start cooking. I'll be watching those in the next few days before I even run the water test. there are many more recipe sites listed on it also, I just don't remember them all. it's also a great source for when things go wrong - like the burn notice, steam coming out from under the lid, it won't come to pressure, etc.

Janet: good to know about the rings. Pkramer60: I think I probably will go with the 8qt. and googling my current favorites cooked in the IP is a good idea. Anne Duke: If I ever have time to experiment I might try that. Right now I do the easy way:microwave in the potato bag. Dan1888: Sounds like things I cook, but don't understand how you cook potatoes and carrots wrapped in foil in beef stew-am I mis-reading that? Alex9179: I have a manual PC, so am familiar with the extra time you have to allow for coming to pressure and cool down. I still love the way it tenderizes certain foods and the speed. Thank you for the link; I will explore. Sooz: The chuck roast sounds delicious! I would have never thought of meat loaf in a pressure cooker and chicken broth, too. Lalithar: The time saved cooking beans and lentils makes a PC earn its shelf space. I didn't realize they act as warmers. And glad to hear you like the IP brand better. Chocolatebunny123: Glad to hear from another pleased user, even if it is hubby who uses it. I remember as a young married, being afraid to use a PC, but my mother bought me one an insisted it was safe. I didn't read the instructions well and eventually tried to cook something in it that I wasn't supposed to and blew the vent out. IIRC it was chicken and dumplings and they were all over my ceiling. By then I knew how valuable the PC was for saving time and started paying more attention to how and what to cook in it. Btaylor10: I've never made yogurt, but we do eat lots of it, so that would be a neat feature. Moosemac: I like the idea of using it for broth and I like that so many have replaced appliances with the IP. Thanks for all your responses. It always helps to make a decision about cooking appliances and tools after reading the opinions and experiences of the people on this forum I think I will have to be careful about weight gain if I use it for as many cheesecakes as people on here are enjoying!

Thanks for sharing this info and the link!

I have a funny story to share re instapot. Two years ago we started a massive kitchen renovation - I got my 6 burner Bluestar range, a walk in pantry, wall ovens - heaven ! Well, in the midst of it, DH discovers IP and started testing out Asian Indian cooking in it. Since we were kitchen-less for a longgg time and his engineering sense of precision to cooking naturally lent to IP cooking, I went along. Well here we are two years later and now we have 2 IPs (and threatening to buy a third small one ... for "those times when you we might need one ! LOL ".DH is turning into a IP-dictator whereby he automatically assumes that any cooking I do can be done faster and taste better in IP. It doesnt help that HIS instapot recipes are really yummy and a great hit with our boys and with friends ! I was half joking to him that instead of upgrading to bluestar rangetop, we should have bought 6 IPs for a fraction of the cost :) If anyone wants to try good IP dishes for Asian Indian cooking I highly recommend https://ministryofcurry.com/top-10-instant-pot-recipes/ Note: No relation to the author, just a blog DH swears by for his IP recipes. HTH