As with conventional cooking, cooking with Instant Pot is full of personal choice, creativity, and a little science and experimentation. No two individuals have exactly the same taste, texture or preference of tenderness of food. The Cooking Time Tables are meant to be used as general guidelines on the length of time various foods are cooked under pressure. We encourage you to experiment to find the results that suit your preferences. Other factors may affect the cooking time. For example, different cuts of meat (or different sizes of the same cut) will likely require different cooking times to yield the same tenderness or texture. When cooking frozen food, there is no need to defrost the food in the microwave prior to preparing. However, frozen food will prolong the pre-heating time, and may affect the cooking time depending on the size or amount of food. To have your meal ready on time, it is important to plan accordingly.
There are a few things to be aware of when cooking meat: Raw meat is perishable and should not be left at room temperature for more than 2 hours (or 1 hour if room temperature is above 32°C / 90°F). When using the [Delay Start] program, do not set time for more than 1-2 hours. We recommend to pre-cook meat and select [Keep Warm] or [Warm] program to maintain the food at the correct serving temperature. Do not try to thicken the sauce before cooking. Corn starch, flour or arrow-root may deposit on the bottom of the inner pot and block heat dissipation. As a result, the pressure cooker may overheat. You may want to brown/sear the meat by selecting the [Sauté] program to seal the juices before pressure-cooking.
| Meat | Cooking Time (minutes) | Measurement |
|---|---|---|
| Beef, stew meat | 20 | per 450 g / 1 lb |
| Beef, meat ball | 5 | per 450 g / 1 lb |
| Beef, dressed | 20 – 25 | per 450 g / 1 lb |
| Beef (pot roast, steak, rump, round, chuck, blade or brisket) Small Chunks | 15 - 20 | per 450 g / 1 lb |
| Beef (pot roast, steak, rump, round, chuck, blade or brisket) Large Chunks | 20 - 25 | per 450 g / 1 lb |
| Beef, ribs | 20 – 25 | per 450 g / 1 lb |
| Beef, shanks | 25 – 30 | per 450 g / 1 lb |
| Beef, oxtail | 40 – 50 | per 450 g / 1 lb |
| Chicken, breasts (boneless) | 6 – 8 | per 450 g / 1 lb |
| Chicken, whole 2-2.5 Kg | 8 | per 450 g / 1 lb |
| Chicken, cut with bones | 10 – 15 | per 450 g / 1 lb |
| Chicken, bone stock | 40 – 50 | N/A |
| Duck, portions with bones | 12 – 15 | per 450 g / 1 lb |
| Duck, whole | 10 – 15 | per 450 g / 1 lb |
| Ham, slices | 9 – 12 | N/A |
| Ham, picnic shoulder | 8 | per 450 g / 1 lb |
| Lamb, cubes | 10 – 15 | per 450 g / 1 lb |
| Lamb, stew meat | 12 – 15 | per 450 g / 1 lb |
| Lamb, leg | 15 | per 450 g / 1 lb |
| Pheasant | 8 | per 450 g / 1 lb |
| Turkey, breast (boneless) | 7 – 9 | per 450 g / 1 lb |
| Turkey, breast (whole) | 20 – 25 | per 450 g / 1 lb |
| Turkey, drumsticks (leg) | 15 – 20 | per 450 g / 1 lb |
| Veal, chops | 5 – 8 | per 450 g / 1 lb |
| Veal, roast | 12 | per 450 g / 1 lb |
| Quail, whole | 8 | per 450 g / 1 lb |
| Eggs (large) | Hard boiled: 5 mins | N/A |