Monday, March 4, 2024
Instant Pot BBQ Baby Back Ribs バーベキューベイビーバックリブ
The recipe is an amalgamation from several sources.
Ingredients
1 rack of baby back pork ribs membrane removed
Rub:
2 tbs brown sugar (I should omit this next time)
1 tsp salt
1 tsp black pepper
1 tsp cumin
1 tsp garlic powder
1 tsp onion powder
Rib Pot:
1 cup Water
1/2 cup rice vinegar vinegar (the usual is to use apple cider vinegar)
1/2 cup BBQ Sauce (recipe below)
Directions:
Combine the Rub ingredients in a small dish. Rub on the front and back of the ribs.
Pour Rib Pot ingredients in the bottom of the Instant pot and then place the trivet in the pot.
Place the ribs inside the pot, standing on their side, wrapping around the inside of the pot.
Choose “Stewed meat” which will set the Instant pot to high pressure and 25 minutes. I turned off “Keep warm”. Release the pressure 10 minutes after the cooking is completed (or let it depressurize naturally)
Remove the ribs from the pressure cooker and set on a foil lined baking sheet. Brush with BBQ sauce (picture #2) and set under the broiler until sauce begins to caramelize, about 5 minutes (picture #3).
BBQ Sauce:
Ingredients
1 1/2 cups brown sugar (319.5 grams) packed 1 1/2 cups ketchup (352.5 grams)
1/2 cup apple rice vinegar (119.29 ml)
1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
2 teaspoons paprika
2 teaspoons onion powder 1 teaspoon black pepper
2 teaspoons kosher salt
Directions:
1. Combine all the ingredients in a small sauce pan over medium heat.
2. Bring to a boil. Reduce to a simmer and cook for 15 minutes, stirring occasionally.
The length of the cooking in the Instant pot determine how tender the meat will be. We cooked it for 25 minutes which appears to be just right. It is tender and bone comes out easily but not too mushy. Next time, I will omit the brow sugar form the dry rub and reduce the brown sugar from the BBQ sauce.
Saturday, August 27, 2022
Instant Pot Egg Bites version 2 インスタントポットエッグバイツ
Ingredients (Recipe x1, 7 egg bites)
3 large eggs
1/4 cup cottage cheese
1/4 cup soft cheese, like cream cheese, Brie, Boursin, or Laughing Cow (we used cream cheese)
1/2 cup chopped mix-ins, like cooked meats and/or raw or cooked vegetables (we used jalapeños, shallots and prosciutto)
1/2 cup shredded cheese, such as cheddar, Monterey jack, or mozzarella (We used cheddar and Monterey Jack)
Ingredients (recipe x2, 14 egg bites)
6 large eggs
1/2 cup cottage cheese
1/2 cup soft cheese, like cream cheese, Brie, Boursin, or Laughing Cow (we used cream cheese)
1 cup chopped mix-ins, like cooked meats and/or raw or cooked vegetables (we used jalapeños, shallots and prosciutto)
1 cup shredded cheese, such as cheddar, Monterey jack, or mozzarella (We used cheddar and Monterey Jack)
Directions:
Combine the eggs, cottage cheese, soft cheese and other cheeses in a blender. Blend at medium speed for about 30 seconds, until smooth. Pour into molds 3/4 full. Evenly distribute the chopped veggies into the molds. Stir to further incorporate.
Pour 1 cup of water into the Instant Pot or electric pressure cooker. Cover the egg molds and put into the wire steam rack. Grasping the handles of the steam rack, lower the egg molds into the pot.
Cook the eggs on “steam”: Secure the lid on the pressure cooker. Make sure that the pressure regulator is set to the “Sealing” position. Select “steam” then adjust the time to 8 minutes (for single batch and if making a double batch, increase the cooking time to 10 minutes.)
The pressure cooker will take about 10 minutes to come up to full pressure. Cook time begins once it has reached full pressure.
When the timer goes off, let the pressure release naturally for 10 minutes, then perform a quick pressure release by moving the pressure release knob from “Sealing” to “Venting.” It will take a minute or two for the pressure to release completely. Remove the egg bites from the pressure cooker.
These were very good egg bites. They tasted more eggy than cheesy but the cheese flavor came through nicely enough. The shallots and jalapeño gave a nice spiciness while the prosciutto added some saltiness. The texture was very smooth almost like a very firm custard. These would be lovely as an egg substitute for breakfast or brunch as well as an appetizer with a glass of wine.
Wednesday, July 27, 2022
Spare ribs cooked in Instant pot with home-made BBQ sauce バーベキューソース豚スペアリブ
This was the second version of pork spare ribs we made using Instant Pot. I asked my wife to come up with the BBQ sauce. We looked at a few Instant Pot rib recipes. Most of them start with dry rubs and add apple juice/vinegar in the bottom of the Instant Pot and place the ribs on the trivet and pressure cook. After that, smear the BBQ sauce and grill it for a few minutes. My wife said, she does not like charred and blackened BBQ sauce on the surface. She remembered a BBQ sauce based on a recipe from Joy of Cooking that she used to make years ago. So we looked up the recipe and made her version based on the notes she wrote many years ago on a post-it note she stuck in the book next to the recipe. This was more traditional flavors but it is also very good. The meat came off the bone very easily.
Ingredients:
One medium onion, coarsely chopped
Directions:
For Sauce:
Sauté and caramelize the onion in olive oil. Add the ketchup and cook until it caramelizes and darkens (Maillard reaction). Add the rest of the ingredients and simmer for about 20 minutes.
For cooking ribs in the Instant Pot.
Ingredients:
4-5 pork spare ribs
onion and garlic powder
Salt and pepper
Olive oil
the BBQ sauce made above
Water
Directions:
Rub the ribs with onion and garlic powders, salt and black pepper
Using the sauté function, heat the Instant Pot and when the oil is simmering, add ribs and brown all four sides, add the BBQ sauce and water so that the ribs are just submerged.
Choose manual, pressure cook to high-pressure and 35 minutes
Let it naturally de-pressurize and remove the lid
Using the sauté function, reduce the sauce for 15-20 minutes or until thick.
Sunday, July 24, 2022
Spareribs cooked in Instant pot, Chinese style 中華風豚のスペアリブ
At the beginning of the COVID pandemic, many workers at the major meat packing plants came down sick and some of the plants had to shut down leading to concerns about an impending meat shortage. So, we stocked up on meat, buying and freezing, some cuts we usually don’t get but were available at the time. My wife (a.k.a. Freezer inventory control officer for the household) informed me that we have frozen pork spareribs from that period dated April 2020 which were not getting any younger. With no impending meat shortages in sight, it was with some relief that at least that part of the epidemic was over, we decided it was time to reduce our “Covid stockpile”. The ribs turned out to be quite meaty. Some pieces contained 2 ribs (country style?). In any case, we decided to cook these in the Instant Pot rather than in the oven. The way the ribs were cut, made it possible for me to easily divide the ribs into shorter pieces. We decided to make two different kinds of spareribs: one with BBQ sauce and the other in Chinese style. This worked well due to the capacity of the Instant Pot. The latter recipe based on what we saw on YouTube, but I had to modify it, as usual, due to the lack of some ingredients. In any case, the picture below shows the final product. It was definitely “off-the-bone” tender and had a sweet and sour taste which was quite good.
5 3-inch pork spareribs (#1), seasoned with onion powder, garlic powder, salt and black pepper
Vegetable oil for sautéing and searing the meat
(Herbs and aromatics, #2 below)
3 shallots finely minced
4 garlic gloves finely minced
1/2-inch ginger finely minced
one cinnamon stick
2 star anis
1/4 tsp red pepper flakes
(Seasoning liquid #3 below)
4 tbs soy sauce
2tbs brown sugar (I used mixture of dark molasses and sugar)
2tbs oyster sauce
2tbs red miso (instead of hoisin sauce* since I did not have one)
1 cup sake
2 tbs rice vinegar
*I usually have hoisin sauce, but I do not use it often. I must have thrown out the opened one which I kept in the fridge some time ago. Red miso appears to work in the recipe.
Directions:
Using the “sauté” function of the Instant Pot and a small amount of oil (wait until the oil gets hot), I browned the ribs (#1) in all 4 sides (despite our belief that browning of the meat in a stew is not needed).
Take out the meat and add a bit more vegetable oil and bloom the spices (#2) add the aromatic vegetables (#2) and sauté for several minutes.
Add back the ribs and add the liquid seasonings (#3)
Add 1/2 cup water and pressure cook at high-pressure for 35 minutes with natural de-pressurizing.
Remove the lid after de-pressurized and turn on “sauté” function and let it reduce for 20 minutes or until the sauce thickens.
We tasted a finished rib. (The result after the tasting shown in #4. As you can see it was so good not much was left for the picture after our “tasting”.) The meat easily came off the bone.
Saturday, June 25, 2022
Quail braised in Greek style ギリシャ風ウズラ
1/4 cup olive oil
4 to 8 quail
Salt
3 stalks celery, chopped
1 large yellow onion, sliced thin
1 head garlic, cloves peeled but whole
2 teaspoons dried oregano
1 cup white wine
3 Lemons, zest and juice
12 ounces marinated artichoke hearts
12 ounces pitted black olives
1 tablespoon capers (optional)
3 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley (we skipped this since we id not have it)
Black pepper to taste
Directions:
Using kitchen shears or a knife, cut out the backbones and ribs of the quail. The picure below is before I took of the ribs.
Add the onion and celery and sauté until translucent, but not browned.
Just barely cover the quails with water*, bring it to a simmer and add salt to taste. Add the lemon zest.
Add lemon juice and black pepper.
Later, my wife took the meat off the bone and simmered the leftovers for 30 minutes which reduced the sauce even more and further intensified the flavors. I added fresh artichoke hearts, olive and caper. This one tasted much better. Be careful of small bones, however.