My first meal-Shredded Chicken

The very first thing you are going to do once you've taken the plunge and purchased an Instant Pot is the water test. Don't skip this step. It is crucial to catch any possible defects in your system. 


Water test went perfect, now what?

You're ready to cook your first meal!!

I chose shredded chicken as my first meal in my new instant pot. Yes that chicken truly is FROZEN!

 Put the chicken into the pot. Make sure you have the liner in the pot. Putting anything directly into the pot will ruin the appliance.

 Add enough water to cover the chicken. Then put the lid on.

 Press 'Manual' then the + to 40 minutes

 After you have selected the time it is going to change to 'ON'. During this time your Instant Pot is coming to pressure. Once Pressure has been reached it will start to count down.

Make sure the pressure valve is turned to 'Sealing'. If the valve is on 'venting' it will not reach pressure.

Once pressure is reached the red pin will rise.

When your timer gets to 0, its going to change to L00:00 and begin counting up. This is how long your food has been releasing pressure. 

Once the food has cooked you have a few options for releasing pressure. NPR(Natural Pressure Release) allowing the pressure to release or Rapid Pressure release by turning the valve to venting and allowing the pressure to release quickly. Some recipes will call for NPR for 15 minutes (L00:15) then rapid release. Never hold you hand over the valve as the steam will burn you. Some suggest using a wooden spoon handle to release the pressure to completely avoid the risk of being burned. 

All meat is recommended to to allow to fully natural release.

Once all pressure is released the red pin will drop back down into the lid. At this point you can now open this lid. The lid will not open until all pressure has been released.

This is the chicken once I opend the lid.

The chicken is so tender it actually just falls apart as you pick it up.

I used this chicken to make shredded chicken for Chicken tacos here is the recipe:

2lb shredded chicken

1 pkg ranch seasoning

1 pkg taco seasoning

1 can original Rotel

1 8oz block of cream cheese.

after removing chicken from the instant pot you can dump the water out.

Put the chicken back into the pot and turn it on saute and low. 

add the seasoning packets and rotel.

mix well.

Cut the cream cheese into small squares and add it to the chicken mixture.
Cook stirring frequently until the cream cheese melts.