Instant Pot Beef And Broccoli Recipe (2024)

FAQs

How much liquid do you need for Instant Pot beef? ›

Don't Skip the Extra Liquid.

I recommend adding 1/2 cup of liquid (water or low-sodium beef broth) to the Instant Pot for a roast. Typically you need at least 1 cup of liquid in the Instant Pot; the remaining 1/2 cup comes from the juices released by the chuck roast and the tomato sauce.

The moist heat in a pressure cooker tends to turn connective tissue into gelatin. You need to let the meat cool down for a few minutes after cooking, to give time for moisture to be reabsorbed, before releasing the pressure. Otherwise, the meat will likely be tough.

The pressure cooking process breaks down tough meat, making it tender. Put the lid back on, seal the pressure cooker, and cook at high pressure for another 10 to 20 minutes.

To thicken beef and broccoli, you can mix 1-2 tablespoons of cornstarch with a small amount of water to create a slurry. Add the slurry to the simmering sauce and stir until it thickens. Adjust the consistency as needed. Mix together a teaspoon of corn starch with enough water to dissolve it so it looks milky.

Pressure cookers cook with steam. No liquid = no steam. You can't and shouldn't use your pressure cooker unless you've added sufficient liquid. Instructions will let you know the minimum amount and some even tell you how much to use for different items.

Pour a 1/2 cup (125 ml) of water in the bottom of the pressure cooker if the vegetable's cooking time is less than 5 minutes. If the cooking time of the vegetable is between 5 and 10 minutes, use 1 cup (250 ml) of water. If the cooking time is between 10 and 20 minutes, use 2 cups (500 ml) of water.

While you may cover meat almost completely for a conventional braise, use just enough liquid for the cooker to reach pressure – during pressure cooking the meat will release it's own juice and braise in that flavorful liquid, instead.

Generally, 15 minutes per pound is what I work with. So for 3 pounds of meat, I would cook it for about 45 minutes. This is after searing the meat and bringing it up to temperature. Any vegetables would be completely mush so don't add any of the vegetables you want in the stew.

Pressure cooking, like slow cooking, will tenderize tough cuts of meat like beef brisket, beef chuck, pork shoulder and lots of other cheaper, tougher cuts. Pressure cooking (or slow cooking) is not the best approach for cooking expensive, tender steaks or rib roasts.

You can still pressure cook leaner pieces – like eye of round and top sirloin – but these work best if they've been stuffed, shredded or rolled (with other ingredients). Best cuts of beef to use: Chuck steak, Round Roast, Shoulder, Pot roast, Ribs, Brisket, Oxtail.

How much water do you put in a pressure cooker for meat? ›

Place your trivet or steaming basket into the inner pot. Add 1 cup of water. Place your ground meat on the trivet/in the steamer basket. Cook for 6 minutes at high pressure.

If it's "stew meat" or something similar (round, chuck, etc.) probably 20-30 minutes after steam is coming out should be plenty for it to be cooked through & getting tender; falling-apart for shredded beef might take 45 minutes or so.

Perfect your sauce.

So many beef and broccoli sauces are just weak. They aren't bold enough to stand up to the beef and veggies, and end up wet and bland at the bottom of the pan. To make the most flavorful sauce, I use a base of jarred oyster sauce. It has a salty & rich punch that you just can't get anywhere else.

Flank steak is the classic choice for beef and broccoli. It's marbled with fat, full of beefy flavor, and easy to cut into super-thin, tender slices. But flank isn't the only option. Skirt steak will give you a very similar result, and if you're watching your wallet, sirloin is another great choice.

The sauce is a combination of beef stock, light and dark soy sauce, Chinese rice wine (you can swap for sherry if you haven't got rice wine), sesame oil, sugar, white pepper and black pepper.

Follow this tip: While at least 1/2 to 1 cup of liquid is essential to well-cooked food in the pressure cooker, too much liquid will pull the flavor out of foods.

Beef. It takes approximately 1,847 gallons of water to produce 1 pound of beef — that's enough water to fill 39 bathtubs all the way to the top.

Add about 1/4 Cup Liquid Per Pound of Pork

Aromatics aside, the actual liquid you put in the crock pot is what will flavor the pork the most.

If your slow cooker is 3/4 full, no extra liquid is required. However, if you're cooking a smaller amount of food, add 1-2cm of liquid in the bottom of the slow cooker bowl to ensure there's enough liquid for cooking. Don't add too much liquid, because as the food cooks, it produces its own liquid.