How to Use a Pressure Cooker: 6 Steps From Sear to Release
How to use a pressure cooker comes down to six steps: brown your aromatics and meat, deglaze and add at least 1 cup of thin liquid, load the pot no more than two-thirds full, seal it and set the time, release the pressure the right way, then finish the dish. The same steps work on a stovetop pressure cooker and an Instant Pot. Trapped steam raises the boiling point of water from 212°F to roughly 240 to 250°F, so a beef stew that takes about three hours on the stove is done in about 35 minutes at pressure.
Written with AI assistance, based on my Chefitt blog post.
Sear and deglaze first
On an Instant Pot, press Sauté. On a stovetop model, use the open pot over medium-high heat. Add oil, then onion, garlic, carrots or whatever the dish calls for, and cook them for 3 to 5 minutes until they soften and take on a little color.
If there’s meat, brown it in the same pot, in batches so each piece touches hot metal. Pressure cooks food through, but it doesn’t brown it. Skip this and you get gray meat in flat broth.
Then deglaze right away with wine, stock or water, and scrape the bottom with a wooden spoon until it’s clean. Fond left stuck to the pot is one of the most common causes of the Instant Pot’s Burn warning.
A few rules for the liquid:
- Use at least 1 cup of thin liquid in most 6-quart Instant Pots. For stovetop and larger models, check your manual.
- The liquid doesn’t have to cover the food. It only has to make steam.
- Tomato sauce, tomato paste and dairy don’t count. They scorch before they steam. Add stock or water first and put thick ingredients on top.
- Hold off on flour, cornstarch and cream until after cooking. They can scorch or keep the pot from reaching pressure.
Load, seal and set
Fill the pot no more than two-thirds full. For foods that foam or expand, like beans, lentils, grains and oats, stop at halfway. Overfilling can push foam into the steam valve.
Put dense foods like whole potatoes and root vegetables on the bottom and proteins in the middle, at least partly in the liquid. Fish, leafy greens and quick-cooking vegetables shouldn’t go in at the start.
- Lock the lid.
- Turn the steam release to Sealing. If it’s left on Venting, the pot just steams food and never builds pressure.
- Choose Pressure Cook (Manual on older models) on High for meat, beans, grains, soups and stews. Low is for delicate foods.
- Set the time. The timer only starts once the pot reaches pressure, which takes 10 to 20 minutes, so plan for that.
Pick the right pressure release
Natural release means you do nothing. The pot cools until the float valve drops and the lid unlocks, usually 15 to 30 minutes. Use it for large cuts of meat, beans, grains, soups and stews. Venting a big braise all at once can leave the meat stringy and dry, and venting a full pot of soup or beans can spray hot liquid and foam out of the valve.
Quick release means turning the valve to Venting. Pressure drops in 1 to 3 minutes. Use it for vegetables and fish, anything you want to stop cooking right away. Keep your hand and face clear of the steam and point the valve away from cabinets.
A lot of recipes split the difference: natural release for 10 to 15 minutes, then quick release the rest.
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Never force the lid while the float valve is still up. If it still won’t turn after a full natural release, flip the valve to Venting briefly to let out any leftover pressure.
Finish the dish after the lid comes off
Pressure cooking gets food cooked, not finished. Very little liquid escapes, so sauces come out thin and flavors come out concentrated.
- Switch to Sauté and reduce the sauce uncovered, or stir in 1 tablespoon of cornstarch whisked into cold water.
- For beans, mash about a quarter of them against the side of the pot to thicken the broth.
- Stir in spinach, fresh herbs or cream now. Spinach wilts in about 30 seconds.
- Taste, then adjust the salt and finish with a squeeze of lemon or a splash of vinegar.
- Check chicken with a thermometer. It should reach 165°F.
Cook times for common foods
These are at high pressure in a 6-quart Instant Pot, counted from when it reaches pressure:
- Chicken thighs, bone-in: 15 minutes, 10-minute natural release
- Chicken breast, whole: 8 to 10 minutes, 5-minute natural release
- Beef chuck, 2-inch cubes: 35 minutes, 15-minute natural release
- Beef short ribs, bone-in: 45 minutes, full natural release
- Pork shoulder, 3-pound piece: 60 minutes, full natural release
- Dried chickpeas, unsoaked: 40 minutes, 15-minute natural release
- Dried black beans, unsoaked: 30 minutes, 15-minute natural release
- Green or brown lentils: 10 minutes, 10-minute natural release
- Brown rice: 22 minutes, 10-minute natural release
- White rice: 3 minutes, 10-minute natural release
- Potatoes, quartered: 10 minutes, quick release
One thing not to use it for: home canning. USDA doesn’t recommend electric pressure cookers for canning, so use a tested stovetop pressure canner for that.
The full guide on the Chefitt blog covers each step in more depth, the most common mistakes, why the Burn warning shows up, and what pressure cooking does well and what it doesn’t: Pressure Cooker Basics: 6 Steps That Actually Work
I’m Clayton Redmon, a CIA-trained chef and the founder of Chefitt. I send out one chef technique a week in the Chefitt newsletter.
