Tried an instant pot beef stew recipe and my meat turned into rubber in 20 minutes

I used a chuck roast cut into cubes like the recipe said, but it came out so tough I could barely chew it. Turns out you need to pressure cook fatty cuts longer, like 40 minutes at least, not the 20 the blog claimed. Has anyone else had an instant pot fail that ruined dinner?

2 comments

2 Comments

jakep2422d ago

Steaming a hockey puck" yeah that's basically every new gadget we buy until we figure it out ourselves.

grant.richard22d ago

Oh man, you hit the exact same wall I did on my first instant pot stew attempt. Did you happen to quick release the pressure too? Because that'll wreck a tough cut even worse. The blog you followed was flat out wrong, fatty meat like chuck needs at least 35 to 45 minutes at high pressure or you're just steaming a hockey puck. I learned the hard way after feeding my family shoe leather for dinner, now I always go 40 minutes with a natural release for 10 minutes before cracking the valve. Also, browning the meat first isn't optional, it builds that flavor and helps the chunks hold together instead of dissolving into mush.