I’d like to thank Workman Publishing for sponsoring this instant pot bacon, corn and potato chowder recipe post and giveaway.
I have a confession. I bought an instant pot last year during an awesome Amazon sale, but I never used it until this week. That’s almost a year of leaving it in the box! For some reason, the idea of actually using a pressure cooker intimidated me and I just couldn’t bring myself to do it. We’ve all heard the horror stories of the past…
BUT, pressure cookers are no longer scary. They have all sorts of safety measures in place so you really can’t do anything wrong. I know this because I read the How to Instant Pot cookbook by Daniel Shumski, and I highly suggest you get it, especially if you’ve been scared like me.
There are so many buttons, lights and indicators on an instant pot that it can be a little overwhelming at first. This cookbook demystifies it all logically, and you’ll understand why beeps, clicks and whooshes of steam are coming from your appliance.
But if you’re an instant pot pro and don’t need usage guidance, you’ll love the cookbook for the recipe ideas. They’re designed to take advantage of the instant pot’s multiple functions, so you’re bound to learn something new.
Since I was an instant pot virgin, I chose a recipe from the book I thought would be fairly simple: Instant Pot Bacon, Corn and Potato Chowder. (Excerpted from How to Instant Pot by Daniel Shumski (Workman Publishing). Copyright © 2017. Photographs by Ken Carlson.)
And it was delish!
Instant Pot Bacon, Corn and Potato Chowder
About the Cookbook
Master the revolutionary appliance that’s changing the way we cook!
The only Instant Pot cookbook that is organized by function, How to Instant Pot is both a guide to understanding the Instant Pot basics and a foodie’s creative collection of over 100 recipes specially crafted to take advantage of the Instant Pot’s many virtues, from cooking perfect risotto in six minutes, no stirring required, to five kinds of yogurt, to creating one-hour killer chili and soups from scratch, using dried beans.
About the Author
Daniel Shumski is a writer and editor who has hunted ramen in Tokyo for the Washington Post and tracked down ice cream in Buenos Aires for the Los Angeles Times. Between stints at the Chicago Sun-Times and the Chicago Tribune, he worked for a Midwestern heirloom apple orchard. His bestselling first book, Will It Waffle?: 53 Irresistible and Unexpected Recipes to Make in a Waffle Iron, won praise from the New York Times, People magazine, and Food52. He lives in Montreal.
Instant Pot Bacon, Corn and Potato Chowder.
Ingredients
- 4 slices bacon halved crosswise to yield 8 short strips
- 1 small white or yellow onion finely chopped
- 1 stalk celery leaves discarded, coarsely chopped
- 1 pound unpeeled red potatoes cut into 3/4-inch cubes
- 2 bay leaves
- 2 cups reduced-salt chicken broth
- 3 cups frozen corn kernels
- 1 tsp chopped fresh thyme leaves
- ½ tsp salt
- ¼ tsp freshly ground black pepper
- 1 ½ cups whole milk divided
- ¼ tsp hot sauce
- 2 tbsp corn starch
Instructions
- Line the bottom of inner pot with bacon. Press Saute and use Saute or Adjust button to select middle temperature (Normal). Cook with lid off and use silicone spatula or wooden spoon to move bacon around occasionally so that it cooks evenly. Cook until crisp, about 6 minutes.
- Remove bacon, leaving behind fat. Allow bacon to drain on paper-towel lined plate until step 7.
- With the Saute function and middle temperature (Normal) still selected, add onion and celery to bacon fat. Cook with lid off, stirring occasionally, until softened, about 5 minutes.
- Add potatoes and bay leaves. Wait a moment and then pour in the broth. Close and lock the lid.Set the valve to Sealing. Press Cancel, then press Manual or Pressure Cook and use the Pressure or Pressure Level button to select High Pressure. Use the - or + button to set the time to 1 minute.
- When the cooking cycle ends, carefully use a wooden spoon to release the pressure by turning the pressure-release valve to venting. (Pressure is released when the small metal float valve next to the pressure-release valve sinks back into the lid and the lid is no longer locked.)
- Remove the lid. Discard bay leaves. Add corn, thyme, salt, pepper, 1 1/4 cups milk and hot sauce. Press Cancel, then press Saute and use Saute or Adjust button to select the lowest temperature (Less). Cook with lid off, stirring occasionally until chowder is hot, about 5 minutes.
- Chop the bacon. Add half to the chowder, stirring to distribute. Reserve the rest to use as a garnish.
- Combine reserved 1/4 cup milk and corn starch in small bowl. Mix well. Mix into heated soup to thicken.
- Serve the chowder hot, garnished with reserved bacon.
