Adapt a CH lamb recipe from stove-top simmer to Instant Pot?

Question

Hi all. I searched CH for lamb shank recipes and ran into this one for a tomato-based braise, which looks interesting: https://www.chowhound.com/recipes/greek-lamb-braised-with-tomatoes-kokkinisto-28220

What are your thoughts on adapting this main cooking portion, quoted below, from stove-top to instant pot? My IP also has the sear feature so I can do the browning and onions etc. in the pot as well.

"Return the lamb pieces to the pot along with any accumulated juices. Bring to a simmer over high heat, lower the heat, cover, and simmer for 1 hour. Using tongs, rotate the lamb pieces from the bottom of the pot to the top, cover, and simmer until the meat is falling off the bone, about 1 hour more."

I can't easily do the rotate the lamb step, but assuming I could skip that step and still have a good result - I'm guessing maybe 30-35 minutes at pressure would pinch hit for the 2 hour stove-top simmer time? 

Thanks much if anyone has experience translating cooking times from stove to IP. I searched online and found that America's Test Kitchen has published conversion charts in a cookbook but it's not one I own and I couldn't find a preview of the charts available online. I also ran into some food bloggers who commented that a general rule of thumb is to divide baking times by 3 for pressure cooking.

Answer

I have cooked lamb shanks several times in my Instant Pot and they've turned out really well each time. I can't remember the exact amount of time I've used, but I would err on the longer side, probably more like 40 minutes and with a natural release. It's kind of hard to overcook them, but undercooking would not be good.

The following is unsolicited advice :)
I almost never sear in my IP. I do that on the stove top in a separate pan since it (a) gives more surface area than the IP, (b) is easier to access (not deep like the IP), and (c) less risk of receiving the Burn message on the IP in case you miss scraping every last bit off the bottom of the IP after searing/deglazing. 

Final note - I normally cook these types of things the day before, then chill and skim off the fat and re-heat the day of. So you might be able to get away with 30 minutes in the IP since the reheating could cook them further. It seems like the worst problem if you overcook them is that the meat falls off the bone *too much*.

Answer

Thanks both. The recipe converter at hippressurecooking is really great - answer several general questions about the recipe, and it spits out "watchouts" specific to the ingredients and general cooking method being converted. For example in this recipe, I'll reduce the amount of wine, leave the garlic coarse, reduce overall liquid a bit, etc. Their website also has comprehensive cook-time charts specific to tons of ingredients, listed by type of pressure cooker (mini, regular electric, stove-top). The chart for whole meats suggests 35 for lamb shank.

Thanks also for the unsolicited advice (always welcome IMO, by the way). I've only used the sear function once for pork shoulder, so placing, turning and removing meat was easy with just a single hunk of "tall" meat. But I could see it being a pain for smaller items like the shanks, and I would have to use more shifts in the IP pan. I didn't know about the Burn warning, but one of the frequent complaints from IP reviewers was that the sear function could cause it to become hot enough that some kind of safety would trip and it would refuse to pressurize. 

These are going to be for tonight's dinner, so no opportunity to rest it overnight. The recipe calls for straining and then separating fat but as tomato-y as this will be I'm not sure how quickly the fat will separate.

Thanks again both for your useful info and tips!

Answer

I got an Instant Pot in early December and have been enjoying it. That said, I'd go with your instinct of about 35 minutes. The great thing about the IP is the ability to close it back up and cook for another few minutes if you feel the food isn't quite done. The other night I steamed 6 beets for 18 minutes, did a quick release and felt that the 3 larger beets weren't quite done so I removed the smaller ones and cooked the remaining big ones for another 3 minutes. Perfection all around. 

My other IP wisdom is to underuse liquid since you won't be experiencing the evaporation you'd find in a stove top pot.

Answer

Thanks again everyone for the pointers. This recipe was wonderful and the meat-eating kids and I really loved it.

When I got the pot out to start and looked at the shanks and everything else I needed to pre-cook, it was pretty clear it would have been a real PITA to do it in the IP so I went with the advice to do the prep-cooks on the stove-top.

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Adapt a CH lamb recipe from stove-top simmer to Instant Pot?

Greek Lamb Braised with Tomatoes (Kokkinisto) Recipe

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