Growing up I remember being terrified of my step-mother’s pressure cooker. It would sit on the stove top and rattle and shake and whistle and scare the hell out of me. So when my mom offered to buy me an electric pressure cooker a couple of years ago, my automatic reaction was “No!”
But… let’s face it, mom life is hard. So anything I can do to make it easier, I’ll try, even if I have to hide in the other room when I use it.
Little did I know that when I finally caved and got myself an Instant Pot (after reading too many rave reviews) I would wonder how I lived without it. Seriously. Life changing.
You may know that I love my Crock Pots – yes, plural – but there’s one problem. They cook things slowly (that’s why they’re called slow cookers), so it takes a long time. This means I have to plan ahead and think about what we’re having for dinner in the morning. And while I try to make a weekly meal plan, there are many days when dinner is just whatever I can whip up with what’s on hand.
I know many moms are in the same position, and don’t we all just want to make things a little bit easier?
On this particular Sunday I wanted to make chicken in the Crock Pot, but guess what. We were actually out of chicken! That’s unheard of in my house. It meant I couldn’t start cooking until after I went to the grocery store… definitely not enough time to slow cook.
Instant Pot to the rescue!
Now that I’ve had these drumsticks from the Instant Pot, I will never cook them another way. They were so tender and flavorful, and it took way less time than a crock pot. I can even make a full chicken dinner on a weeknight, with not a lot of time spent in the kitchen (remember I hide in the other room), on a weeknight! That’s huge!
The spice mix I make for this will be enough to make 2 batches of drumsticks or 1 batch of drumsticks and a side. I used it on Parmesan potatoes we had the same night. You also get about 16 oz of really yummy chicken stock from the bottom of the pot, great for cooking rice or pasta with some extra flavor, which again just makes my life easier.
I know people are split on this, but I suggest not rinsing your chicken for this recipe. If you insist, don’t dry it completely before adding the spice mixture. Place the chicken in a large bowl and sprinkle on about 1/2 tbsp seasoning. Turn or toss the chicken and sprinkle another 1/2 tbsp of spice on in. Toss it again and then rub the spice into the chicken, including under the skin for an extra flavor boost.
The rest is easy. Just pour about a cup of water into the Instant Pot, place the trivet inside, and the chicken on top. Press the poultry button and let it cook! When it’s done, broil the chicken for 1-2 minutes to get the skin crispy.
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