T and I replaced the liner in our Instant Pot and since then I have been using it a lot more to help keep the heat down in our little kitchen space and also to help me navigate cooking chicken thighs. We have been buying chicken thighs because of the cheaper cost. Grocery prices don’t seem to be coming down any time soon, but I am picky about where our meat comes from so this seemed like a good compromise. T and I both like chicken breasts so eating thighs instead has been an adjustment. We have both agreed we prefer the boneless, skinless kind and cooking them in the Instant Pot. We have made the following recipe taken from Ree Drummond (the Pioneer Woman) twice and find it very versatile whilst being quick and easy. We have of course adapted Rees recipe to fit what we have had in our pantry and our individual preferences.
Instant Pot BBQ Chicken and Rice Bowls
2lbs skinless, boneless chicken thighs
4 cloves garlic, sliced- recipe required 2 but we love garlic.
1 Medium onion, sliced
1 tsp salt
1- 11/4 cups of favourite Bar B Q sauce depending on how saucy you like it. We always look for sauces with no High Fructose Corn syrup and often something that is made locally or within the state we are in. Farmers markets can be your friend.
Cooked rice of your choice.
1 Avocado sliced
1 mango or we used pineapple cut into small chunks.
1 Jalapeno thinly sliced.
Dee also used radishes and cilantro but we didn’t have either of those so left out.
Here comes the easy part:
Combine the chicken, garlic, onion, 1/2 tsp salt, pepper to taste and 1/4 cup of water to your Instapot, pour on the Bar B Q sauce, put on and lock the lid and press the poultry button. It will automatically be set to 15 minutes. When 15 minutes is complete wait at least another 10 minutes for the pressure to release before unlocking the lid still being careful of the remaining steam. Shred the chicken with a fork and it is ready to serve. Scoop the rice in individual bowls and arrange the rest so it looks pretty..voila!
We have used the leftovers over baked potatoes the next day. Enjoy friends!
*Here’s another recipe we have tried over the last couple of months on our quest to use chicken thighs that T and I would make again. We served this one with mashed potato and the thighs were very frozen when we put them in the pot!.
Instant Pot Chicken Thighs (Fresh or Frozen) with Peppers and Onions – taken from Sandravalvassori.com
2lbs boneless, skinless chicken thighs
2 tsp paprika
1 tsp garlic powder
1 tsp oregano or could use Italian Seasoning
1 tsp salt
Black pepper to taste
2 TBSP Olive oil or Avocado oil
2 medium onions thinly sliced
1 small green pepper thinly sliced
1 small red pepper thinly sliced
Red pepper flakes to taste
Combine paprika, garlic powder, oregano, salt and pepper in a small bowl and rub all over the top and underside of the chicken thighs. (T was kind enough to do this part for me. I still do not like touching raw meat of any kind unless I truly have to.)
Using the sauté function on the Instant Pot I then heated the oil and sautéed the onion and peppers for about 3-4 minutes added 2 TBSP of water to deglaze the bottom and placed the frozen thighs on top of the veggies. NOTE: If using fresh chicken thighs you would sauté them first until lightly brown, remove sauté the veggies and then replace the thighs on top before doing the next step.
Sprinkle red pepper flakes on top close the Instant Pot lid and press the poultry button. NOTE: If you are using fresh thighs you will need to reduce the time to about 9 minutes cooking time. If frozen like mine were the full 15 minutes works great. As per the previous recipe wait at least 10 minutes before unlocking the lid still being careful of any unleased steam. With any recipe using or creating sauce you can remove the meat, in this case chicken and push the sauté button again to thicken the liquid.