Quick Answer
You can fry foods in a pressure cooker, but with some limitations. While pressure cookers are great for braising, stewing, and steaming, they aren’t ideal for deep frying. The high walls and enclosed lid make it difficult to monitor and access food while frying. However, you can pan fry or shallow fry in a pressure cooker on the sauté or browning setting. This allows you to cook food quickly with a small amount of oil, mimicking the effect of deep frying.When pan/shallow frying in a pressure cooker, use a minimum amount of oil, watch the food carefully, and work in batches. Don’t fill the pot more than halfway. Adjust heat as needed to prevent burning. Pan frying works best for cooking smaller, thinner pieces of food like eggs, veggies, boneless meats, etc. It’s not practical for frying large batches or dense foods. For best results, dry ingredients thoroughly before frying. And avoid overcrowding the pot, which can lower oil temps and make food soggy.
Can You Deep Fry in an Instant Pot or Electric Pressure Cooker?
Deep frying involves fully submerging food in hot oil to cook it quickly with a crispy exterior. This is very difficult to do in an instant pot or electric pressure cooker for a few reasons:
- The high sides and enclosed lid restrict oxygen flow, which is important for achieving a light, crispy crust when deep frying.
- The pot shape and small opening make it tricky to monitor and access food while deep frying.
- It’s unsafe to fill the pot more than halfway with oil, which limits how much food you can fry at once.
- The electric heating mechanism may not be able to maintain a high enough temperature for proper deep frying.
For successful deep frying, you need a wide, open pot or deep fryer so you can safely heat at least 3-6 inches of oil to 350-375°F. Instant pots and pressure cookers are better suited for moist cooking methods like braising, steaming, and stewing.
What About Air Frying in an Instant Pot?
Air frying uses super hot, rapidly circulating air to cook food with minimal oil. This gives a light crispiness similar to deep frying. Some newer instant pot models have air fryer lids available, allowing you to air fry in the electric pressure cooker.
To air fry in an instant pot, you’ll need to purchase the special lid attachment. The pot itself isn’t built for air frying. With the air fryer lid, foods are suspended in a fryer basket above a heating element, and a fan circulates hot air around the food. This gives you the convenience of air frying right in your multi-cooker.
Can You Shallow Fry or Pan Fry in an Instant Pot?
While deep frying isn’t practical, you can absolutely pan fry or shallow fry foods in an instant pot or electric pressure cooker. Here’s how it works:
- Use the “sauté” or “brown” function to heat your pot with a small amount of oil, just enough to coat the bottom.
- Cook in small batches, being careful not to overcrowd. Overcrowding lowers oil temp and causes food to steam vs fry.
- Work quickly, moving food around frequently. Adjust heat as needed to prevent burning.
- Fry on just one side, or flip once halfway through. Don’t toss or stir food constantly as you would on the stovetop.
- After each batch, remove food and drain on a paper towel lined plate.
- Let oil reheat before adding more food. Add a bit more fresh oil each batch if needed.
The key is using just a thin layer of oil on the pot bottom, rather than filling partway with oil. This allows for faster cooking and crisping than deep frying. But because food is only coming into contact with oil on the bottom, you won’t get the same level of browning and crunchiness as you would with deep frying.
Tips for Shallow/Pan Frying in an Instant Pot
Here are some handy tips for getting the best results when pan/shallow frying in your multi-cooker:
– Don’t fill pot more than halfway – oil may bubble up and sputter
– Make sure food is dry before frying – moisture causes splattering
– Fry in batches – avoid overcrowding for even cooking
– Start on low temp and increase heat gradually – hotter oil = crisper food
– Use tongs/spatula to flip – tossing can cause splashing
– Give oil time to reheat between batches
– Monitor temperature and adjust heat to prevent burning
– Consider using a fat/oil with high smoke point like avocado, grapeseed, refined coconut
– Optionally use a splatter guard for cleaner frying
Best Foods to Fry in an Instant Pot
The key is choosing foods that are small or thin enough to cook through quickly with brief contact with oil. Good options include:
- Eggs – Fry sunny side up, over easy, etc. Can also make crispy cubes for rice/noodle dishes.
- Vegetables – Mushrooms, zucchini, eggplant, okra, frozen fries.
- Meats – Chicken breasts, pork chops, steaks, bacon, sausage.
- Seafood – Shrimp, fish fillets, calamari.
- Breaded foods – Chicken tenders, fish sticks, cheese sticks.
- Flatbreads/dough – Tortillas, naan, pita.
- Dumplings/wontons.
Thicker, denser foods like bone-in chicken, whole potatoes, and large batches of battered foods will not fry properly.
Frying Tips for Common Foods
Here are some frying tips for specific ingredients when cooking in an instant pot:
Vegetables:
– Slice evenly and blot dry before frying
– Don’t overcrowd the pot
– Stir-fry veggies that release water in batches
– Fry denser veggies longer, tender ones just til crisp-tender
Meats:
– Pat meats dry and sprinkle with cornstarch to crisp exterior
– Don’t crowd pot – meats may steam vs fry
– Fry meats alone – don’t combine with other ingredients yet
– Fry ground meats in batches, breaking up clumps
Breaded foods:
– Use thin breading – too thick may burn before inside cooks
– Let coated food sit 5-10 mins so breading adheres
– Fry in batches – don’t overcrowd pieces
– Flip/turn food halfway through frying
– Make sure inside is fully cooked through
How to Clean Your Instant Pot After Frying
It’s important to properly clean your instant pot after frying to prevent lingering food odors. Follow these steps:
- Carefully discard hot oil, reserving if reusable.
- Remove inner pot and wash with hot soapy water, using a soft sponge or cloth to remove any burned-on bits.
- If needed, fill inner pot with water and bring to a simmer to loosen stuck-on debris.
- Empty and wash inner pot again, then rinse and dry thoroughly.
- Wash lid and accessories used for frying.
- Wipe down outside of pot with a damp cloth if needed.
- Run pot on steam setting for 5 minutes to deodorize.
- Air dry all parts fully before storage.
Avoid abrasive scouring pads as they can damage the nonstick coating. An instant pot degreaser solution can also help dissolve grease and eliminate odors after frying.
Conclusion
While instant pots and electric pressure cookers aren’t ideal for deep frying, they can be used to pan fry and shallow fry foods with success. The key is using minimal oil and working in small batches based on pot size. Fry thin, small ingredients on the sauté setting. Monitor temperature carefully and adjust as needed. Let oil fully reheat between batches. Avoid overcrowding for even cooking. With the right techniques, an instant pot allows for quick, convenient frying with less oil than traditional stovetop methods. Clean thoroughly after each use. For crispier, larger-batch frying, a regular fryer is still the better choice. But for small-scale frying, the instant pot does the job.