Friday, October 25, 2019

Frozen Fish in the Instant Pot

Missy Tippens

Hi. My name is Missy, and I'm a chronic forgot-to-plan-dinner-a-holic. I rarely have all the ingredients needed. And I never seem to plan well enough ahead to thaw meats out ahead of time.

So you can imagine how excited I was to hear that you could cook frozen meat in the Instant Pot! I ordered mine back when they first came out several years ago. It's been a lifesaver!

Earlier this week, I needed dinner but had not been to the grocery recently. So that meant I had to work with what was in the freezer. Which included a package of frozen cod. So I went on a Google search and came up with this...

Instant Pot Italian Fish (from frozen, Whole30) at InstantPotEats.com

Check out the full recipe at the link above. But here's what I did...

I put the frozen fish in the IP.
Then I topped with:
Olive oil (I drizzled a couple of TBS over it)
1/4 cup water
sliced calamata olives
capers
a chopped fresh tomato
chopped roasted red pepper (from a jar)
a little salt (not much because of the olives and capers!)
(garlic was mentioned in the blog post and is in my photo, but wasn't in the actual recipe so I didn't use it)


I lifted the pieces of fish up to let the liquids and some of the other chopped items get underneath and coat the fish.


Then I closed it and set it on manual, high, for 4 minutes.

I let it naturally release for about 8 minutes, then did a quick release.

It turned out very tasty! It seemed a little overcooked for delicate cod. Maybe a firmer fish would work better. But in a pinch, it was a nice, quick dinner!


www.missytippens.com

8 comments:

  1. I make tilapia in the instant pot from frozen a lot. If it was over cooked I would just reduce the cook time or the amount of natural release time. Don't mind if this gets cataloged in my bookmarks and well. My instant pots and I are good friends. :)

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    1. Katie, thanks for the advice! I can't believe I haven't thought of cooking fish in it before!

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  2. I have only used my Instant Pot once... maybe this winter??? I'm not a fan of the steaming everything... I think I like that roasted crust on meat and the dryness of broiled fish, but Missy, what a great last-minute idea because I am passive aggressive about cooking... and not getting anything out of the freezer, LOL! :) So this could work if I dust the IP off and bring it out of basement exile.

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    1. Ruthy, I think you and I are in the same boat on the IP. We'll have to make a pact to try a few things this winter.

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    2. When you forget the pot is a better alternative to a PBJ :) my husband told me he had to be leaving for a work trip within 2 hours last week as I was trying to to think of something healthy for his lunch. I tossed a couple frozen solid chicken breasts in and had taco chicken for a taco salad in 30 min.

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    3. Ruthy, I agree about loving crusty, seared meats. But my favorite thing to make in the IP is white chicken chili. You don't need browned meat for that. :) And tossing in those frozen chicken breasts like Katie mentioned is wonderful!

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  3. Missy, I love that this was ready so quick. Of course, that's the beauty of the Instant Pot. I'm like you, though. I rarely remember to thaw things out. Unfortunately, you lost me at olives on this one. However, I bet I could come up with another variation. Considering I have some tilapia fillets in the freezer I just might need to do that.

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    Replies
    1. Mindy, maybe just tomatoes and Italian spices. Or throw some veggies in with it.

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