In your Instant Pot, you can prepare a filling, nutritious, and mouthwatering beef stew in less than an hour. using frozen stew meat and fresh vegetables. This recipe is incredibly simple to prepare and ideal for a weeknight meal.
How to cook frozen stew meat Instant Pot style so it turns out tender and juicy simmered in a thick flavorful gravy. Perfect protein packed meal.
Me too! The frozen stew meat instructions for the Instant Pot are straightforward, and you’d never guess that it was initially extremely hard. You’ve gotta’ try this in your pressure cooker tonight. One of the simple Instant Pot recipes we have this week is available on the blog. (affiliate links present).
How to Cook Frozen Stew Meat
THIS is seriously the only way you should do it. You can obtain the most tender beef by cooking it under high pressure for about an hour. No one would suspect that this Instant Pot recipe is extremely affordable. Although we’ve prepared a number of Instant Pot stew meat recipes before, this one worked out surprisingly well.
I have done this with all different types of protein. That is why I compiled this post with instructions for cooking frozen meat in an Instant Pot.
FIRST – You should sign up for my free newsletter so you get new posts emailed to you twice a week and never miss out on anything! Now let’s start with a few basic tips:
- Make sure to Bookmark our InstaPot recipes page. We add new ones each week!.
- After that, PRINT this —-> Instant Pot cooking times cheat sheet to learn how long meat, vegetables, and beans need to cook in your pressure cooker. This is a fantastic InstaPot cookbook, and wooden utensils are also a great buy. I HIGHLY recommend you buy this non stick pot. Even though you should still deglaze your pressure cooker after sautéing, it will function more reliably with this improved liner.
For reference, I create all of my recipes in this pressure cooker (6 quart).
How to Cook Beef Stew Meat
We have used this cut in many ways. Why does it tempt me in the store by saying “make me!” every time I see it because it is SO cheap? I have learned a few things about it though.
Either prepare it as a simple Ninja Foodi recipe under pressure or cook it for a long time on low heat, as in the case of our slow cooker beef tips recipe.
In some sort of liquid; onion gravy is probably our favorite; the longer it cooks, the more tender it becomes. Although you could accomplish the same task on the stovetop or in an oven-safe dutch oven, it would take a lot longer. This approach does require one intervention to break it up in the middle, but the alternative would require much more of your time.
Even with the “stop in the middle to break it up” time, cooking frozen meat this way only takes a little over an hour. Since I am all about simple one-pot meal ideas, let’s just go with this one shall we? Any alternative method will take four times as long, so for me, it is obvious which I would select time and time again.
The same instructions apply whether you purchase meat in small quantities, as we do from nearby farmers, and receive it wrapped in paper, or you purchase it in bulk and freeze it in a freezer bag. In either case, the pieces will be grouped together. This indicates that you must break it up after roughly 25 minutes so the inner pieces cook equally and become soft as well.
To make things simpler, I cook the broth with a few gravy packets already in it while saving one for later to thicken it. You can use some, all or none of these. The amount of flavor your meat has with it or without it, and how thick the sauce is, will be the biggest differences. Here is what you’ll need to get going:
- Frozen stew meat – 1. 5-2 pounds feeds the 5 of us served with sides.
- If you only want to cook them until tender and don’t want a thick gravy, you can omit the 2-3 packets.
- You could certainly substitute water for the beef broth, but the meat will have ZERO flavor.
- Seasonings are essential; otherwise, the food won’t taste very good. I suppose you would just leave it as is if you were making it for your dog, but this is dinner for people, not your dog.
When serving, I also add a pinch of salt and pepper along with the garlic salt. Utilize your preferred steak seasoning if you have one. When it comes to seasoning beef, there are a ton of options available.
My wrapped packages come in about 1 lb. increments so I only use two at once. Before adding the broth, you should whisk the dry gravy mix into it to ensure that it is thoroughly incorporated. If not, the powder might adhere to the bottom and cause the burn notice to be issued.
An onion can be easily cut into slices and added for flavor and texture. I didn’t at the time because all of my attention was on how long frozen stew meat takes to cook.
As I previously mentioned, if you preferred, you could omit the thickener, gravy, altogether and only add the broth and seasonings. Of course, it would be lower in calories, but it would also have very little flavor, so do the math. This is essential because we want delicious, satisfying meals at home. This was made as stated below, and even my finicky husband gave it a resounding thumbs up.
Usually, you can find packets in the grocery store next to the canned beans. There are numerous ways to prepare holiday favorites like this sauce, pot roast, and chili. Because it has “all the things” together and can be poured right in, I always keep several of each on hand. Means EASY dinners for us.
What to do with Stew Meat
Seriously you can make all sorts of things with this. There are many stew meat recipes, and you can really use any technique you like. Personally, I prefer using my IP and Crockpot since they require the least amount of preparation. The exact ingredients are listed in the printable recipe below, but here is a quick overview so you can get started.
Time needed: 1 hour.
Frozen Stew Meat Instant Pot
- Prepare Stew meat from frozen and place inside pressure cooker. (It’s okay if you can’t brown the beef the way you normally would.) In a bowl, whisk together the broth and two packets of dry gravy mix. Pour this on top of your meat.
- Cook 25 minutes at high pressure with a 10-minute natural release, sealing the lid and steam valve. Break up the meat quickly after releasing the remaining pressure so that it is now submerged in the liquid below. Add garlic salt and pepper, stir. At the very end, remove some of the hot liquid and whisk it with the final gravy packet if you prefer a thick gravy. Pour this in.
- Seal the lid and steam valve once more, then cook under high pressure for 35 minutes. Give the natural release 10 minutes to complete, then release any remaining pressure.
Serve the tender beef with mashed potatoes or rice after removing the lid. If the dry gravy mix is not added, it appears as shown in the image below. You can see how much thicker it is with them added at the top. I believe the sauce not only enhances flavor but also gives the food a little more fork tenderness.
You can do part of it too. You can add the first two ingredients and omit the third in the middle for a little bit more flavor without making it thicker. Using the saute mode, you can thicken it even more at the very end if you’d like.
Yes, I believe this post adequately addressed your query and provided the best solution. If you preferred, you could also add a second pressure cooking step with large carrot chunks. At that time, small whole potatoes or frozen peas would also work.
Cooking from frozen can actually be safer than defrosting for an hour or more and running the risk of your meat contracting bacteria. If your meatball is significantly thicker than mine, timing will vary slightly, but that is unusual. Ours is a substantial 1-pound chunk that resembles a softball.
You can absolutely prepare beef stew in the Instant Pot with meat that isn’t extremely tough. If you remember to remove the meat, whether it is fresh or defrosted, it will be the perfect texture in about 20 minutes. LOL Since it doesn’t cook for as long, this method makes it a little easier to add vegetables.
How do you defrost stew meat?
You can use these techniques to cook it without making it rock-hard. Meat should be kept in an airtight bag and immersed in cold water. Change it every 30 minutes because it will get very cold and you want to defrost it when it’s cool but closer to room temperature. It might take two rotations, or about an hour, to complete this.
Can you thaw frozen meat in microwave?
You can, but it’s not as safe as defrosting in cool water or cooking from frozen as described below. You can use the defrost button on your machine if it has one. Set on a dish that can be used in the microwave, then enter the weight. It generally will calculate itself how long it will take and will set to 50% power or so
- Simply prepare from frozen, as in this case, or prepare a beef chuck roast slow cooker recipe. From rock hard to tender.
How long can you keep meat in the freezer?
Excellent question, particularly if you want to purchase a large quantity when it is on sale and store it for later. We do this with a deep freezer in the garage. Just separate into 1 lb. chunks and put into freezer bags. You can also freeze chuck roast frozen in the Instant Pot style.
- Since they will keep for about 4-5 months, you could prepare both this and our Instant Pot beef stew casserole frequently.
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Frozen Beef in Instant Pot
Follow directions as stated for best results. The meat will be tougher than you prefer at the end if you skip the step of breaking it up halfway through. Make sure to store in a sealed container with gravy and reheat in the microwave for 30 second intervals; this, I might admit, is even better the next day.
Frozen Stew Meat Instant Pot
- 1.5-2 lbs stew meat still frozen
- 2-3 gravy packets, 3 if you want it thicker
- 2 c beef broth or water
- 1 tsp garlic salt
- 1/4 tsp pepper
- salt and pepper to taste at the end
- Unwrap frozen stew meat and set inside your pressure cooker. Whisk your broth with two packets of dry gravy mix in a bowl. Pour this on top of your meat.
- Cook on high pressure for 25 minutes with a 10-minute natural release after sealing the lid and steam valve. Release the remaining pressure, then shred the meat so that it is immersed in the liquid below. Add garlic salt and pepper, stir.
- At the very end, remove some of the hot liquid and whisk it with the final gravy packet if you prefer a thick gravy. Pour this in.
- Re-seal the steam valve and lid, and increase the pressure to high for 35 more minutes. After a 10-minute natural release, release the remaining pressure.
- Lift lid and serve over rice or mashed potatoes.
VideoNutrition FactsFrozen Stew Meat Instant PotAmount Per Serving (2 oz)
BEST HACK EVER: Cooking Frozen Meat in the Instant Pot
FAQ
How long do you cook frozen beef in the Instant Pot?
Add water: Fill the inner pot with about a cup of water first. Then, add the trivet. Place the frozen beef on the trivet and cover it to cook it. For one pound of beef, cook at HIGH pressure for about 20 minutes; for two pounds, cook at HIGH pressure for 23 minutes.
Can you pressure cook frozen meat in Instant Pot?
Yes, using a pressure cooker or an electric pressure cooker like an Instant Pot to cook frozen food is safe.
How long does it take to pressure cook beef in Instant Pot?
Large chunks of meat should be cooked at high pressure for 20 minutes and small chunks of meat should be cooked for 15 minutes. Use a quick pressure release method.
Can I cook frozen beef tips in crock pot?
Can I make slow cooker beef tips with frozen beef? This recipe for slow cooker beef tips accepts both fresh and frozen beef. The beef will still cook through because it stews for a sufficient amount of time to not change the recipe.