Instant Pot BBQ Chicken Recipe With Chicken Breasts Or Thighs (2024)

FAQs

Are chicken thighs better than breasts in Instant Pot? ›

Chicken thighs are much more forgiving than breasts.

While all cuts of chicken are fair game for the Instant Pot, thighs are the most forgiving. Because chicken breast is so lean, just a couple of extra minutes of cook time turns them from juicy to overcooked and dry.

If your chicken breast is rubbery after cooking in the Instant Pot, you likely over-cooked it. Make sure you're only cooking it for 5 minutes at high pressure followed by a quick release of the pressure by flicking the seal valve at the top with a spoon.

The key to getting perfectly juicy boneless chicken breasts is to cook them on a trivet, above the liquid. I find that this results in a better texture than cooking them on the bottom of the pot. I also think their texture is best when you quickly release the pressure, rather than letting it naturally release.

This dinner staple cooks up perfectly every time in the Instant Pot. You can aim for firm but juicy chicken for cubing, or let it cook a little bit longer for tender shredded chicken.

The difference between the two meats is largely due to the type of muscle tissue and their myoglobin content. The white meat in chicken breasts contains more protein and less fat, while the dark meat in chicken thighs contains more vitamins and minerals. Put simply, the best choice is the one that people prefer to eat.

Amazingly, all the chicken pieces wind up cooking at about the same rate — dark meat pieces cook a bit slower than white meat, but the thickness of the breast meat means everything finishes around the same time.

It is very easy to overcook chicken breast in pressure cooker, as we cannot check the temperature and level of doneness during the cooking process.

For even cooking stack your chicken breasts on top of each other cross ways. Or if possible lay the chicken in one even layer on the trivet. If you don't have a trivet you can lay your chicken directly in the bottom of the pot with the liquid. Lots of liquid releases from chicken.

I typically cook 3 breasts at at time for my little family, which yields about 6 cups of shredded chicken. To cook more chicken breasts at once, layer the chicken side by side if frozen or stacked if fresh. Add 1 cup of water plus kosher salt and black peppercorns. Set the cooking time for just 10 minutes.

You can cook chicken breasts in whatever size instant pot you have. Just make sure you add at least 1 cup of liquid, and then place the chicken in the pot in a single layer.

Why did my chicken burn in Instant Pot? ›

An improperly sealed lid can cause the Instant Pot to just cook and cook your contents as it attempts to reach pressure. This will lead to scorching and then a burn notice. Make sure that you're using enough liquid.

Bring up to full pressure over medium-high heat, and cook for 20 minutes. Carefully release pressure according to the manufacturer's instructions. Check to make sure meat is fork tender. Let the meat rest for 15 minutes.

Low and slow cooking methods like braising, stewing, or smoking are most effective when trying to create tender, succulent chicken.

PRESSURE FRYING

Leading to a product that cooked faster and maintain more its juices, since less moisture evaporates into steam. Thus, pressure frying produces the most consistently flavorful fried chicken, and is faster than any other method when cooking in higher volumes.

So can a Crock-Pot cook better chicken than an Instant Pot? Well, it really depends on what you're making. The Instant Pot cooks chicken much faster than its non-pressure counterparts, but the resulting texture isn't going to be the same as what you'd get with a slow cooker or Dutch oven.

While the breast is very low in fat, chicken thighs are higher in fat, and in cooking, fat equals flavor. It also means the thighs are more tender and less likely to dry out than chicken breasts—in other words, they are very easy to cook and very difficult to ruin.

Use chicken thighs or leg meat over chicken breast

We've come to love chicken thighs over chicken breast in general because they have more flavor and don't dry out as quickly. The same holds true in the slow cooker. Whether you go boneless or bone-in is up to you, but bone-in will have more flavor.

Chicken thighs are a fattier cut of meat, which means they're going to have a more intense, rich flavor than the white meat breasts. Being more tender, thighs cook easily and go well with a variety of other ingredients. They can be grilled, roasted, baked, boiled, fried, etc.

Bone-in thighs take longer than chicken breasts. Chicken breasts will cook the quickest of all, so you won't undercook it. You might make it dry out a bit but not much if it's in a sauce-based meal.