Instant Pot does look cool. On sale on Amazon Prime right now too.
I am also intrigued by the Instant Pot so I hope posters will report back. In my amateur opinion, the mark of a good stock is that it becomes a blob of gelatin when refrigerated. My (perhaps wrong?) impression is that in order to get all the goodness out of bones, the stock needs to come to a rolling boil and a consistent simmer. My stovetop pressure cooker breaks down the bones so well that it is a sand consistency when I squeeze the bones with my fingers. If the Instant Pot can get me the same results, I’m all over it.
I stood at Sur la Table last week staring at the electric pressure cookers. I’d be interested hearing about them too. Years ago I watched Julia Child making beef broth…she said to start by roasting the bones until they are a nice brown, so that’s how I make all meat broths now. Plus there’s lots of gelatin in the cartilage and tendons and skin so don’t throw those out as you debone your turkey. Roast it all until nice and browned.
This is the model of Instant Pot that Santa Claus brought me:
http://www.amazon.com/Instant-Pot-IP-DUO60-Programmable-Generation/dp/B00FLYWNYQ/?tag=dadcoodin09-20
It’s a rice cooker as well as a pressure cooker, though I haven’t used the rice cooker feature yet.
I just bought it! ^^ The one CF linked to. It’ll be here Wednesday. Yay!
This thread had me curious about the differences between broth and stock. I think this is a good summary:
http://www.epicurious.com/ingredients/difference-stock-broth-bone-broth-article
It seems that my go to stock is considered to be more of a bone broth:
There is a lot of nutritional value in bone broth. The collagen released from the bones is great for your joints. Also, the beautiful thing about the broth is that you only need a little salt and pepper for seasoning. The broth is so rich and flavorful that nothing else is needed; the broth just stands on its own. The 24 hour cook time is a bit intimidating and so unnecessary with a pressure cooker. I can get a nice full body, savory beef stock in less than 3 hours. My favorites are oxtail and short rib, but I’m fine to use whatever bones are at the market.
@dragonmom, I’m too lazy to do the roasting, but I bet that step adds another dimension to the flavor profile. I’m going to make an effort to get it together enough to try it one time.
Tried this tonight and thought I’d share - I had a package of chorizo I wanted to use up - this was delicious!
http://diethood.com/chorizo-rice-bean-soup/
I did a couple of things differently. Browned my chorizo separately and degreased. Used kidney beans - that’s what I had on hand. No rice - didn’t want the carbs. Threw in some chopped and massaged fresh kale at the end. Tastes a little spicy but really good! Nothing in it is spicy but the chorizo but it has a bite - which I like.
So this seems to come in a 5quart and 6quart size. I see a recipe book on sale on Amazon.
I’m just back from New Orleans and discovered gumbo. I don’t know how I missed it all these years. I did some googling and tried my own version over the weekend. Yum! I wondered if anyone out there has a favorite recipe - it seems that there are many, many possibilities.
It’s so individual, even within families, and no pot is the same. The only thing I can pass on is to make sure you get your roux nice and dark (the aim is always the color of a copper penny).
We like okra gumbo, but some of the really dark gumbos in NO don’t have it. If you use okra, no need for file.
We usually use chicken and sausage because we have a non-seafood lover, but if he’s not around would likely use crabmeat and shrimp.
Gumbo is our traditional Christmas Eve dinner, and, if we’re lucky, we have a pot at Thanksgiving, too.
@abasket - that soup looks delicious. I LOVE chorizo but don’t use it often. My Albondigas soup recipe calls for chorizo in the meatballs. I recently subbed soyrizo for a healthier version- the flavor was great but the meatballs fid fall apart a little more. I wonder how it would work in your soup? Think I’ll try it.
Thanks, @Tiredofsnow! My roux was more blonde, I did stir it for over 20 minutes. 3/4 cups flour and 1/2 cup canola oil. My arm was tired, so I gave up on getting it any darker. Any ideas what I did wrong? Since it was just DH and me, we ignored the color.
Well, I have to confess my H is the gumbo maker. My Pirate’s Pantry cookbook form Lake Charles, LA says 1/2 c oil and 1 cup flour. “Cook over medium heat, stirring constantly until roux is a dark caramel color”. I know he stirs for more than 20 minutes. But if you liked it and it tasted good, it really is whatever works.
His grandmother, who was the queen of gumbo, confessed to him one time that if her roux wasn’t getting dark she just added a little Kitchen Bouquet. Not even sure what that is but it made us all laugh.
He cooks down okra and tomatoes (canned tomatoes are fine) for a long while too. That is a personal preference but it does make a thicker gumbo.
I’m not sure how the non-okra gumbo in NO gets so dark. They probably have some real experts there!
@Momofadult : I don’t think you did anything “wrong” except get tired too soon. ; ) I’ve spent >30 minutes just getting a caramel color roux. I find it hard to get a dark roux without burning, but did it once. It took nearly an hour. I don’t make roux any more; I can’t stand at the stove that long because my ankles would look like volleyballs by the time it was finished.
Marcelle Bienvenu is a wonderful cook and author who makes amazing gumbos. I suggest looking up her recipes. She also edited recipes for the Times-Picayune for years and you’ll find quite a few good ones online.
Thanks @Silpat and again, @Tiredofsnow! I feel better. I was just very proud of not burning the roux. I’m looking forward to trying more recipes. I’ll check Marcelle Bienvenu. I want to try adding some okra also. We like it, but it’s not in my stores right now. I remember my mom had a bottle of Kitchen Bouquet in the cupboard as I grew up. I think she used it occassionally to darken gravy. I actually wondered as I was stirring if it would have worked on my blonde roux.
And, I hear there’s even a roux you can make in the microwave! Haven’t tried it, though.
I have to say my H turns the gumbo making into a whole day affair and expects (and deserves) major praise when it’s done :).
My H actually used frozen okra at Christmas when we were at my daughter’s. The trick, again, is to really cook it down so it loses the sliminess.
We have been having a lot of soups here too. I have gotten the supermarket butcher to get me cuts of shin meat, which makes fabulously tasty soups and stews. I have been making them for about a week now, with a pot of chicken soup thrown in for variety.
The soups have more flavor if you salt and pepper the meat and sear it and then add water, onions, smashed garlic cloves and pared sliced carrots. Adding a pared, sliced turnip makes it sweeter. Adding some celery and quartered Yukon gold potatoes and quartered mushrooms makes all even tastier.
I make roux with butter, not oil. Since butter burns at a much lower temperature than oil, it’s easy to get your roux brown. 
I tend to grill the meat on our gas grill outside, then add them to the soup. Yes, I freeze my butt off doing this, but I’ll do a whole bunch at once and then freeze the meat I’m not using for the soup.
Anyone have a good recipe for vegetable broth? I’ve made it using onions, carrots, celery, leeks, garlic, potato, and water. I found that it’s just not as flavorful as chicken stock.
^^that’s because it doesn’t have chicken in it 
Try adding some bok choy and italian parsley. I don’t find potatoes add anything flavor wise, and rarely use them. There are other root vegetables that are healithier and tastier…