Looking to purchase a IP but wondering if I should go with a 6qt or 8qt. For those that have purchased a 6qt do you ever wish you had gotten an 8 qt?
Instant Pot 6qt or 8qt
I have the 6qt, and so far, I’m not regretting not having a larger unit.
I will say, though, that when I made beef bone broth, the lid ended up pretty messy because I maxed out the volume of the pot. Not a big deal, and it certainly makes more than enough broth for me (sadly, my wife isn’t a fan of beef broth).
I’ve also done a top round roast and beef short ribs in the IP, and had plenty of room for both.
I don’t think there’s anything wrong with spending a bit more for the extra capacity, but I’d wait for a sale if you’re going to do that. I got the 6qt on sale at Christmas time, which is why I went with that one.
I have the 6 quart and find it plenty big for me - I cook for just myself and sometimes my SO. Friends of mine wish they got the 8 quart because they hate to cook and want to cook once for the whole week. By the way “I’m not regretting not having a larger unit”…that’s NOT what she said. LMAO!
The 6 qt is fine for my family of 4, but if in doubt (as my MIL always told me) go big. The IP is not like a crockpot that must be filled to a certain level to work. You can put just a small amount in. But when you need more volume it’s much easier if you have enough.
You do need at least a cup of liquid in the IP in pressure mode so keep that in mind. You cant just put meat in dry like you could in a crock pot
There are others who are more experienced than I, so hopefully they’ll chime in, but I took beef bones I got from the farmer’s market, roasted them in the oven for 30 minutes (with salt & pepper), turned them over and roasted another 30 min, then tossed them in to the IP, covered with water, and pressure cooked for 4 hours.
That did not come out very well, so on the advice of others, the broth went back into the pot with a whole onion, quartered, 5 whole cloves of garlic, and a variety of spices, and pressure cooked for another couple hours. Once done, I strained the solids out, and was pretty pleased with the result.
For more details, use the search icon at the top of the forum to search for bone broth…should give you a load of helpful results!