First off thank you for your purchase of a KSP pastured raised chicken! Your support means a lot to us, and we hope you enjoy what is sure to be a delicious meal.
Listed below are the instructions on how to instant pot your whole chicken. There are instructions on how to cook a whole frozen chicken, as well as a fresh/thawed-out chicken. These instructions do not include any seasoning instructions, we will leave that to you and your tastes. The instructions are simply how to cook your chicken once you have seasoned it to your liking.
Frozen Chicken
When cooking your frozen chicken, the time it will take varies based on the size of your chicken AND your instant pot.
The larger your instant pot the more pressure to build up and takes longer to bring pressure down. Therefore, 8-quart pressure cooker will keep cooking chicken while bringing down pressure for 40 minutes while a 6 quart will only take about 15 minutes.
COOK TIME CHART
6-Quart Instant Pot Cooking
3lb whole chicken - 50 minutes
4lb whole chicken - 60 minutes
5lb whole chicken - 70 minutes
Rule of thumb is about 15 minutes per pound of chicken.
8-Quart Instant Pot:
4lb whole chicken – 40 minutes
5lb whole chicken – 50 minutes
6lb whole chicken – 60 minutes
Rule of thumb is about 10 minutes per pound of chicken.
3-Quart Instant Pot: Cook whole bird for 17 minutes per pound of chicken plus Natural Release
10-Quart Instant Pot: Reduce cook time by 10 minutes less for each size of chicken that is listed for the 8-quart instructions plus Natural Release
Instructions:
- Add 1 cup of water (or broth) to your instant pot and trivet or steam rack with handles – if you do not have either that is okay, you will still need the liquid, the bottom of the chicken may just be a little soggy-
- Place your chicken inside the instant pot breast side up, close your lid and set pressure vent to sealing
- Select pressure cook on HIGH pressure and enter to cooking time that you calculated from the chart above
- It generally takes about 15 minutes for the instant pot to come to pressure
- Once your chicken is ready the instant pot will beep and begin to bring down the pressure. This part is important make sure to allow it to NATURALLY RELEASE before you open it. Reminder for a 6-quart pot this will take about 15 minutes, for an 8-quart pot about 40 minutes.
- Open your lid and allow your chicken to rest for 5-10 minutes to keep the juices from running out
- Congratulations you have a juicy and delicious whole chicken ready to go!
Fresh/Thawed-Out Chicken
Rule of thumb for cooking a whole chicken is about 6 minutes per pound of chicken. If the chicken breast seems very thick, increase the time to 7 minutes per pound.
COOK TIME CHART
2.5lb whole chicken: 15 minutes
3lb whole chicken: 18 minutes
3.5lb whole chicken: 21 minutes
4lb whole chicken: 24 minutes
4.5lb whole chicken: 27 minutes
5lb whole chicken: 30 minutes
5.5lb whole chicken: 33 minutes
6lb whole chicken: 36 minutes
Instructions:
- Add 1 cup of water (or broth) to your instant pot and trivet or steam rack with handles – if you do not have either that is okay, you will still need the liquid, the bottom of the chicken may just be a little soggy-
- Place your chicken inside the instant pot breast side up, close your lid and set pressure vent to sealing
- Select pressure cook on HIGH pressure and enter to cooking time that you calculated from the chart above
- It generally takes about 15 minutes for the instant pot to come to pressure
- Once your chicken is ready the instant pot will beep and begin to bring down the pressure. This part is important make sure to allow it to NATURALLY RELEASE before you open it. Reminder for a 6-quart pot this will take about 15 minutes, for an 8-quart pot about 40 minutes.
- Open your lid and allow your chicken to rest for 5-10 minutes to keep the juices from running out
- Congratulations you have a juicy and delicious whole chicken ready to go!
NOTES:
Store: Refrigerate in an airtight container for up to 5 days
Freeze: Fully cook, cool completely and freeze for up to 3 months in an airtight container