I might be telling my age when I mention the Mirro-Matic pressure cooker and the magic it represented to me. When I saw that come out, I knew we’d be having my favorite dish for supper. Could I have that same joy from my Instant Pot AND on the Whole30? Time for another recipe renovation: Pressure Cooker Pigs in the Blanket!
My mom didn’t cook much once I was past a certain age, so there are few kitchen memories for me. And honestly, I think this might be the only recipe she even made in the mammoth pressure cooker…but man, was it worth it to me!!!
Not your typical “little sausages wrapped in bread,” this actually uses round steak and bacon…REAL food in my eyes.
A swing…and a miss!
I inherited the pressure cooker when my mom passed away in 2000. It sat upstairs forgotten many years until I got a clutter-clearing bug, and it became a target…about the time the Instant Pot hit. I knew there was no way I would deal with this huge thing, its gasket (which was probably too old to work) and the dreaded “jiggler” on top that my mom threatened would just about kill ya.
So, the pot and its parts went away. BUT I kept the cookbook that came with it. In another cleaning spree, I decided to scan the pages I wanted and let the fragile booklet go as well. Now that I was on this whole cooking journey myself, I thought I could probably adapt some of the basic veggie, fruit and meat cooking techniques to my crockpot…as well as the beloved pigs in a blanket.
Yes, all great intentions…except why would I forget to actually scan the ONE recipe I really wanted outta there? Who knows…probably just my normal running too fast and forgetting the original goal. Here’s a page I DID scan…
The internet to the rescue
Thankfully, when I just casually googled “pressure cooker pigs in a blanket,” it popped right up! Now to grab my Instant Pot and see if I could remake this Whole30 style. You can see the original recipe here (and Lynnie Milano, thank you from the bottom of my heart for posting this!).
Instant Pot Pigs in the Blanket – Whole 30-style
- 1 pound boneless round steak
- Salt and pepper to taste
- 2 slices bacon, cut in half
- 4 slices sweet or yellow onion
- ¼ c cassava flour
- 2 Tbsp olive oil
- 2 8-ounce cans tomato sauce
- 2 tsps no-salt seasoning (I used the Kirkland Signature brand Organic No-Salt Seasoning from Costco)
- 1 tsp dried parsley
- 1 bay leaf
Cut steak into four strips and pound flat with meat mallet OR meat tenderizer. Sprinkle with salt and pepper or both sides. Place one strip of bacon and one piece of onion on top. Roll the strips and secure with toothpicks; lightly cover in cassava flour (this doesn’t have a whole lot of taste, so you don’t want it caked on there).
Heat oil on sauté function of Instant Pot. Brown meat rolls on a couple of sides but watch so they don’t burn. Pour in tomato sauce and seasonings. Turn off sauté function.
Put on Instant Pot lid and seal, making sure the pressure valve lever is set to closed. Set to cook on High pressure 30 minutes. Once done, allow to slow release as long as you can.
This makes a lot of sauce (the best part!) so serve it over something that will soak up that flavor or at least serve it in a bowl so you can spoon up that yumminess.
I chose a bed of roasted Japanese eggplant for mine. This might be a good place to sneak in a new cooked veggie that’s very light in flavor and just drench it in the sauce. And while this says it’s 4 servings, I’d say more like 3 to 3-1/2. I’ll be doubling this recipe from now on. I’ll let you know if that works okay doubled in the IP.
Enjoying an old favorite on the Whole30
There’s just nothing better than figuring out you CAN have a favorite dish that brings childhood memories flooding back and STILL be on the Whole30. It takes a little finagling and some thought, but these pigs in the blanket were well worth it.
Got a recipe you’d like renovated? Give me a shout in the comments below!
Want more Recipe Renovations? Try these…
