Pressure cooker recipes are becoming very popular for a reason!! In this pressure cooker recipe, the most tender roast beef and tasty au jus makes the best French Dip Sandwiches. These can be made in the slow cooker or the Instant Pot for a quick and easy meal!
Should I make Pressure Cooker Recipes:
So when the Black Friday deals came around I finally decided it was time to join the craze/enthusiasm and get myself an Instant Pot. I keep seeing all these pressure cooker recipes around, but I’d always resisted a bit because it kind of seems like an “either or” thing… either you are an Instant Pot user or a slow cooker user. But, I decided it was about time to find out why. And to be able to test recipes side by side and figure out what the difference might be. So, today I am putting Pressure Cooker French Dip Sandwiches vs. Slow Cooker French Dips to the test! Also, I figured there may be some circumstances in which one may be preferable over the other, like for making hard boiled eggs for example.
I’ve recently created some other recipes where you can use your Instant Pot or Slow Cooker. This Caribbean Pulled Pork is pretty awesome no matter how you make it!
So, back to French Dips… When I had this big hunk of rump roast, I figured the time was right to test out the slow cooker and the pressure cooker side by side and figure out if one would really be better than another. I cut the meat up and used the exact same recipe for both.
Watch the video:
After about 15-20 minutes of total prep time, one batch was ready for the slow cooker and one ready for the pressure cooker. It was about 10am at this point.
I set the Instant Pot to high pressure and the timer for 35 minutes. With time it took to come to pressure and then do the quick release on the steam, I think it took around 50 minutes total. This batch was done in time for lunch.
I set the slow cooker on low for 8 hours, meaning it then got done around 6pm, right in time for dinner.
Here is the version that came out of the pressure cooker. And let me tell you, it was delicious. Tender, flavorful and it totally fell apart when I went to shred it.
The finishing touch on these sandwiches, either way, it to brush some rolls with garlic butter, add provolone cheese, and melt.
Both versions have plenty of juice left behind that you can strain and serve for dipping.
Now, for the reveal you’ve all been waiting for (I had to wait all day!!) the slow cooker version!
Pressure Cooker Recipes vs. Slow Cooker Recipes – the results:
The difference? Pretty minimal. The flavor and the moisture content all felt the same. However, the slow cooker version was more solid if that makes sense? It was super tender, but I had to slice it instead of it just immediately falling apart with forks. As far as eating it, I made a sandwich with it as well, and it was just as tender, just as flavorful, the texture was just different.
So, my final thoughts on the Instant Pot, for this recipe only:
- Prep time is the same… say 20 minutes at most. If you do the prep work in the morning and add to the slow cooker, there’s really no waiting other than getting the rolls ready at dinner time, around 10 minutes. But you do have that extra time added to your morning routine.
- If you make the Instant Pot version for dinner, I would presume you would do the prep work at that time and then cook. So your total wait time would be about an hour or even a little more. If you get home late, or are tired, I think this could be an issue? It might for me, I tend to get a little lazy as the day goes on, so I need as little work as possible at dinner time.
- On the flip side, if you are super busy in the morning and don’t have time to mess with dinner prep, then you could still have a delicious dinner in a reasonable amount of time.
- I probably slightly preferred the Instant Pot version, mostly because I didn’t need a knife to finish up getting it ready to serve. It just fell apart. But, for my personal routine, the slow cooker would work best for me as I like dinner to be ready and prefer not to wait the extra 50 minutes it would take to cook.
So, what are your thoughts? Which would work better for you? I’d love to start a discussion here and to hear from both sides…. the slow cooker die-hards as well as the Instant Pot die-hards!
French Dip Sandwiches - Pressure Cooker and Slow Cooker
Ingredients
- 3-4 pound beef rump roast
- 2 tablespoons brown sugar
- 2 teaspoons paprika
- 2 teaspoons mustard powder
- 2 teaspoons garlic powder
- 2 teaspoons onion flakes
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 teaspoon pepper
- 3 cups beef broth
- 2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
- 1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar
- 8 hoagie rolls (I prefer soft)
- 4 tablespoons softened butter
- 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
Instructions
- Cut roast into 2-3 inch chunks
- Mix together seasoning and coat roast
- Place in slow cooker or instant pot
- Whisk together broth, Worcestershire and balsamic and pour over roast
- For Instant Pot, seal, close steam release, and set on high pressure for 35-40 minutes. Once done, follow instructions for quick release of pressure
- For slow cooker, cover and cook on low for 8 hours
- Remove beef and shred or slice
- Strain juice to serve for dipping
- Mix together softened butter and garlic powder and spread on inside of rolls
- Add a couple of slices of provolone and broil until lightly browned and cheese melted
Nutrition
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I would like to know the difference between power consumption between the two. If the cooking result is similar then I would choose which uses least power if I were to use it often.
That’s a great question! I have no idea but I did find this article which might help you?!
I making a larger roast, 5 pounds with the bone in, how would you adjust the cook time for the instant pot? Thanks.
I’m so sorry, I haven’t tested it with a bone-in roast, so I don’t have accurate cooking times to share.
I have been using my IP over a year. In order to cut down the time used for building up the pressure, I turn on the sauté feature while adding ingredients.
Many recipes use a sauté period prior to starting the pressure cooker feature. And, all IP recipes require liquid.
Leave the sauté feature on up to the time you are ready to start the pressure cooker. Turn sauté off. Start pressure cooker. It cuts over half the time for the pressure cooker to start.
It’s just all about time.
@cantstopcooking
Thanks for the tips Marilyn!
I have two slow cookers that I don’t use much and I just got an Instant Pot. Being retired, I don’t need a meal when I get home from work. I understand, however, that with multiple control features I could pressure cook something and then program it to slow cook or keep warm until I get home from work if I needed to?
But here’s my thought: We don’t have air conditioning and cooking inside in the summer can be too hot with the slow cooker. But the IP pressure cooker doesn’t heat up the house much. So I’ve been using it in this 30 degree heat we’ve been having in Canada. Going to try this recipe tonight. So to be environmentally friendly you can turn your air conditioning down and use the Instant Pot. What do you think?
Yes, I certainly think that’s a good perspective!
I don’t have an Instant Pot but planning to buy one since I’ve heard so much about it. Can you suggest a good model which would work for our family of 3 members? Anyways, I made these sandwiches last night in my old stovetop pressure cooker and they turned out amazing. Thank you for sharing such a simple and delicious recipe.
I’ve had French DIp from many fine restaurants over the years, and they have never looked like this. It looks like shredded beef. French dip is sliced thin not, shredded falling apart like this. Probably tasty still, but not French DIp.
Thanks for sharing your experience with French Dips, sounds like you’ve eaten at some wonderful places! I wouldn’t spend too much time worrying about the technical name, I think if you try it, you will find it to be delicious. You can tell your family you are serving shredded beef instead if that helps 😉