What’s the most challenging thing for you with MCAS and/or Histamine Intolerance? Is it your symptoms? Figuring out your triggers? Navigating supplements? Figuring out what to eat when you need to be low histamine? I’d love to hear from you! Just post in the comments below…
Once of my most challenging things is meal prep. Since I have both MCAS and Histamine Intolerance, I have to be very careful with foods. There aren’t many carry out or quick grab options for busy nights. And eating out takes a bit of planning for me. I have to check menus ahead of time. And I have to take extra histamine degrading enzymes. Which means I do a lot of my own cooking.
I’m always on the lookout for faster cooking methods. And I want to keep foods as low histamine as possible. I covered some tips on handling meat to keep it low histamine in this blog post: Are you Raising your Histamine Levels with these Meat Handling Mistakes?
But I just found something that blows all the defrosting and cooking tips out of the water! I’m pretty excited about it and have made this recipe 4 times already. Do you have an Instant Pot* yet? If so, I know I’m a little late to the Instant Pot Party here…I initially thought the inside of the pot was Teflon. But I was wrong – it is stainless steel!
Even if you already have an Instant Post – did you know you can cook a whole chicken from frozen solid to done? You can make a whole chicken or pork roast from frozen solid to completely done in 55-90 minutes. (Depends on the size of the chicken or roast). The same with a pork roast.
When I saw a reference to making a whole frozen chicken in the Instant Pot, I wasn’t sure it would really work. Wouldn’t the center still be frozen? Would it be flavorful? Or would it just taste like boiled meat? Yuck!
I decided I had to try it. Because cooking any meat without thawing it first would significantly lower the histamine levels!! One of the challenges of preparing meat is that it has to stay frozen until you are ready to cook it. And then normally you have to thaw it until it is a little frosty still. But thawed enough that it will cook through. This takes some juggling to time right. Being able to cook meat from frozen solid to done solves this issue!
I started with a frozen pork roast and then tried it with whole, frozen chickens. You can also use chicken parts. Anything that does well with slow cooking will do well in the Instant Pot. Slow cooking raises histamine levels considerably though. The great thing about the Instant Pot is that it is a pressure cooker. So it cooks fairly quickly.
The Instant Pot also keeps the meat very moist. As long as you don’t overcook it, everything will be tender. You can season the meat just like any other cooking method. The pressure cooking seems to drive some of the seasoning into the meat. You don’t get the roasted crunchy finish some people like with roasting. This is more like falling off the bone, rotisserie chicken. But you can always pop the meat under the broiler for 5-10 minutes if browning or crispy skin is important to you. I avoid browning as much as possible because this is actually what causes the carcinogens in meats.
My first attempt with pork roast was delicious. And I’ve cooked whole chickens 4 times now. Easy Peasy – and the meat is perfect for wraps, salads, soups – all kinds of quick meals.
One last note – the Instant Pot does leave great chicken broth in the bottom of the pot. It is definitely lower histamine than stove top or slow cooker broths. I was hoping since it was pressure cooked that the broth would work for me. I still reacted, sadly. I’m not sure if I reacted to histamine levels or glutamine in the broth. So if you use the broth, use with caution!
If you don’t already have an Instant Pot*, here are a few purchasing tips:
- Definitely get the 8-quart size if you want to cook whole roasts or chickens.
- The Lux or Duo will work just fine for most people’s needs if you have a full kitchen. The other versions, like Duo Plus and Viva, allow you to do different types of low-pressure cooking. This might be important to you if you don’t have a full kitchen.
- The Duo has a lid holder feature. You can rest the lid on the side of the pot instead of on the counter. This is why I got the 8-quart Duo version.
So how do you cook a frozen chicken or roast in the Instant Pot?
Instant Pot – Lowest Histamine EVER Chicken/Pork Roast Recipe
First, make sure you are starting with pasture-raised meat frozen right after slaughter. Check out this post for more details: Are you Raising your Histamine Levels with these Meat Handling Mistakes?
Tools:
Ingredients:
- 1 Frozen Whole Pastured Chicken (3-5 lbs)
Seasoning Options:
Herbed Option:
- Herbamare* Organic Herbed Sea Salt
- Fresh Rosemary (optional)
- Fresh Parsley (optional)
Asian Option:
- 2 organic green apples
- 1 bunch organic green onions
- 1 inch of fresh organic ginger
- 3-4 cloves garlic, peeled
- 1 large handful organic cilantro (optional)
- 2 tsp salt
- 1 cup water
- 10 drops Better Organic Stevia*
Directions:
- Remove frozen chicken from freezer and unwrap from packaging. Do not thaw!
- For Herbed Option:
Season well with Herbamare or any other seasoning blend. Place meat on trivet in the Instant Pot and add 1 ½ cups of water to the bottom.
OR
For Asian Option:
Add all ingredients to a food processor or high speed blender like a Blendtec Blender*, Ninja Professional*, or Vitamix blender* and blend on high until everything is pureed. Add meat to the Instant Pot and pour sauce over the chicken. - Program Instant Pot to High Pressure for 35-55 minutes and set float valve to sealing. Make sure it doesn’t hiss as it is heating up.
3 lbs: 35 minutes
4 lbs: 45 minutes
5 lbs: 55 minutes - Allow pressure to release naturally. This will take 10-15 minutes.
- Remove meat from bone. Freeze any leftovers immediately and enjoy your low histamine, super easy meal!
