Instant Pot eggs and grits will become a brunch staple in your house. Cheesy corn grits cooked in mason jars are topped with a creamy, poached egg.
My husband is a Travel Channel fan. Frequently in the evening, after he has caught up on the news, he’ll flip over to the Travel Channel in search of something entertaining that doesn’t require a lot of attention. You know what I mean?
Occasionally, I will sit on the couch, usually half absorbed in what’s going on. My mind is usually occupied with work or I’m focusing on my goal of reading more books this year. Sporadically, something will catch my ear and I’ll tune in for a second. It’s multi-tasking (or distraction) as its finest.
Andrew Zimmern’s Delicious Destinations is one of The Husband’s faves. A few months ago, the Travel Channel replayed his visit to Eggslut, a restaurant in Los Angeles. During the visit, Andrew walked up to the counter and ordered, what else? A Slut.
Wait, what?!? Not that kind of slut, y’all. It’s the name of a dish on the menu. It’s described as a “coddled egg on top of a smooth potato purée, poached in a glass jar, topped with gray salt and chives, served with slices of baguette.”
I looked over at my husband and said, “That would be better with grits.” And so, my own version of the Slut was born.
Using the Instant Pot
I love some good brunch food. Unfortunately, I don’t have a lot of time, even on the weekends, to fuss with it. I certainly can’t be standing over a stove stirring grits and coddling an egg. It’s just not going to happen.
I just recently started experimenting with cooking eggs in my Instant Pot and knew this would be the key to creating something fuss free and delicious. I liked the idea of using my Instant Pot because:
- Once I figured out the timing for everything, I could set it and walk away. Preferably, to go sit on the couch and sip my morning coffee in silence. More likely, to break up a fight between my boys or unload the dishwasher.
- I prefer the flavor and texture of stone ground grits over instant brands (Delta Grind here in Mississippi is my personal fave. Not an affiliate, I just love her stuff), but they take some tending to. Instant Pot grits take a fraction of the time and require no tending (see reason #1 for benefits).
- The Instant Pot utilizes wet heat to cook, preventing food from drying out. My grits were more likely to be nice and creamy with little effort from me (again, see #1).
Preparing the Cheese Grits
Since the cheese grits take longer to cook, we’re starting with those. I have cooked grits in my Instant Pot several times with great results (see this post for Instant Pot Country Style Pork Ribs with Parmesan Corn Grits). The difference here, though, is I’m cooking everything in individual Mason jars. I started by mixing all my grits ingredients together, but as I finished spooning the grits into the bottom of the jars, most of the cooking liquid was left behind.
I decided the solution was to mix all the grits ingredients together, except the cheese, and allow it to soak for several hours. I recommend two hours at the least, but if you can mix them up the night before and let them to sit in the refrigerator overnight, even better! This gives the grits plenty of time to soak up more of that cooking liquid.
Right before cooking, give the grits a good stir and add in 1 ½ cups of cheese. You can use plain or sharp cheddar. I love the flavor of smoked cheddar in my grits. You could even try spicing things up with shredded pepper jack.
Spoon the grits into the bottom of seven half-pint Mason jars. Seven jars is all I could fit in my Instant Pot. If you own a 2.5-inch trivet for pot-in-pot cooking, you could stack the trivets, double the recipe and cook up to 14 jars. Only fill the jars about 2/3 full. Remember, the grits will expand during cooking and you still need to leave some room for an egg on top.
Pour one cup of water into the bottom of the Instant Pot. Place a trivet in the bottom. Arrange the filled jars on the trivet. Seal and close the Instant Pot lid. Make sure your valve is set to SEAL.
Select MANUAL and set the timer for 20 minutes. Once the time is up, let the pressure release naturally for five minutes, then do a quick release. Remember, hot steam will be coming out of that pressure valve so keep your face and hands clear!
Cooking the Eggs
Once the pressure from the grits has been released, remove the lid from the Instant Pot. Check your water level. An Instant Pot needs at least one cup of water to function properly. You may need to add a little more water to ensure it will operate optimally.
Gently break one egg into each jar. Return the lid to the pot and seal. Double check the valve. Select the MANUAL setting again. Then set the time to zero. Yes, you read that right. I found the time it took the pot to come back up to pressure was plenty of time to cook the egg just enough for the white of the eggs to be set but the yolks to still be runny – like a poached or coddled egg.
If you want your eggs a little more done, you may want to add another minute or two of cooking time. I don’t recommend going over three minutes. After three minutes, the yolks were approaching hard boiled.
As soon as the time is up, immediately do a manual release of the pressure. The eggs will continue to cook as long as they’re in the hot pot. Letting the pressure release naturally could result in overcooked eggs. Sprinkle the top of each jar with some diced green onions or chives, salt and pepper.
The creamy egg yolks are like a rich, delicious gravy mixed with the fluffy cheese grits. Pair it with some crispy bacon and sourdough toast for dipping into that creamy yolk and it’s breakfast heaven. I’ll have to come up with a different name for my eggs and grits creation, though – I can only imagine the look on my mama’s face when I offer her a SLUT for breakfast the next time she visits. Jezebel, perhaps?
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Instant Pot Eggs and Grits in Mason Jars
Ingredients
- 1 cup chicken broth
- 1 cup whole milk
- 1 ¼ cups corn grits
- 1 tablespoon butter melted
- 1 ¼ cups shredded smoked cheddar
- 7 ½ pint Mason jars
- 7 large eggs
- Salt and pepper to taste
- Chopped green onions or fresh chives optional
Instructions
- Combine the broth, milk, corn grits and melted butter in a medium mixing bowl. Cover and allow the grits to soak for at least two hours, up to eight hours.
- Stir in the shredded cheddar cheese, salt and pepper to the grits. Spoon the soaked grits into the Mason jars. Do not fill the jars more than 2/3 full.
- Add one cup of water to the bottom of the Instant Pot. Set a trivet inside. Arrange the filled jars on the trivet.
- Seal the lid on the Instant Pot. Select the MANUAL setting and set the time for 20 minutes. Afterwards, let the pressure release naturally for five minutes, then manually release the rest of the pressure.
- Check the water level in the bottom of the Instant Pot and add more water as needed to maintain at least one cup.
- Carefully crack one egg into each jar. Replace the lid of the Instant Pot and seal. Select MANUAL again and set the time to 0 for egg whites that are just set and a runny yolk. For more well-done eggs, add an additional minute to the cooking time. More than three minutes will result in hard-boiled eggs.
- As soon as the time is up, immediately release the pressure manually.
- Garnish with salt, pepper and diced green onions or chives. Serve immediately.
Nutrition
