Smoked Instant Pot Fajitas

It's currently winter and there is freezing rain so there's no better time to try smoking fajitas indoors! This dish is noticeably smokey with a great beer taste as well!

Before we dive in to this, I know liquid smoke is a thing. But, I didn't have any on hand because I rarely use it. It could easily replace the toasted wood chips in this recipe. Given the road conditions, I wasn't about to go to the store to buy some (or onions, peppers, and tomatoes).

The whole thing, start to finish took right around 30 minutes to prepare and serves 4-5 people depending on their appetites.

This recipe takes around 30 start to finish but most of that is spent just sitting around.

1 lb beef - preferably something like Sirloin

onion, tomatoes, peppers

A good beer, an IPA worked well for me

Tortilla shells

1 package - Knorr Spanish Rice

Hickory Chips

Fresh ground Pepper

Chipotle seasoning

aluminum foil

cast iron skillet

Instantpot

I used one handful of hickory chips but should have gone with two or three. You lose enough mass in the toasting process which impacts the flavor (I like mine a bit more smokey). Throw the chips into a cast iron skillet and place over a fire. Stir everything a few times to get an even char.

You probably don't need to line your pot with aluminum foil for this step (but I did). If you do, put enough water to cover the bottom into the pot, then cover with foil. Add half a beer to the foil liner (or 2/3 beer to the unlined pot) and dump your toasted chips in.

Line your pot with aluminum foil to keep your food off the wood chips.

Then, add your rice and recommended water amount (follow the directions on the bag for stove top rice). Next, toss in your meat, 1/2 tsp of chipotle powder, a reasonable amount of freshly ground pepper and any vegetables you want.

Personally, when I add vegetables to rice (watery veggies like tomatoes and peppers) I leave out about 10% of the recommended amount of water. This prevents everything from swimming in juices.

Slice your meat into thin strips and toss it in the mix (I used cubed stew beef which is what I had on hand but less than ideal).

Set your instant pot for high heat, high pressure and cook for 8 minutes. Then, let the pressure naturally release for 15 minutes.

Serve in tortilla shells and top with cheese!