Instant Pot Salt Potatoes [Syracuse, New York], created by Irish Salt Miners are made with new potatoes boiled in brine, yielding a creamy interior.
![Instant Pot Salt Potatoes [Syracuse, New York]](https://staging.thisoldgal.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/08/Pressure-Cooker-Syracuse-Salt-Potatoes-1.jpg "Instant Pot Salt Potatoes [Syracuse, New York] Image")
Created by local Irish Salt Mine Workers back in the 1800’s for a quick and cheap lunch.
Traditionally, Syracuse Salt Potatoes are made with new, potatoes. Syracuse is in Central New York.
The Irish Salt Workers would bring a bag of small potatoes to work and boil them in the Salt Springs. They did not peel them and they were often not premium potatoes.
With the use of an Instant Pot, Ninja Foodi or Pressure Cooker, you can have the same great taste!
Also, called, Canarian Wrinkly Potatoes, in the Canary Islands and served with a Red or Green Mojo.
Cast of Ingredients for Instant Pot Salt Potatoes
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Ingredients for Instant Pot Salt Potatoes
- New Potatoes – yellow, red, purple or a combination
- Salt – The Salt can be Sea Salt or Kosher Salt
- Water
- Ghee or Butter
As you can see, there are not many ingredients. The Potatoes should be new and white. And bite-sized, small enough to pop the whole Potato in your mouth.
Salt, Lots of Salt!
Unlike the Salt Miners, who boiled their potatoes in the Salt Springs, we’ll use a Pressure Cooker and enjoy the Potatoes in under 30 minutes.
Fine Salt is best to use, as it will quickly melt.
Instant Pot Salt Potatoes is easily altered for smaller portions. Follow the Salt/Water ratio found in the Recipe Card below, if you would like a larger portion.
If you have a Mini Instant Pot, just cut the recipe completely in half. Cook time is the same and it works equally as well!
Water + Salt = Salt Spring!
What Type of Salt is Used?
- Sea Salt is good.
- Some people use Kosher Salt. It works too, just takes longer to dissolve.
- Pink Himalayan Salt is very tasty too.
As a huge Potato lover, we eat this with our meals, quite often. The Salty residue protects the potatoes from becoming water-logged.
Lukewarm Water + Salt = Salt Spring! Hahaha, just kidding. But, it does make a nice Brine.
Smoked Salts are great to use too for a wonderful smoky flavor.
Smoked Salts to Try
- Applewood Smoked Salt
- Cherrywood Smoked Salt – one of my favorites!
Dissolve the Salt
How to Make Instant Pot Salt Potatoes
- Whisk up the salt with the water very, very well.
- The salt and water mix up very thick, like the Dead Sea. You won’t want to taste, as you will want to gag.
- Small potatoes are added and then cooked under pressure.
I wonder if you can float in it like the Dead Sea. I went to the High School in Israel. We floated in the Dead Sea. It was salty!
The end result of Instant Pot Salt Potatoes will not be overly salty, as the salt forms a crust.
More New York Recipes
- New York Coffee Shop Home Fries.
- Instant Pot Dirty Water Hot Dogs – like the kind you get from street vendors on the streets of New York City!
- Air Fryer New York Egg Rolls
I love New York and the food. Can you tell? I’m not from New York, but both parents were born there and we spent a lot of time in the state growing up. My grandmother even had a resort in Monticello, New York (upstate) and I spend many summers there with my parents and cousins. Would you believe I have a cousin named Jack? Imagine what people thought when my grandma used to call us over the loudspeaker when she wanted us to come in from playing.
Add in the Potatoes
Three pounds of Potatoes fit nicely in a standard 6 quart Instant Pot, Ninja Foodi or Pressure Cooker.
The Potatoes should be bite sized. If you cannot find the New/Small White Potatoes, grab some Fingerlings.
If you can’t find either, but really want to make Instant Pot Salt Potatoes, buy the smallest Potatoes you can find and adjust the cook time.
You can add more Potatoes if you like, just adjust the Salt and the Water.
This is NOT Traditional Syracuse Salt Potatoes
As I mentioned above, Traditional Syracuse Salt Potatoes use small white Potatoes.
The shape doesn’t matter. As long as they are all similar size.
Tri-color potatoes work very well too and after making a batch of the tri-colored, I can honestly say they are equally as delicious.
Drain the Water
Tips and Tricks to Instant Pot Salt Potatoes.
- Make sure to use warm water and whisk to thoroughly combine the salt.
- Use a Stainless Steel Colander to drain the salt water from the potatoes to let the salty crust form.
- Melt a little butter while the potatoes are draining, so the butter is nice and hot.
- Chives, Scallions, Rosemary, or other herbs you may like, an be used when you melt the Butter.
Instant Pot Salt Potatoes
These Instant Pot Salt Potatoes are so good on their own.
The Melted Ghee or Butter, make them even better!
Other Variations of Instant Pot Salt Potatoes.
- You can add Butter to the cooking pot and melt.
- Then toss in the Potatoes with some herbs and mix to coat.
Tri Colored Potatoes are so Pretty
And I am! For you naughty people, the Tri-Colored Potatoes are so pretty. They taste good too. There is a difference in taste between the colors.
Go rogue, try them. đŸ™‚
If you have any leftovers, cut them in half and put them in your Air Fryer for delicious Air Fryer French Fries.
More Instant Pot Potato Recipes to Make:
- Instant Pot Mashed Potatoes (Pressure Cooker)
- Instant Pot Garlic Whipped Potatoes
- Instant Pot Caramelized Sweet Potatoes Yams
- Instant Pot Colcannon – another Irish inspired recipe. Make this, you won’t regret it!
Kitchen Equipment and Essentials
- Instant Pot, Ninja Foodi or Pressure Cooker
- Simply Gourmet (Dry) Stainless Steel Measuring Cups
- Anchor Hocking Glass (Liquid) Measuring Cups
- Rösle Stainless Steel Flat Whisk– a MUST have, probably my most used utensil
- di Oro Living Silicone Spatulas Set
- Porcelain & Bamboo Salt Box with Spoon
- 6 oz Porcelain Ramekins
- Stainless Steel Colander
- Sea Salt
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Here is the handy printable recipe:
Ingredients
Recommended Products
Instructions
- Wash/Scrub Potatoes. Add Salt and Water to Pressure Cooker cooking pot and Whisk until the Salt has completely dissolved.
- Add Potatoes.
- Lock on Lid and close Pressure Valve. Cook at High Pressure for 2 minutes. When Beep sounds, wait 15 minutes and then release pressure.
- Strain Potatoes in a colander and let dry for a few minutes. Serve with Melted Ghee or Butter.
Stove Top Method
- Mix together Salt and Water and bring to boil. Add Potatoes and cook for 20 minutes, or until soft. Drain and serve.
Notes
Smoked Salts to Try
- Applewood Smoked Salt
- Cherrywood Smoked Salt - one of my favorites!
What to Eat with Instant Pot Salt Potatoes
Nutrition
PIN this Pressure Cooker Syracuse Salt Potatoes!
Pressure Cooker Syracuse New York Salt Potatoes
“For the Best “Baked” Potatoes, use large Russet Potatoes and cook for 10 minutes. ”
Do you poke holes in the russets like you would making a normal baked potato, or no?
Great recipe! Thanks a lot!
I would, Richard. Jill
Made this with discount potatoes I thought were red. What a fantastic recipe! Also, I usually hate reading chefs’ preambles to their recipes and scroll through in an irritated hurry. I love your sense of humor and writing style and read every word with a smile đŸ™‚
Awwww, Maureen, thank you so much. I like to write whatever pops into my head at the moment and try to be me when I write my posts. Jill
So excited to try this. We used to live in the Canary Islands & loved these potatoes. I’m looking for a mojo recipe now! Thanks for posting.
Oh my gosh! These were amazing. I had a pound of leftover smallish potatoes and thought I’d try out this recipe. Jill, they were salty, and creamy and full of flavor. And so very easy. These are definitely a keeper!
Even better, if you mash them up with some butter or margarine and half n half, they make some mean mashed potatoes!
These were delicious and I will certainly make again. I used Himalayan salt. I put it in a bowl of water and microwaved it so I could better dissolve the large crystals. Then I put the salt water in the instant pot with the potatoes.
Delicious! Thank you!
In New York, nearish to Syracuse, you can buy a bag of Syracuse potatoes, small young potatoes and they come with the salt packet .
Actually, they didn’t bring a bag of potatoes, but each of the workers would throw them in a put in the morning for lunch. Syracuse had ponds around Onondaga Lake that were naturally salty. They were asking the Erie Canal route. In later years the ponds were poisoned be Cross Hindes dumping chemical crash into the lake. The remaining ponds are now home to geese and ducks year round.
If you are in almost any grocery store in Upstate you will find 5lb bags of them under the Hinderwaldel brand. They are a local clam back place that puts on the best spread and these are a staple.
I live in Syracuse and the story I was taught was that the salt boilers, mainly Irish immigrants, would drop these small potatoes in the salt VATS that were used to boil the natural brine down to make table salt.
Or, you can do what I do and buy Hinerwadel’s Salt Potatoes! These are from Hinerwadel’s in North Syracuse on Taft Road. Hinerwadel’s is a clam bake place, which is amazing! These are the best ones you can buy! I grew up on them and still make them when I can get them. I grew up in Syracuse until I moved away at 38.
My manager made this for our potluck at work and they were a hit! I also went to
High School in Israel. class of 1983!
Hi Julie. Were you in the school based in Beit Berl? Jill
Do you have any idea how long 6 cups of water will take to come to pressure?? And do you start with hot water?
this looks very interesting .. I can’t wait to try it…
I live in Utah and have floated in the Great Salt Lake đŸ™‚
Hi Vikkie. That sounds like fun. Hope you enjoy the potatoes. Jill
Hello, I am hoping to make these potatoes but I do have a question. My Instant Pot is 8 qt and I was wondering if you would recommend adjusting (increasing) the recipe at all to ensure coverage of the potatoes or just keep everything the same? If adjusting the recipe, what would you recommend? Thanks.
These are fabulous! The family loves them just as they are, but I just saw a recipe for oven-roasted Salt & Vinegar potatoes and I am intrigued. Do you think I could just substitute vinegar for the salt?
I meant “substitute vinegar for the water” đŸ˜€
So we love this recipe! But after reading this reply, I decided to try vinegar. I improvised and substituted 1/3 of the water with vinegar. I loved them, but my husband’s response was “interesting!” LOL Since there are only 2 of us, for 1 lb of potatoes I mixed 2 C water with 1/2 C salt, which I dissolved before adding 1 C of vinegar. I used Apple Cider that I had on hand but I do think Malt Vinegar would be better. I really enjoyed them and like the potatoes both ways.
Ooooh….I never got around to trying it, so thank you for your experiment, Cindy! I can hear my husband saying something similar đŸ˜€
Sounds wonderful! Jill
love finding the recipes from this old gal, they work so well for the instant pot do you have recipe book out
I have 4 colanders… none are stainless. Is it important that the colander be stainless?
Hi Terryl. They don’t have to be stainless. What I show is what I like to use. Enjoy. Jill
I tried this recipe yesterday for the first time, for our family Sukkot dinner and let me tell you it was the best! the potatoes turned out so soft and yummy, one of the best potatoes recipes. And with the melted butter… serious indulgence. Zero work and 100% success. This recipe will go in the family pantheon.
It was, as you said, like the dead sea. It brought back so many great memories of our family camping trips to the dead sea as a kid (well, except for the wet-finger-in-the-eye moment đŸ˜‰ ) .
So thank you for this great recipe.
Hi Michal. I am so glad you enjoyed the potatoes. How nice that you were able to go to the Dead Sea! I haven’t been there in many years, but would love to go back. Jill
Tried this recipe tonight for family dinner. Everyone loved it. Cut the ingredients in half. Used a 1.5 lb bag of baby potatoes, 1/2 cup of salt and 3 cups of water. Cooked for the same amount of time (2 mins high pressure + 15 mins release). Turned out perfect. Thanks for the great recipe. I’ll definitely make it again.
I’ve heard so many good things about this recipe that I decided to try it tonight. It’s in my IP right now and I can’t wait. đŸ™‚ I just have one question: If I make this again within a few days, can I keep the brine and use it a second time? Thanks!!
Hi Patricia. I hope you will enjoy the potatoes. I don’t see any reason not to reuse the brine for another batch. Jill
My husband just brought home 10 lbs of Salt Potatoes from Syracuse this past weekend. Can’t wait to cook them up!