We had a smaller piece also (about 3 pounds) and we cooked it in the Instapot and it came out perfect!I was happy to find a small size in the grocery store, as they usually only have bigger ones -- maybe 4-8 pounds in the cryovac packages that they sell. Anyway, I'm baffled as to what went wrong. Last year, I had a larger piece, and don't recall any issues.