Instant Pot Brisket
Tasty, tender Instant Pot Brisket is the perfect meal for family and friends. Juicy tender meat, a delicious sauce, and a simple hands-off method of cooking make this one a recipe you will go back to again and again.
Make it ahead of time or the night of, either way this home cooked, hearty dish will become a new family favorite.
Serve with Twice Baked Potatoes and Cinnamon Swirl Bread for a great meal.
What I love about this Instant Pot Brisket recipe is that you don’t have to worry about your brisket coming out tough. This recipe takes the guesswork out of it for you and produces a mouth watering, tender cut of brisket every time. While I love a simple, yet flavorful dish like Instant Pot Korean Beef, as the weather gets colder, sometimes I want a meal that screams comfort food, like Instant Pot Brisket.
What You Need to Make Instant Pot Brisket
Many of the ingredients for this recipe you probably already have on hand, but let’s make a list so you can get those few things you may be missing.
Instant Pot Brisket
- Brisket
- Vegetable Oil
- Salt and Pepper
Flavor Builders
- Onion
- Tomato Paste
- Garlic Cloves
- Dried Mustard
- Ground Cumin
- Paprika
- Chili Powder
Sauce
- Water
- Brown Sugar
- Ketchup
- Prepared Horseradish
- White Vinegar
- Liquid Smoke
Supplies:
How to Make Pressure Cooker Brisket
Time Needed: 3 hours
Prep and brown the brisket. Then take the brisket out of the Instant Pot and cook the sauce. Return Brisket to the Instant Pot and cook for 1 ½ hours. Naturally release the pressure for 15 minutes, and then let brisket sit in those flavorful juices for one hour in the Instant Pot. Lastly, carve the brisket and let the sauce simmer in the Instant Pot. Serve brisket with sauce spooned on top. Yummy!
- Prepare Brisket.
Trim any fat off the brisket, pat dry the brisket with paper towels, and season.
2. Brown Brisket.
Set Instant Pot to saute setting and brown all sides of the brisket.
3. Transfer Brisket to a Plate and Cook Sauce.
Remove the brisket. Add to the Instant Pot onions, tomato paste, and seasonings (except mustard). Saute. Then add remaining ingredients. With a wooden spoon, scrape anything stuck to the bottom.
4. Add Brisket to the Instant Pot and Cook.
Add the brisket and any juices back to the Instant Pot. Set valve to sealing and turn Instant Pot to high pressure 1 ½ hours.
5. Let Meat Sit in the Instant Pot.
Once cooking time is over, let pressure naturally release for 15 minutes. Then turn the valve to “venting” to release the remaining pressure. Let meat sit for one hour in Instant Pot.
6. Remove Meat and Let Sauce Simmer.
Transfer the meat onto a carving board and tent with foil. Meanwhile, turn Instant Pot setting to “saute” and let sauce simmer for about 10 minutes. Season with salt and pepper.
7. Cut Brisket and Serve.
Slice your brisket against the grain and spoon sauce over top of the meat. Serve.
Tips and Tricks
Making this recipe for brisket is Eazy Peazy, but here are a few tips and tricks to make sure you get perfect results every time.
- Different Sizes May Result In Different Times: Pay attention to the size of the brisket. Don’t deviate on the recommended size for this recipe. Different sizes may result in a time adjustment needed for cooking and larger amounts of sauce.
- Buy Already Minced: Buy a small jar of minced garlic and forget about spending time on mincing cloves of garlic.
- Be Patient For Best Results: Be patient and don’t skimp on that hour that the brisket rests in the juices in the Instant Pot. It is necessary for the best final product.
- Many Ways To Eat: Have brisket two ways. Eat brisket the first night with a fork and enjoy the delicious sauce on top. The next night make it more casual and serve leftover brisket on some sour dough bread. Brisket makes a delicious sandwich.
- Sauces and Sides: Want to add a barbecue flare to the meal or need suggestions for some great sides for leftover sandwiches? Serve Instant Pot Brisket with The Ultimate Easy BBQ Baked Beans and Creamy Mac and Cheese Casserole.
Make Ahead and Storage
How to make this recipe ahead of time:
Brisket will last up to five days in the fridge, but for most optimum results if not eating it that night, I would try to eat it by day two.
Make A Few Days Ahead:
- Follow directions like normal, except do not put sauce over the brisket.
- Let meat cool completely and put sauce and the brisket in separate air-tight containers in the refrigerator.
- When wanting to eat the brisket, remove meat from the refrigerator and let the meat sit out for a few minutes or so to bring it up to room temperature so it will cook better in the oven.
- Pour whatever kind of stock you have on hand over the brisket to help keep moist and also to prepare for cooking, cover the meat to help keep it from losing its tenderness. Use foil or parchment paper for covering.
- Heat covered, sliced brisket up for about 20 minutes. Internal temp when reheating should reach 140 degrees.
- Reheat sauce in the microwave and spoon on top of the brisket before serving.
Note: If I am not eating the brisket that night, I still like to cut it up ahead of time. This way it will reheat faster and there is less prep work the night of.
Freezer Method:
- Follow directions as normal.
- Let meat and sauce cool completely.
- Put in gallon sized freezer bags for up to 3 months in the freezer.
- Defrost in the refrigerator.
- Follow the reheating method listed above.
Fresh, frozen, or made a couple of days ahead, any of these ways will result in a great meal that you will want to make again and again.
Other Great Recipes:
- Instant Pot Baby Back Ribs
- Instant Pot Mississippi Roast
- Instant Pot French Dip
- Mongolian Beef Meatballs (Crockpot and Instant Pot)
- Instant Pot Sloppy Joes
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Instant Pot Brisket
Equipment
- Pressure Cooker
Ingredients
- 2-3 pound brisket flat cut, fat trimmed
- 2 Tablespoon vegetable oil
- Salt and Pepper
Flavor Builders
- 1 onion chopped fine
- 2 Tablespoon tomato paste
- 4 garlic cloves minced
- ¼ teaspoon dried mustard
- 1 Tablespoon ground cumin
- 1 Tablespoon paprika
- 1 Tablespoon chili powder
Sauce
- 1 1/4 cup water
- ½ cup brown sugar packed
- ¼ cup ketchup
- 1 Tablespoon horseradish prepared
- 1 Tablespoon white vinegar
- ½ teaspoon liquid smoke
Instructions
- Trim brisket so fat is only ¼ inch thick.
- Pat brisket dry with paper towels, and season with salt and pepper liberally.
- Turn instant pot on to “SAUTE” and add vegetable oil to the liner when it is hot.
- Brown the brisket on all sides, about 8-10 minutes, then transfer to a plate.
- Add onions, tomato paste, garlic, cumin, paprika, and chili powder, and saute for 5 minutes.
- Add remaining ingredients to the pot. Use a wooden spoon to scrape the bottom. Be sure to scrape all the stuff off the bottom so you do not get a burn notice!
- Add brisket and any juices back into the pot.
- Turn off the saute function, and lock lid into place. Set valve to sealing.
- Turn instant pot on to high-pressure, and cook for 1 ½ hours.
- When cooking time is over, let pressure naturally release for 15 minutes, then turn valve to “venting” to release remaining pressure.
- Turn pot off completely, but leave lid on.
- Let meat sit in the pot for 1 hour, in the sauce, to rest.
- Transfer meat to a carving board, and tent with foil. Set aside.
- Leave sauce in the pot. Use a large spoon to skim excess fat off the surface.
- Turn pot back on, to “SAUTE”. And simmer sauce until thickened, about 10 minutes.
- Taste, and season with salt and pepper to preference.
- Return to the cutting board with the brisket, and slice against the grain into ¼ inch thick pieces.
- Serve with thickened sauce spooned over top of the meat.
Nutrition
Our recipe card software calculates these nutrition facts based on averages for the above ingredients, different brands, and quality of produce/meats may have different nutritional information, always calculate your own based on the specific products you use in order to achieve accurate macros for this recipe.
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