Instant Pot Beef Brisket

This Instant Pot Beef Brisket is based on my PC experiments with corned beef, because corned beef is actually cured beef brisket. I use my trick of cutting the brisket across the grain into 4 pieces, so the smaller pieces cook through quicker and easier. (I tell myself I’m just getting a head start on the slicing.) I am amazed at how tender the beef is when it comes out of the pressure cooker. This is fall-apart brisket - be gentle when you lift it, and when you slice it.

Jump to:

• What Is Beef Brisket?
• Ingredients
• How to Cook Instant Pot Beef Brisket
• Recipe Tips
• Instant Pot Beef Brisket Recipe
• 💬 Comments

Now, I have barely started on this post, and I’m already going to apologize. To the Texas Barbecue purists: Yes, I know this is not real Texas barbecue. I’ve had many fine briskets in Texas, and made a few more in my backyard in Ohio. (That’s right, I’m not from Texas).

But I get asked a lot - what's my Instant Pot brisket recipe?

I’m not going to run from it any more. Come at me, barbecue purists.

I use a simple seasoning, like they do in Texas - salt and pepper. And…a hint of Ancho chile powder. You can skip the Ancho - I’m annoying the Texas purists by adding it - but I like the hint of smoke it brings to the recipe. Traditional sides are barbecue sauce, sliced onions, and dill pickles. (Slices of cheap white bread would also be appropriate, but I can’t bring myself to buy a loaf of Wonder bread.)

If I feel the need to apologize, why am I doing this? Because…oh, my. Brisket. Sure, it’s not a 12 hour smoked bbq brisket. But there’s nothing like the big beefy flavor of brisket. And, I don’t always have an entire day to set aside to barbecue. If you want delicious beef brisket in about 90 minutes from the pressure cooker, try this recipe. Even the barbecue purists would finish a plate.

What Is Beef Brisket?

The brisket is a tough, flat piece of meat. It's from the hard-working part of the steer between the shoulder and the leg, and all that work toughens it up. But, if you cook brisket long enough, that tough meat tenderizes and becomes one of the best, beefiest meals you'll ever have. (For more details, check out my friends at Certified Angus Beef: Whole Brisket.)

Ingredients

• Beef brisket (flat cut)
• Fine sea salt
• Ancho chile powder (optional)
• Fresh ground black pepper
• Water
• Worcestershire sauce

Toppings

• Thin-sliced onions
• Dill Pickles
• Texas style barbecue sauce (optional, if you like sauce with your brisket)

How to Cook Instant Pot Beef Brisket

Prepare the beef brisket: Cut the brisket crosswise into 2-inch wide pieces. (I get about 4 in a regular sized brisket). Sprinkle the brisket with the salt, ancho chile powder, and black pepper. Put the brisket in the Instant Pot or other pressure cooker, trying to get it into a loose single layer. Don’t pack it in; if the pieces don’t fit, add a second layer crosswise to the first layer, like you’re building a house with Lincoln Logs. Pour the water and Worcestershire sauce over the beef.

Pressure Cook for 60 minutes with a Natural Release: Lock the lid, then pressure cook at high pressure for 60 minutes in an electric PC or for 50 minutes in a stovetop PC (Use Manual, Pressure Cook - High, or Pressure Cook - Custom mode in an Instant Pot). Let the pressure come down naturally, about 15 minutes more. Unlock the lid, opening it away from you - the steam is hot. Test the brisket with a fork – it should be easy to poke a fork through the thickest part of the thickest piece. If it’s not done, lock the lid and cook for another ten minutes at high pressure.

Slice and serve: Carefully lift the pieces of beef out of the cooker and transfer to a carving board. Strain the liquid in the pot into a fat separator. Slice the brisket into ½ inch thick slices, drizzle with a little of the defatted sauce, and serve, passing barbecue sauce at the table.

Recipe Tips

Cut the brisket into 2-inch strips

The big trick in this recipe is cutting the beef into 2-inch strips before pressure cooking. A whole brisket takes forever to cook, even in a pressure cooker. Cutting the brisket into pieces lets the heat penetrate, and speeds this up to a 60 minute cooking time at high pressure. Now, I know, 60 minutes at high pressure, with a natural release, isn't exactly a quick recipe. But when you compare it to the 12 hour+ cook it takes in a smoker? This takes a fraction of the time. And, since I'm going to slice the brisket anyhow, no one will notice that it was partially sliced before I cooked it.

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What do you think?

Questions? Other ideas? Leave them in the comments section below.

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