Pressure Cooker Corned Beef and Cabbage Is my family's comfort food tradition on St. Patrick's Day.
Corned beef and cabbage in the pressure cooker seemed like a simple idea, a slow-cooker alternative that sped up my cooking time dramatically. And it did...eventually, when I got my technique figured out. Now I have a rock-solid pressure cooker corned beef recipe. (Before that it was a comedy of errors - see my troubleshooting section below if you want the gory details.)
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Ingredients
- Corned beef
- Onion
- Celery
- Carrots
- Cabbage
See the recipe card for quantities.
How to Make Pressure Cooker Corned Beef and Cabbage
Pressure Cook the Corned Beef for 60 Minutes With a Quick Release: Rinse the corned beef, then cut it crosswise into 4 equal pieces. Put the corned beef pieces, onion, and celery in an Instant Pot or other pressure cooker, sprinkle with the spice packet, then pour in enough water to cover the corned beef. Bring the pressure cooker up to high pressure and cook at high pressure for 60 minutes in an Instant Pot or other electric PC, or for 50 minutes in a stovetop PC. Quick release the pressure, then carefully remove the lid. Test the corned beef for doneness with a fork - it should be easy to poke a fork through the thickest section. If it's not done, lock the lid and cook for another ten minutes at high pressure.
Pressure Cook the Vegetables for 5 Minutes With a Quick Release: Add carrots to the pot, then lay the cabbage on top. It's OK if the cabbage comes a bit above your cooker's "no fill" line; there will still be a lot of airspace. Cook at high pressure for 5 minutes. Quick release the pressure again. Using a slotted spoon and/or tongs, transfer the vegetables to a platter and the corned beef to a carving board.
Serve: Pour the broth left in the pot into a fat separator. While the broth settles, slice the corned beef. Pour a little of the de-fatted broth over the corned beef and vegetables platter. Serve, passing the rest of the broth at the table.
Corned Beef & Cabbage Troubleshooting
Problem 1: Too salty
Last year, I tried my usual "cut back the water in the pressure cooker" approach. I used 1 cup of water instead of covering the corned beef. The result was unbelievably salty. I could barely eat it. The rest of the family took one bite, then ignored the corned beef and filled up with soda bread, cabbage, and carrots. Discouraged, I put one serving of the salty corned beef and cabbage in a container and tossed the rest. The next day, the leftovers tasted fine - sitting in the cabbage and juices for a day pulled enough salt out to make it edible.
Problem 2: Undercooked
Problem 2: Undercooked
This year, instead of winging it, I researched recipes. They all said to cover the corned beef with water. (Whoops.) Then I ran into my next hurdle. Most sources cook the whole corned beef at high pressure for 45 minutes to an hour. Then they quick release the pressure, remove the corned beef, add the vegetables, and cook the vegetables at high pressure for five minutes.
"Great!" I thought to myself, "Corned beef in an hour!"
I should have known what was coming. Last year I followed Lorna Sass's instructions and cooked a two-and-a-half pound corned beef for 70 minutes at high pressure. This year I had a monster - four and a half pounds. I checked the recipe book that came with my electric Cuisinart pressure cooker; it said I should cook for 24 minutes per pound. 108 minutes? Seriously? The Cuisinart's timer only goes up to 99 minutes. No, it couldn't possibly take that long.
I put the corned beef in the electric pressure cooker, and set it to cook at high pressure for fifty minutes. Then I quick released the pressure and filled the pot with potatoes, carrots, and cabbage. The result looked great, and the vegetables were perfectly cooked. But the corned beef was undercooked. My jaw got tired trying to chew through it. Once again, everyone else took one bite of the corned beef, then filled up on the sides.
I had to crack this. I couldn't let corned beef beat me. I went back to the store and bought two smaller corned beef roasts, each three and a half pounds.
In case it was the lower pressure of the electric pressure cooker, I cooked one corned beef in my electric PC and the other in my stove top PC. (Most electric pressure cookers have a high pressure of 12 PSI, while stovetop pressure cookers have a high pressure of 15 PSI.)
I cooked both roasts for fifty minutes, quick released the pressure, and checked the corned beef. It wasn't done. I kept trying, pressure cooking for ten minutes with a quick release, and checking again. The stovetop pressure cooker took a total of 80 minutes to tenderize the corned beef, and the electric PC took 90 minutes. Finally, success!
But, wow, eighty minutes? So much for corned beef in an hour. Still, an hour and a half (including the extra vegetable cooking time) was much better than the ten hours my usual slow cooker recipe takes. Need a corned beef in a hurry? Get a small one, add plenty of water, and do NOT undercook it.
Problem 3: Too Long
So, 90 minutes worked for a smaller corned beef, and I used that recipe for years. But with another St. Patrick's Day coming up, I started thinking.
What if I tried the trick I learned with [Pressure Cooker Pot Roast] and cut the corned beef into pieces? I always slice the corned beef for serving, so no one will know I cut it into 4 pieces before I started cooking.
Sure enough, cutting the corned beef into 4 pieces worked wonders. 60 minutes under pressure worked perfectly in my Instant Pot, and it finished in 50 minutes in my stovetop PC. Now, I can get a bigger corned beef - I'm able to fit a 4 pounder in, once I cut it up and fit it in like a jigsaw puzzle. In fact, I can get any size I want, as long as I cut it into 2-inch to 3-inch wide pieces before cooking. Problem solved!
Recipe Tips and Tricks
- Leftover corned beef and cabbage freezes well, as long as it is covered in broth.
- If you have the time, use a natural pressure release for the corned beef instead of the quick release. It's almost impossible to overcook a corned beef, and the slower release of pressure results in a little bit more tenderness in the corned beef.
- Watch out for extra-thick corned beef - you want a flat, even piece, three inches thick or so. If you get a thicker one, or a cut from the point end, give it an extra ten to fifteen minutes under pressure.
- Want to add a little more Irish cuisine to the recipe? (Or at least some Irish beer?) Replace some of the water with a bottle of Guinness beer
- Don't have a pressure cooker? Use a slow cooker. Recipe here: Slow Cooker Corned Beef and Cabbage
Adapted From: Lorna Sass Pressure Perfect
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Pressure Cooker Corned Beef and Cabbage Recipe
- Total Time: 1 hour 20 minutes
- Yield: 6-8 1x
Description
Pressure Cooker Corned Beef and Cabbage. My tradition on St. Patrick's Day.
Ingredients
- 4 pound corned beef with its spice packet
- 1 medium onion, quartered
- 1 stalk celery, quartered crosswise
- Water to cover (about 4 cups)
Vegetables
- 1 pound carrots, peeled and cut into 2 inch lengths (or a 1 pound bag of baby carrots)
- 1 small (3 pound) cabbage, cut into 8 wedges
Instructions
- Pressure Cook the Corned Beef for 60 Minutes With a Quick Release: Rinse the corned beef, then cut it crosswise into 4 equal pieces. Put the corned beef pieces, onion, and celery in an Instant Pot or other pressure cooker, sprinkle with the spice packet, then pour in enough water to cover the corned beef. Bring the pressure cooker up to high pressure and cook at high pressure for 60 minutes in an Instant Pot or other electric PC, or for 50 minutes in a stovetop PC. Quick release the pressure, then carefully remove the lid. Test the corned beef for doneness with a fork - it should be easy to poke a fork through the thickest section. If it's not done, lock the lid and cook for another ten minutes at high pressure.
- Pressure Cook the Vegetables for 5 Minutes With a Quick Release: Add carrots to the pot, then lay the cabbage on top. It's OK if the cabbage comes a bit above your cooker's "no fill" line; there will still be a lot of airspace. Cook at high pressure for 5 minutes. Quick release the pressure again. Using a slotted spoon and/or tongs, transfer the vegetables to a platter and the corned beef to a carving board.
- Serve: Pour the broth left in the pot into a fat separator. While the broth settles, slice the corned beef. Pour a little of the de-fatted broth over the corned beef and vegetables platter. Serve, passing the rest of the broth at the table.
Notes
This recipe will fit in a 6 quart or larger pressure cooker. I love my 6 quart Instant Pot pressure cooker.
For my original recipe: Use a smaller corned beef - only 3 pounds, max, and leave it in one piece. Everything in the recipe works the same, except in the "cook the corned beef" step, cook for 90 minutes in an electric PC, or 80 minutes in a stovetop PC.
I also removed the potatoes from the recipe - I think they come out better if you cook mashed potatoes on the side. If you want to use them in the recipe: Scoop the corned beef out of the broth after the 60 minute pressure "cook the corned beef" step and set it aside. Add 1 ½ pounds of redskin new potatoes to the pot, then add the carrots and cabbage on top and continue with the "cook the vegetables" step.
- Prep Time: 5 minutes
- Cook Time: 1 hour 15 minutes
- Category: Sunday Dinner
- Method: Pressure Cooker
- Cuisine: Irish
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Nutrition
- Serving Size: ½ pound of corned beef
- Calories: 521
- Sugar: 3.4 g
- Sodium: 2841.7 mg
- Fat: 34.3 g
- Carbohydrates: 16.4 g
- Protein: 36.1 g
- Cholesterol: 122.7 mg
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Donna says
This has been my go to recipe since the beginning!! Never fails
Mike Vrobel says
Thank you, I’m glad you enjoy it!
Anonymous says
Susan T says
This was soooo good. Did everything as in the recipe. Had to cook the brisket a little longer but everything else was the same. I don’t pin a lot but this is definitely for keeps. I will be cooking corned beef this way going forward. My husband loved it.
Mike Vrobel says
Thank you, I'm glad you enjoyed it!
Michele says
Best and easiest recipe ever, I use it every year.
Mike Vrobel says
Thanks!
J'Ne Chilcote says
Delicious! I love corned beef and this was the best mine has ever turned out!!!
Mike Vrobel says
Great! I'm glad to hear it worked so well for you.
Joy says
Hey okay it's me I just took my first bite The corned beef came out absolutely perfect the vegetables are a little overcooked but I don't mind them that way and I didn't put onions in just potatoes and carrots but I put in whole little potatoes and cabbage I'm going to need a recipe for like a brown sugar mustard sauce if anybody has a good one they'd like to share thank you. love my stove top pressure cooker
May N says
Thanks for the good tips, especially cutting bigger cuts into smaller pieces. Was just about to give up cooking in the pressure cooker until I read your suggestions! I included 12 oz beer, 2 bay leaves, 2 onions quartered, and 4 garlic cloves (per Wolfgang Puck). I did not quick release as I read doing so toughens meat so I cooked 50 min and then did 20 min natural release for 4.3lb. Might try 60 min next time. Thanks!
Mike Vrobel says
You’re welcome!
Sophie says
I followed your tips with the whole cutting up the silverside into quarters and it worked an absolute treat. I haven't used my Ninja Foodi for much more than air frying so far, so I was keen to pressure cook this and give it a shot. It pressure cooked for an hour with water and onion, pre-rinsed and nothing else added. I had to pop out and it was on the "keep warm" setting when I got back, quick release, opened it up and let it sit for a few minutes while I unpacked the car, added carrots, pressure cooked for another 5 minutes and dished up. The silverside didn't even need carving, it practically fell apart in my tongs. I dished it up with some gravy and a few extra veggies I threw on (it was one of those days, snap frozen stuff worked a treat).
I will definitely make this again, exactly how I did before, except with extra veg. No added salt, but a sprinkle of pepper. Deeeelicious. The kids ate it in no time at all and my hubby didn't want to give any left over meat to the dogs (he did anyway, begrudgingly...)
Thank you!
Mike Vrobel says
You're welcome!
Ryck says
I made his recipe because he talked about his failures and caused me to continue to read. I only go stove top on pressure cooker, When I hit that 80 minutes was the golden time, I took my four pound slab of meat and tossed it in for 83 minutes., and it took about another 20 minutes for it to cool enough to remove the chit-chit-chit thing from the top. Then took another 5minutes for it to fully be safe to remove the meat. Loaded it up with potato’s, carrots, celery and cabbage.
Returned lid and chit-chit-chit thing and heated up until the thing started making noise again. Removed from heat to once again, then opened pot to corned beef that smelled great and tasted magnificent. Once on plate, I was cutting the meet wit my for,
Next time I will slice a good chunk of the fat off and not add cabbage. It just fell apart. Next time Iwill Blanche it with the hot water from pot.
Just sooo goood!
Linda says
Nice. I like that you admit your mistakes but keep on working to get it right! Love my traditional pressure cooker but the Instant Pot has highlighted this cooking method. Going to give the corned beef plenty of time to cook
Jen Wolf says
Mike, you're my pressure cooker hero! You saved our St. Patty's Day. It's been so crazy around here with all the changes brought on by the novel virus that shall not be named, I found myself with all the ingredients but running out of time to get our traditional meal together. We needed this to happen -- anything that brings comfort and a sense of normalcy right now is paramount -- and the only way it was going to happen in time was by using the pressure cooker. Your detailed post and recipe were really helpful, and I got 'er done. The only thing I did differently was to add a bottle of lager to the cooking liquid. It was delicious and oh, so welcome, and now I'm going to be scouring your posts for other cool pressure-cooker ideas. Thank you!
Mike Vrobel says
You’re welcome! I’m so glad it worked out for you.
J.D. Hegwood says
This is my go to recipe for corned beef, it is the beat!