Instant Pot Brisket Recipe | Pressure Cooker Brisket (2024)

This Instant Pot Brisket recipe is an easy, savory dish that you can make without heating up your entire house. Dump in everything and just let it make itself, and you end up with a savory, melt-in-your-mouth dish for dinner.

Why You'll Love Pressure Cooker Brisket

• My house didn't get over-heated
• The recipe makes a sauce in the bottom of the pot that is super savory and flavorful. So basically you're using your pressure cooker to make beef brisket AND gravy at the same time.
• It's a dump everything in and cook it type of recipe, and y'all know how much I love those types of recipes.
• I didn't brown or pre-season anything to make this brisket.
• This is a simple beef brisket recipe. No fancy ingredients, but every ingredient adds a flavor punch. Because I'm all about #ruthlessefficiency.

What Is Beef Brisket?

Brisket is a cut of beef located in the breast or pectoral region. It can be one of two different cuts. The point and the flat. For this pressure cooker brisket recipe, I used the flat cut.

Note this is same cut of meat that is used for corned beef brisket, but the two are not at all the same thing.

Fresh beef brisket is just fresh, uncured meat. In contrast, a corned beef brisket has been cured and brined and often spiced.

I have an excellent pressure cooker corned beef brisket recipe right here as well.

Why This May Be The Best Way To Cook Brisket

Have you wondered how to pressure cook a brisket? This Instant Pot beef Brisket recipe will show you how to make an excellent brisket with minimal effort on your part.

It gives you a deliciously rich and tender braised brisket without having to smoke the beef brisket for hours on end.

This recipe for Instant Pot Brisket is sure to offend every bbq brisket person within a 100-mile radius of my Texas home. But I plan to watch them get upset while they chow down on a plate full of this delicious beef brisket with sauce while watching them yell at me.

I had really wanted to smoke this brisket but I didn't plan things very well and just ran out of time at the last minute. So I thought back to all the times that people have used slow cookers to make their brisket and decided an Instant Pot recipe could do it for me in a fraction of the time.

Does This Taste Like BBQ Brisket?

Well, no it doesn't taste anything like smoked beef brisket. Not even a little bit. It tastes like braised meat. Delicious, savory, umami braised brisket.

If I were you, I'd think of this as a braised meat dish that has minimal effort for the maximum beef-flavored payoff. You'll have a tender piece of meat, lots of thick, lovely sauce, and all with no effort.

And no barbecue sauce. Which, as a Texan, I consider unnecessary on a well-cooked piece of meat.

How Long Does It Take To Cook A 2 Pound Brisket?

The time it takes to cook a 2 pound beef brisket all depends on what method you're using to cook it. If you're using a more traditional method, such as grilling or baking, it can take up to an hour per pound to cook it through.

That's what makes Instant Pot Brisket such a great option if you're trying to get dinner on the table FAST. This beef brisket recipe cooks a 2 pound brisket in an hour and twenty minutes (including prep time).

How Many Minutes Per Pound Do You Cook Brisket?

A good rule of thumb for a brisket that is tender enough to cut with a fork is 60 minutes per pound.

Check out my post on the Maillard reaction to understand how cooking time is important with the tenderness of your meat when pressure cooking.

If you learn better with visual or audio help, check out my step-by-step video where I show you hands-on how to make the best of your Instant Pot Brisket!

Ingredients You'll Need

Brisket

• Beef brisket,cut into 4 pieces against the grain
• Kosher Salt
• Ground Black Pepper
• Sliced Onions

For the Sauce

• Tomato Paste
• Worcestershire Sauce
• Liquid Smoke

Finishing

• Prepared Mustard,adjust to taste
• Xanthan Gum,for low carb or sub with a cornstarch slurry

How To Cook Instant Pot Brisket

If you're wondering how to cook brisket in your Instant Pot, you've come to the right place. With just a few simple steps you will have the most tender, delicious brisket in a fraction of the time of traditional cooking methods.

Step 1: Slice the brisket into even pieces. Season with salt and pepper and set aside while you get everything else together.

Step 2: Mix together ingredients for the sauce.

Step 3: Layer the sliced onions at the bottom of the pressure cooker. You are doing this to get some lovely flavorful stock into the recipe, and also keep the brisket from scorching. You do not need to use beef broth, apple cider vinegar or barbeque sauce, or any other way to flavor your brisket if you follow this method.

Step 4: Place the seasoned brisket on the onions. Pour in the sauce. The Brisket Cook Time will be 40 minutes.

Step 5: Remove the meat from the pot. Using an immersion blender, purée the sauce and onion in the pot. Your flavorful cooking liquid just turned to gold around this brisket.

Step 6: Turn the pot to Sauté. To the cooking liquid, add in the prepared mustard, and thickener if using.

Step 7: Serve the beef brisket with the sauce poured on top. You could sprinkle with a little smoked paprika right before serving if you like.

Tips And Tricks

• The thickness of the beef brisket will dictate cook times. Watch the video or see the process shots above.
• If you want slices, for the size and thickness in the video, you want a 35 minute cook time with a 15-minute natural pressure release. The video shows 70 minutes for a shreddable brisket.
• Cut that brisket up into large chunks before you cook it. Otherwise, you may have one large piece of meat that's overdone on the outside, and underdone on the inside. #trustUrvashi on this one. There is no way to evenly cook a large hunk of meat without it overcooking on the outside.
• Reduce the brisket cook time by cutting it into small pieces.
• Use the flat cut of the brisket for this Instant Pot recipe.
• You can add some brown sugar to the cooked brisket if you want a touch of sweetness in the sauce.
• Looking for the perfect Passover brisket? This is a great Jewish brisket recipe.
• To make a slow cooker brisket, I would urge you to cut up the brisket just as I've specified here. It may take a good 10 hours for the beef to tenderize, so unless you have planned ahead, I would not count on a crockpot brisket being done in time for dinner.
• Sometimes I take out a chunk of the cooked beef, and either make chopped or sliced brisket and cover it in bbq sauce. This way I can get two dishes out of one beef brisket.
• You can also use this shredded beef in sandwiches, or over Instant Pot mashed potatoes. In fact, the combination of this seasoned brisket with creamy mashed potatoes is heaven.

How Long Does It Last?

If you have leftovers of Instant Pot brisket and want to refrigerate them, they should be stored in an airtight container or tightly wrapped with plastic wrap.

When properly refrigerated, brisket can typically last in the refrigerator for about 3 to 4 days. Make sure to cool the meat to room temperature before refrigerating it to prevent condensation, which can affect the texture.

How To Reheat Brisket

• Place a trivet inside your Instant Pot liner.
• Add a cup of water.
• Place a heat-safe pan on top of the trivet.
• Put meat in the pan.
• Cover the pan with foil.
• Set Instant Pot to STEAM for 3-4 minutes.
• Allow the pot to release pressure naturally.

Can You Freeze It?

If you want to extend the shelf life of Instant Pot brisket, you can freeze it. Transfer the cooled brisket to an airtight container or freezer-safe bag, removing as much air as possible to prevent freezer burn.

Properly stored, brisket can stay good in the freezer for approximately 2 to 3 months.

What To Serve With It

• Potatoes Anna recipe. With only 4 ingredients, you can make this tasty, elegant dish with ease!
• This Indian beetroot salad goes really well with this brisket too, even though we're totally combining cultures.
• Instant Pot Cherry Clafoutis recipe. This elegant French dessert is a breeze to make in your instant pot!
• Instant Pot Mashed Potatoes for the perfect side dish.
• Corned beef with cabbage for a different brisket recipe
• Instant Pot Chili -- Another beefy, hearty beef recipe that is perfection

Pin It!

Now you've got all the fixings of a delicious Instant Pot Brisket dinner! Make sure to share this recipe with your friends on Pinterest and Facebook so they can enjoy it as well!

Don't forget to check out my other Best-selling Instant Pot Cookbooks!

Indian Instant Pot, Keto Instant Pot, Instant Pot Fast and Easy, Healthy Instant Pot & Vegetarian Instant Pot.