Food & Cooking Recipes Healthy Recipes Gluten-Free Recipes Instant Pot Brisket 4.3 (7) Pressure cooking produces a quick-braised brisket that makes a deliciously tender meal. Prep Time: 30 mins Cook Time: 1 hr 50 mins Total Time: 2 hrs 20 mins Servings: 6 to 8 Jump to recipe Our Instant Pot brisket recipe is a quick and easy way to prepare the delicious—yet notoriously tough—cut of beef. Typically, it benefits from a low and slow approach with braising, oven roasting, smoking on a grill, or simmering in a slow cooker for many hours to tenderize the meat. But with a multi-cooker, you can enjoy tender and flavorful brisket by pressure cooking the meat in just under an hour and a half. Browning the beef adds deeper flavor while the sautéed onions, ketchup, brown sugar, and white vinegar create a sweet and tangy sauce that gets reduced and thickened at the end. Carrots and potatoes pressure cook in just 5 minutes while the brisket rests, and this ensures the vegetables don’t turn to mush. With tender slices of brisket, sweet sautéed onions, and perfectly cooked carrots and potatoes, this Instant Pot meal delivers all of the favorite flavors of a traditional dish in half the time. Which is Better: Slow Cooker or Instant Pot? A Chef Weighs In Credit: Bryan Gardner What Is Brisket (and How to Buy It) Brisket comes from the pectoral muscles on a cow's chest. Because those muscles are in heavy use—cows use them for standing and moving around—they're full of connective tissue that requires a low-and-slow cooking method like braising or smoking. A full brisket can weigh between 10 and 18 pounds and is made up of the two cuts: The flat cut (which is a more even thickness and less marbled) and the point cut (fattier and irregularly shaped). For braising and slicing, the flat cut is generally recommended for its uniform shape, though it'll be less succulent than the point cut. Be sure to leave some of the fat cap on it—about one-quarter inch is good—to help keep the meat from drying out as it cooks. How much brisket do you need? We call for 4 pounds of meat for this recipe but if you see a piece that is 31/2 pounds it will also work fine for this preparation. Even though the brisket is trimmed before cooking, it's bound to release some fat into the sauce. If desired, transfer the reduced sauce to a liquid measuring cup and let it settle for about 5 minutes; use a small ladle to skim off the top layer of fat before serving. Directions Brown brisket in Instant Pot: Heat oil in a 6-quart multicooker set to the high "Sauté" setting. Generously season brisket with salt and pepper. Working in batches, add brisket to pot; cook, flipping occasionally, until golden brown all over, 8 to 10 minutes. Transfer to a plate. Sauté onions, then stir in ketchup, vinegar, and sugar; return brisket: Add onions to pot and season with salt and pepper; cook, stirring occasionally, until translucent, 3 to 4 minutes. Add ketchup, vinegar, and brown sugar; nestle brisket pieces back into pot. Cook brisket; release pressure, then move meat to cutting board: Secure lid of multicooker; adjust vent to seal. Cook on high "Pressure Cook" setting for 1 hour 25 minutes. Once time is complete, turn off machine and manually release pressure; carefully remove lid. Very carefully lift brisket from liquid and transfer to a cutting board, then tent with foil to keep warm. Cook vegetables; release pressure, then move vegetables to a platter: Add carrots and potatoes to pot. Secure lid, readjust pressure valve, and cook on high "Pressure Cook" setting for 5 minutes. Once time is complete, turn off machine and manually release pressure; carefully remove lid (do not let vegetables sit on the warming setting) and use a slotted spoon to transfer vegetables to a platter. Reduce sauce and slice brisket; serve with vegetables: Set machine to "Sauté" setting and bring liquid to a simmer. Cook until reduced by half, 10 to 15 minutes. Thinly slice brisket against the grain and transfer to platter. Spoon some of the cooking liquid over brisket and vegetables, sprinkle with parsley, and serve. What to Serve With Instant Pot Brisket Since this brisket recipe features a built-in starchy side, all that's really needed to round out the meal is a crisp and bright salad. Cut through all that delicious richness with a delightfully bitter side, like this easy endive salad, a quick radicchio and endive salad, or this tangy blend of chicories, Brussels sprouts, and citrus. Feeling more like a green salad? How about this one with a pickled-shallot vinaigrette or, if you're cooking this recipe in the spring, try our green salad with roasted beets and pickled rhubarb. 5 More Recipes With Brisket to Try Slow-Cooker Brisket and Onions Wine-Braised Brisket Sweet-and-Sour Brisket Slow-Cooker Corned Beef and Cabbage Brisket and Potato Stew Updated by Esther Reynolds Esther Reynolds Esther Reynolds is an experienced recipe developer, recipe tester, food editor, and writer with over a decade of experience in the food and media industries.