This Instant Pot Brisket recipe delivers moist and meltingly tender beef brisket in a fraction of the time! Seasoned to perfection with a Texas-style dry rub and smothered in the best savory-sweet bbq sauce, this easy beef brisket recipe may cut the cooking time by more than half, but not the flavor!
Pressure Cooker Brisket
Traditional brisket, whether smoked or braised, takes long time to cook before it becomes fork-tender. Although I love a good bbq brisket with burnt ends, I usually leave that type of recipes for special occasions.
When I’m short on time, the best way to achieve melt-in-your-mouth juicy and tender brisket is by using your electric pressure cooker. Cooking at high pressure is not only a quicker way to turn tough cuts of meat tender but a great way to condense flavor. Pressure cooking seals in the flavors of the food making every meal extra flavorful.
Instant Pot Brisket Recipe Flavor Profile
This beef brisket recipe starts with a simple, yet flavorful Texas-style dry rub. The beef is quickly seared and then cooked in the instant pot smothered in the most delicious homemade BBQ sauce. The savory-sweet and smoky barbecue sauce has hints of molasses and gets it’s light smoked flavor from liquid smoke.
Why You’ll Love This Instant Pot Brisket Recipe?
- Incredibly Tender Beef: Pressure cooking brisket guarantees moist and tender brisket.
- Quick and Easy: Cooking brisket in the traditional way takes so much time. This delicious beef brisket recipe cooks to juicy perfection in a fraction of the time.
- Flavor: In this easy recipe, the meat is seasoned with a simple Texas-style rub and smothered in a sweet-savory and smoky barbecue sauce!
- Crowd Pleaser: This is a dinner meal the whole family will enjoy. The ultimate recipe to make when you are having a gathering, dinner party or during the holidays holidays.
What Cut of Meat is Brisket?
Brisket is a flavorful but tough cut of meat that comes from the cow’s lower breast area. This area contains large amounts of connective tissue as well as collagen.
A whole brisket has two parts. The first or flat-cut which is very lean and the point or deckle (second-cut) which has more fat, more marbling and a more intense beefy flavor. The point cut is the one preferred by most pit masters because it has a thicker fat cap which keeps the brisket moist when smoked. The flat cut is the cut of beef that is usually always available at the grocery store.
What You’ll Need
This is a partial list of ingredients. Please, check the recipe card below for a full list of ingredients and their exact amounts.
- Brisket: you can use the flat-cut or point-cut for this recipe. Trim the excess fat leaving a thin layer of the fat cap. You will need about 4 pounds of brisket.
- Dry Spice Rub: Paprika, chili powder, brown sugar, garlic powder, onion powder, ground cumin, ground mustard, salt and ground black pepper.
- BBQ Sauce: Although you can use store-bought barbecue sauce, I’m sure you’ll love this homemade bbq sauce recipe. Keptchup, apple cider vinegar, molasses, onion powder, liquid smoke.
- Beef Broth: You can use chicken broth or apple juice if preferred. When cooking, I like building layers of flavor, for that reason I try to stay away from using plain water as my cooking liquid.
How to Make Brisket in the Instant Pot Pressure Cooker
These are just the highlights on how to make this recipe. For detailed instructions, check the recipe card below.
- Trim any excess fat and if needed, cut the meat into smaller pieces so they fit comfortably in your pressure cooker. Pat the meat dry with paper towel to get a nice sear.
- Rub the spice mix all over the brisket.
- In a small bowl. combine the bbq sauce ingredients.
- Turn the instant pot to sauté mode. Add the olive oil and when hot, sear the beef on both sides, until browned. Stir in garlic.
- Add the broth, BBQ sauce and mix scraping the bottom of the pot with a wooden spoon to remove any browned bits.
- Cook on high pressure for 75 minutes.
- When done, let the pressure release for 10-15 minutes (natural release) then quick release the remaining pressure.
- Transfer the brisket to a cutting board. Rest the meat, tented with aluminum foil for 10 minutes.
- Turn the instant pot to saute mode and reduce the sauce until the right consistency is achieved.
- Slice the cooked brisket and serve with bbq sauce. To make a brisket sandwich, cut the meat into thin slices. Pile up the sliced brisket on a brioche bun and top it with pickles.
How Long Does it take to Cook Brisket in the Instant Pot?
- 2 to 3 pounds brisket: Cook on high pressure for 55 to 60 minutes.
- 4 to 5 pounds brisket: Cook on high pressure for 75 minutes.
- 6 to 7 pounds brisket: Cook on high pressure for 90 minutes.
Can You Fix a Tough Brisket on the Instant Pot?
Although the cooking time instructed in the recipe will result in tender brisket, not all cuts of beef are created equal! there are many variables that can result in not so tender beef! If this is your case don’t worry! Place the brisket back in the pressure cooker, set the pot to manual (high pressure) and set the timer to 5 to 8 minutes.
What Should I Serve with Beef Brisket?
I like to serve this instant pot brisket pile high on a brioche bun or soft roll (yes, it makes the best brisket sandwich ever!!) with pickles. Here are other great side dishes that go great with beef brisket:
- Charro Beans
- Oven Roasted Sweet Potatoes
- Easy Corn Pudding Recipe
- Slow Cooker Mashed Potatoes
- Mexican Street Corn Pasta Salad
What to Do When Getting a ‘Burn” Error Message?
Although this has never happened to me, I have heard from some of my readers that had this issue. Apparently some instant pot models are very sensitive and when the little bits of food or seasonings get stuck on the bottom of the pot, the program detects this as a possible burn issue and tells the system to display an error message.
To prevent getting this error: After you sear the meat, deglaze the pot by adding the broth and scraping the bottom of the pot with a wooden spoon or spatula. You want to remove as much of the brown bits as possible. This will only flavor the sauce! Win-win!!
If you get a burn error: When your pot is locked and pressurized, first depressurize the pot – open the valve and release any pressure, then carefully open the lid because any escaping steam can burn you. Scrape the bottom of the pot with a wooden spoon or spatula to remove any brown bits that are stuck.
HowLong Does it Take to Smoke a Brisket vs This Instant Pot Brisket?
Each pound of brisket usually takes 1 hour to smoke. This recipe uses a 4 pound brisket and and is ready from start to finish in 2 hours total. The same amount of meat takes 4 hours in the smoker. That is exactly double the time it takes to cook brisket in your instant pot!
Making Ahead, Storing, Freezing and Reheating
Can Brisket Be Made Ahead?
Absolutely! Brisket is such an easy dinner that actually tastes better the longer it sits in the flavorful bbq sauce. Brisket can be made 2 days ahead of time. Store the cooked brisket with the barbecue sauce s in an airtight container in the refrigerator.
How to Store Beef Brisket?
Store leftover brisket in an airtight container in the refrigerator for 2-3 days.
Can You Freeze Brisket?
Yes! Instant Pot Brisket freezes well and will keep for 2-3 months in the freezer. Make sure you store it properly in an airtight container or in a freezer safe resealable bag. Thaw out in the refrigerator overnight.
How to Reheat Brisket?
Reheat leftover cooked Instant Pot brisket and bbq sauce in a 300 degrees F oven, covered until heated through. You can add additional barbecue sauce (homemade or store bought to keep the meat saucy. Brisket can be reheated in the microwave at 60% power, covered in small intervals until the meat is warm through. The microwave can potentially dry up the meat.
Instant Pot Brisket Tips for Success
- Don’t over-trim the extra fat. Leave a thin layer of the fat cap intact which will melts into the beef giving it flavor and keeping it moist.
- Cook the brisket fat cap up.
- If your brisket cooks a bit too long and falls apart when you slice it, don’t worry! It will still taste amazing.
- When the meat is done cooking, allow it to rest for 10-15 minutes, before slicing.
- Brisket should be sliced against the grain.
Take a Look at These Other Delicious Instant Pot Recipes:
- Instant Pot Baby Back Ribs
- Instant Pot Chicken Adobo (Filipino Recipe)
- Instant Pot Carnitas (Best Recipe Ever!)
- Instant Pot Wings (From Fresh or Frozen)
Instant Pot Brisket
Ingredients
- 4 pounds beef brisket, trimmed
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 4 garlic cloves, finely chopped
- 3/4 cup beef broth
For the Rub
- 2 tablespoons brown sugar
- 2 tablespoons paprika
- 1 tablespoon chili powder
- 2 teaspoons garlic powder
- 2 teaspoons onion powder
- 2 teaspoons salt
- 1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
- 1 teaspoon ground mustard
- 1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
For the BBQ Sauce
- 1 1/2 cup ketchup
- 1/2 cup apple cider vinegar
- 3/4 cup brown sugar
- 2 teaspoons onion powder
- 2 teaspoons ground mustard
- 1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
- 1 teaspoon liquid smoke
- 3 tablespoons molasses
- 1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
- 1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper (or to taste)
Instructions
- Trim any excess fat and if needed, cut the meat into smaller pieces so they fit comfortably in your pressure cooker. Pat the meat dry with paper towel to get a nice sear.
- In a small bowl, mix all the rub ingredients, then rub the spice mix all over the meat. At this point, you can cook the brisket or wrap it with plastic wrap and store it in the refrigerator for up to 24 hours.
- In a medium bowl, mix all the barbecue sauce ingredients.
- Turn the instant pot to sauté mode and add the olive oil. When hot, sear the meat on both sides for about 3-5 minutes per side or until golden brown. If you have cut the brisket in smaller pieces, do this in batches not to overcrowd the pot.
- Transfer the meat to a plate. If your instant pot is too hot, turn the sauté function off to prevent burning the garlic. Stir in garlic and sauté for 30 seconds to a minute.
- if you haven’t done so already, hit the warm/cancel button. Add the broth and with a wooden spoon or spatula scrape the bottom of the pot to remove the browned bit that are stuck at the bottom of the pot. Add the BBQ sauce.
- Return the brisket to the pot with any collected juices. Close the lid and set the pot to manual and the timer to 75 minutes.
- Once the cooking cycle is complete, allow the pressure to release naturally for about 10-15 minutes. Then do a quick release for the remaining pressure.
- Transfer the brisket to a cutting board. Cover with aluminum foil and let the meat rest for about 10 -15 minutes.
- Turn the instant pot/pressure cooker to “saute” and cook/reduce the sauce for 5 to 8 minutes, stirring a few times. Press the warm/cancel button.
- Slice the beef brisket against the grain and serve with the BBQ sauce. You can also return the sliced brisket to the instant pot making sure the slices are covered with the sauce (to prevent the meat from drying). Keep it warm until ready to serve.
Recipe Notes
- Suggested cooking times:
2 to 3 pounds brisket: Cook on high pressure for 55 to 60 minutes.
4 to 5 pounds brisket: Cook on high pressure for 75 minutes.
6 to 7 pounds brisket: Cook on high pressure for 90 minutes. - If your brisket is too big, cut it into 2 to 3 smaller pieces that can fit comfortably in the instant pot.
- If your pressure cooker gets too hot after searing the meat, you can press the warm/cancel button before adding the garlic to prevent the garlic from burning.
- Ground mustard, mustard powder or dried mustard are the exact same product.
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