Instant Pot Corned Beef

Not traditionally Irish, and way too late for Saint Patrick’s Day, I still love a hearty dish of corned beef and cabbage.

2 1/2-3 pound corned beef brisket, including spice packet
Water to cover halfway (3-4 cups)
2 pounds petite potatoes (Little Potato Company creamers, in this case)
3 cups baby carrots
3 cups frozen pearl onions
1 head cabbage, cut into wedges

  1. Rinse brisket and pat dry. Top with spice packet contents.
  2. Place brisket in Instant Pot and add enough water to cover halfway.
  3. Lock the lid in place and set the steam release handle to Sealing.
  4. Select the Meat/Stew setting and set the timer for 90 minutes.
  5. When the pressure cooking cycle finishes, press the Cancel button and let the pressure release naturally for 15 minutes, then manually release the remaining pressure.
  6. Remove corned beef to a platter, cover loosely with foil, and let rest while cooking the veggies.
  7. Without discarding liquid, add potatoes, carrots, onions, and cabbage to the pot.
  8. Lock the lid in place and set the steam release handle to Sealing.
  9. Cook at high pressure for 4-5 minutes. Do a quick pressure release.
  10. Slice the brisket against the grain and arrange on a serving platter. Surround with veggies and top with a bit of the cooking liquid


The Verdict: ★★★★½
Veggies were perfectly done and the beef was tender enough to cut with a fork. Very  good, except this is the first time I’ve ever had under-seasoned corned beef. If anything, they are usually a little too salty. I’ll make sure to taste my braising liquid next time.

Pressure Cooker Corned Beef

Corned Beef
Normally I would do my yearly Corned Beef on the Big Green Egg, but I have been rebuilding my kitchen and the Instant Pot is one of one of my cool new toysols. It’s a slow cooker/dutch oven/rice maker/pressure cooker hybrid that seemed to be perfect for a cooking a brisket.

Instant Pot
I know a lot of folks think a pressure cooker is just an accident waiting to happen, but the Instant Pot has bunch of safety interlocks that pretty much prevent you from doing anything dangerous with it. You can’t even pressurize it until it checks to make sure the lid is fully locked. Besides, it has Bluetooth connectivity. How cool is that?


3 pound flat cut corned beef brisket with seasoning packet
4 medium red potatoes, quartered
3 large carrots, cut into 2-inch pieces
3 medium parsnips, sliced into 1/2-inch coins

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Rinse the corned beef under cold water to remove excess salt and goo.
Put a rack in the pressure cooking pot and arrange the corned beef on top of that. Sprinkle with seasoning packet and then add just enough water to almost cover the brisket.

Lock the lid in place and set to “Meat/Stew” under high pressure for 50 minutes. Once finished, allow it to depressurize naturally (about 15 minutes) while you chop up the veggies.

Remove the rack and brisket from the pressure cooking to a cutting board. Cover loosely with aluminum foil and let rest until ready to serve.

Add the potatoes, carrots and parsnips to the broth in the pressure cooking pot. Lock the lid in place and set to “Soup” setting for 5 minutes. When beep sounds, turn off pressure cooker and do a quick pressure release.

Leave the lid on while you slice the corned beef into thin slices against the grain. Arrange slices on a platter and surround with veggies.

The Verdict: ★★★★★
While I missed the smokey flavor of the grill, it’s hard to argue with meltingly tender brisket in under an hour. The seasoning was dead on – warm and slightly exotic  and a great match for the salty beefiness of the meat.

Next year I’m thinking of trying smoking and pressure cooking, a la Montreal Smoked Meat. Can’t wait.

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