Brisket Instant Pot Recipe
Steven Pennington
The perfect technique to pressure cook tender Brisket
Prep Time 10 minutes mins
Cook Time 1 hour hr 15 minutes mins
Quick Release 15 minutes mins
Total Time 1 hour hr 40 minutes mins
Course Instant Pot
Cuisine American, Texan / Southern
Servings 4 people
Calories 646 kcal
The Brisket
- 2 pound Brisket / Buy what looks good. If you end up with too much you can freeze the leftovers.
- ¼ cup Peanut Oil (Searing The Brisket) / Canola & Vegetable oil is ok
Texas BBQ Dry Rub
- 1 ½ Tablespoon Chihuahua, Mexico Smoked Salt (optional) Substitute: place kosher salt in large tin and smoke your own salt using an indirect fire, on low heat of 200-225 degrees for a few hours.
- 1 Tablespoon Sea Salt If you do not have smoked salt, use a total of 2 ½ Tablespoons of sea salt. Or more if the brisket is very large.
- 1 Tablespoon San Antonio Chili Powder Normal chili powder is OK
- 1 Tablespoon New Mexico Chili Powder Normal chili powder is OK
- 1 Tablespoon Black Pepper
- 2 teaspoon Cumin
- 2 teaspoon Paprika
- 1 teaspoon Coriander
- 1 teaspoon Garlic Powder
- 1 teaspoon Onion Powder
- 2 teaspoon Herbs de Provonce contains savory, marjoram, rosemary, thyme, and oregano.
- 1 teaspoon Red Pepper Flake
- 2 Tablespoon Turbinado Sugar
Add To The Instant Pot
- 6 cups Beef Stock Try our Clean Beef Stock Recipe
- 2 teaspoon Liquid Smoke
- 1 stick Butter Or use Lard, 4 ounces
- 2 Tablespoon Black Pepper
Texas BBQ Sauce
- Recipe In Note Section Below
Get Recipe Ingredients
Cut the Brisket into manageable sizes that will fit into the Instant Pot if needed. Keep the pieces large if possible.Smaller pieces will cook quicker. That will require reducing the cooking time.How much time to reduce? 15 minutes. Cook for 1 hour. Season the brisket with salt and the BBQ dry rub. Allow 10 minutes at room temperature to help the seasoning penetrate the meat. Overnight in the refrigerator would be best for the flavors to penetrate the brisket.
Quick Release Method
Using a spoon or fork, move the lids exhaust valve to "Venting" after the timer goes off.Hot steam will be released from the valve for around 3 to 5 minutes. The Instant Pot is depressurizing. Wait a total of 15 minutes before opening the lid.
Instant Pot Safety - Opening The Lid
Not Safe To Open: Instant Pot pin is pressed outward and is not safe to open. Safe to Open: Once the pressure has been removed, you will see the pin on the lid fall back into the lid. This indicates that the pressure has been safely released, and you can open the lid.After 15 minutes, place the brisket on a cutting board, tented with aluminum foil, and allow another 5–10 minutes to pass. Resting the meat.Slice the brisket "against" the grain to ensure tenderness.If you slice "with" the grain, the meat will be tough to chew.
Finishing - BBQ Sauce
Below within the NOTEs section is a great homemade BBQ sauce recipe to try. After the brisket comes out of the Instant Pot paint on BBQ sauce and roast in the oven for a few minutes.Something To Try: a splash of fresh lime juice, incredible. Garish with Cilantro.
Tips To Extra Tenderness
- Using a Fatty Cut of Brisket - Look for a brisket cut called the "the point".
- Use enough liquid to pressurize braise the meat. ⅔ up the sides of the beef brisket.
- Use quick release, plus 15 minutes in the Instant Pot with the lid ON.
- Cooking with a tomato sauce in the IP (The acid from the tomatoes helps tenderize the Brisket) is not Texas-style, but so very good.
- Pairing the dish with a sauce never hurts
Special Texas BBQ Sauce with a KICK...
- 1 cup Ketchup Hunts Brand – No High Fructose Corn Syrup - Helpful with controlling the sweet level yourself.
- 2 Tablespoon Brown Sugar
- 2 teaspoon Honey Mustard - Use what you like
- 1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
- 1 teaspoon Favorite hot sauce - add all ingredients first, then taste, season and adjust before adding more hot sauceTOP Secret Ingredient:Wasabi Sauce – Wasabi is not HOT but is spicy with a floral and fragrant similar to horseradish. Making this a secret flavor weapon. The hot side of Wasabi is upfront, then quickly calms down. Not like spicy peppers that have capsaicin, which is an oil. Once the oil from a pepper touches your tongue that spiciness isn’t going away quickly as Wasabi does.
- 1 Tablespoon Wasabi paste
- 1 Tablespoon Honey
- 1 Tablespoon Apple Cider Vinegar
- Salt & Cracked Black Pepper - to taste
- Texas Style Ingredient: ½ teaspoon Liquid Smoke
Keyword Instant Pot Beef Brisket, Texas Style Instant Pot Beef Brisket