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    Instant Pot Brisket in BBQ Sauce

    Jan 2, 2018 · 17 Comments

    1.5K shares
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    Jump to Recipe - Print Recipe

    Instant Pot Brisket in BBQ Sauce is easy melt in your mouth beef brisket recipe! In the most amazing and flavorful Barbecue sauce, made completely from scratch. The brisket is tender, the sauce is out of this world, and this is one of the easiest meals you’ll ever make! And minimal clean-up!

    Instant Pot Barbecue Beef Brisket on a plate

    The perfect Sunday afternoon is making Instant Pot Beef Brisket. This is one pressure cooker recipe where you want to enjoy a glass of wine waiting for its arrival at your dinner table.

    We made this juicy brisket for our New Year’s Eve celebration and it was an absolute hit! Pressure cooking the brisket allows the connective tissues to slowly dissolve into the meat. As a result, the meat is amazingly tender. We served it with Instant Pot Mashed Potatoes.

    What to serve with Instant Pot Brisket?

    Instant Pot Barbecue Beef Brisket

    I usually enjoy my brisket with Instant Pot Mashed Potatoes. But you can also choose Spicy Maple Sweet Potatoes or Cheddar, Thyme and Beer Au Gratin. And don’t forget about this sweet cornbread recipe.

    Pressure cooking instructions

    • First of all, you will select PRESSURE COOK setting
    • Next, set the time for 90 minutes. Simply press + or – to adjust time.
    • Finally, use 15 minutes of natural release.
    Instant Pot Barbecue Beef Brisket

    This Instant Pot Beef Brisket will be the easiest meal on your menu, whether it is a celebration or just a regular dinner. Besides, it makes a great sandwich meat too. The wonder of this beef brisket is not only about the texture of the brisket itself, but also the amazing flavor of the barbecue sauce. Let’s also talk about all juices of the instant pot!

    How to slice the brisket

    • Let’s make sure that your knife is very sharp. Otherwise, it will not be able to produce the thinly sliced meat that we are aiming for here. You should use either a carving knife or a chef knife. The blade must be SHARP! If you don’t have a sharpener at hand but have a cabinet full of coffee mugs like we do, run a sharp edge on your knife along the bottom of a ceramic mug. This should temporarily sharpen your knife.
    • Next, find the direction of the grain. It’s basically the way the muscle fibers are aligned. Then slice across the grain rather than parallel with it. Now put the blade of your knife perpendicular to the grain and start slicing at an angle. Go with the short strokes. Make sure to slice your slow cooked beef brisket thinly.

    Hint: When you slice with the grain as opposed to across the grain, you will get these long, shredded pieces. This is a good indication that you are cutting the wrong way. 

    Recommended Tools

    • Cutting board
    • Carving fork
    • Carving knife or chef’s knife
    • Serving plate or platter

    What’s in the Rub?

    First, beef brisket is rubbed with the special rubbing mixture. that includes paprika, cumin, mustard powder, garlic & onion powders.

    I recommend rubbing the brisket the night before. Then you will place the beef brisket with the rub in the resealable food-storage plastic bag. You will refrigerate it overnight.

    How to make the BBQ sauce

    • First, add the ingredients of the homemade barbecue sauce to the instant pot. By the way, you can use any of these kinds of vinegar: distilled, red wine or apple cider. We used apple cider vinegar.
    • Next mix the barbecue sauce ingredients right in the Instant Pot.
    • After pressure cooking the beef brisket, you will transfer the barbecue sauce to the saucepan in order to thicken it.
    • You will simmer the BBQ sauce in the saucepan on the stove-top for 15 minutes until it’s thickened.
    Instant Pot Barbecue Beef Brisket

    Tender and flavorful leftovers anyone?

    If you love cooking in your instant pot, you will fall in love with these delicious recipes:
    Instant Pot Spaghetti, Instant Pot Cajun Chicken and Rice and Instant Pot Country Style Pork Ribs in BBQ Sauce.

    Instant Pot Barbecue Beef Brisket
    Print Recipe
    4.72 from 7 votes

    Instant Pot Barbecue Beef Brisket

    The meat is tender, the sauce is out of this world and this is one of the easiest meals you’ll ever make! And minimal clean-up!
    Prep Time35 mins
    Cook Time1 hr 30 mins
    Resting time15 mins
    Total Time2 hrs 25 mins
    Course: Main Course
    Cuisine: American
    Keyword: instant pot beef brisket
    Servings: 10
    Author: Olya

    Ingredients

    • 4 lb. beef brisket, (fresh or thawed, if previously frozen)

    Rubbing mixture:

    • 2 tablespoons brown sugar
    • 2 teaspoon paprika
    • 1 teaspoon onion powder
    • 1 teaspoon garlic powder
    • 1 teaspoon cumin powder
    • 1 teaspoon ground mustard
    • 1 teaspoon sea salt
    • ½ teaspoon black pepper

    Homemade Barbecue Sauce:

    • ¾ cup beef broth
    • 1 ½ cups ketchup
    • 2 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
    • ⅓ cup vinegar
    • 2 garlic cloves, minced
    • ½ cup brown sugar, packed
    • 2 teaspoon black pepper
    • 1 teaspoon onion powder
    • 1 teaspoon garlic powder
    • 2 teaspoon mustard powder
    • 1 teaspoon ancho chili pepper

    Instructions

    Rubbing mixture:

    • In small bowl, stir together all ingredients from the rubbing mixture. Rub this mixture over beef brisket (can be done the day before). If done ahead of time, place beef brisket in the resealable food-storage plastic bag and refrigerate.

    Barbecue sauce:

    • Add all the ingredients from the Homemade Barbecue Sauce ingredient section into your isntant pot and mix them all together with a whisk.

    Adding Beef Brisket:

    • Place beef brisket into your instant pot on top of the barbecue sauce. Using a deep metal spoon, pour some of the barbecue sauce over top.
    • Select Pressure Cook, on High Pressure. Set the timer for 90 minutes. When beep sounds, turn off pressure cooker and let the pressure release naturally for 15 minutes. Quick release any remaining pressure. When valve drops carefully remove lid. Remove the brisket from the Instant pot. The instructions follow for the barbecue sauce.

    To thicken the barbecue sauce:

    • Remove the barbecue sauce liquid from your slow cooker and add it to the medium size saucepan. Bring to a boiling point and simmer for 10-15 minutes, stirring occasionally.

    How to slice beef brisket:

    • Cut a small corner of the brisket to determine the direction of the grain of the meat. The grain should be perpendicular to your knife. Start slicing across the grin.

    To serve:

    • Arrange sliced brisket on a plate or a bun and pour Barbecue sauce on top of the slices. Alternatively, you can also reheat sliced beef brisket in the sauce and serve it warm.
    Nutrition Facts
    Instant Pot Barbecue Beef Brisket
    Amount Per Serving (269 g)
    Calories 458 Calories from Fat 135
    % Daily Value*
    Fat 15g23%
    Saturated Fat 5.7g36%
    Polyunsaturated Fat 6.9g
    Monounsaturated Fat 1g
    Cholesterol 195mg65%
    Sodium 749mg33%
    Potassium 856mg24%
    Carbohydrates 26g9%
    Fiber 0.5g2%
    Sugar 22g24%
    Protein 69g138%
    Vitamin A 550IU11%
    Vitamin C 3.4mg4%
    Calcium 15mg2%
    Iron 7mg39%
    * Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet.

    Nutritional information is provided as a courtesy only. This information comes from online calculators. Although whatsinthepan.com attempts to provide accurate nutritional information, these figures are only estimates.

    Notes

    Prep time includes time it takes to come to pressure, about 35 minutes.

    Instant Pot Tips

    If you frequently use your Instant Pot for a variety of recipes, it’s a good idea to have 2 different rings. One is for savory recipes and the other – for sweet recipes. This helps avoid odor exchange. I use this Genuine Instant Pot Ring as my second ring. Made by the Instant Pot manufacturer, it has over 1,000 positive reviews on Amazon.

    Instant Pot Tempered Glass Lid is another useful tool to have on hand. It’s a good way to help keep the food warm without having to put the pressure lid on.

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    Reader Interactions

    Comments

    1. Martin Turner says

      January 12, 2022 at 5:26 pm

      “Then you will turn the Steam handle to venting since we’re not pressure cooking here.”
      “After pressure cooking the beef brisket,”
      “Quick release any remaining pressure”

      I am VERY confused. Should I cook this under pressure or not. If not then how do I quick release pressure at the end of the valve is already open since the start? Thanks

      Reply
      • Olya says

        January 16, 2022 at 4:58 pm

        The first sentence should not be there – I removed it! Thank you for picking that up!

        Reply
    2. Eric says

      April 11, 2021 at 10:19 pm

      Your instructions say to keep the pressure valve on Vent, and then pressure cook on high for 90 minutes.. This doesn’t work..

      Reply
      • Olya says

        May 17, 2021 at 1:01 am

        We’re opening the vent because we are using instant pot as a slow cooker here.

        Reply
        • Linda says

          October 29, 2021 at 3:33 pm

          So if you are slow cooking the brisket, the cook time is 90 minutes? Or is that the amount of time if you are cooking with pressure. The section in your article under what buttons to push says it is slow cooking, but then mentions cooking under high pressure. In the recipe card itself it does not mention slow cooking.

          Reply
          • Olya says

            October 30, 2021 at 4:05 pm

            Cook time is the time you set on the instant pot and it is 90 minutes. Total time involves time to pressure and then natural release of 15 minutes.

            Reply
    3. El says

      July 24, 2020 at 12:27 am

      What are you recommended timings for a larger piece of meat?

      Reply
      • Olya says

        July 24, 2020 at 2:29 pm

        The timing would be the same, El. It will simply take longer to come to pressure.

        Reply
    4. Jane Lewis says

      July 12, 2020 at 5:29 pm

      I just got an instant pot and am not a big cook. I want to make brisket for daughter’s graduation party. Some folks can’t do spicy. Is this a fairly mild seasoning recipe?

      Reply
      • Olya says

        July 13, 2020 at 12:32 am

        Yes, it’s very mild.

        Reply
    5. Leila says

      January 07, 2018 at 9:18 pm

      What happens if I make it in medium speed? Will I be able to shred it?

      Reply
      • Olya at Whatsinthepan says

        January 08, 2018 at 10:20 am

        Cooking brisket low and slow results in very tender meat. I recommend going with slow speed and longer time. You can go medium and adjust time slightly – check it after 6 hours.

        Reply
    6. Rosalie tovar says

      January 06, 2018 at 9:17 pm

      My instant pot doesn’t look as deep as yours I made the brisket yesterday and we are enjoying it all day today thank you!!!!

      Reply
    7. Cindy miller says

      January 05, 2018 at 9:21 pm

      I made it in the old fashioned white porcelain slow cooker that has only two settings and it smelled great it tastes great no reason to use a fancy slow cooker for this at all

      Reply
    8. Dan V says

      January 04, 2018 at 2:26 pm

      This looks good.
      Do you think this would work with a pork-butt to make pork BBQ?

      Reply
      • Olya at Whatsinthepan says

        January 05, 2018 at 10:40 am

        You’re thinking about making BBQ pulled pork sandwiches… Yummy. Same thing – slow cook for 8 hours on low (same directions as in the recipe) and then of course shred it. And also do simmer the sauce after taking it out of the slow cooker – just enough to thicken it a bit.

        Reply
    9. Tara says

      January 03, 2018 at 9:15 pm

      I used supermarket bbq sauce with this very easy

      Reply

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