Instant Pot BBQ Brisket! No smoker? No problem. You pressure cooker will turn out a bad-A brisket in a fraction of the time. Promise.

BBQ brisket.  In the pressure cooker.  I know, I know.  It’s not low and slow, which is totally how I dig my brisket.  But…It’s hot.

And sometimes I just want a brisket – it’s a thing in our family.  You fire the smoker up, you put a big ass brisket on early in the morning, sit around and shoot the horse pucky and have a bit of beer.  I mean, it takes a long time to smoke a brisket so you gotta do something.

But like I said, right now it’s just too hot for all that and look! … The good old pressure cooker makes an appearance.

It’s just too good and too simple not to enjoy a brisket whenever you want.  I can’t even explain to you how good it turns out in the pressure cooker.

Rub the meat, stash the meat, pressure the meat, grill/broil the meat. (creepy sounding, no?)

That’s it!

I did make my own rub, it was my step dad’s, the brisket master.  I’ll give it to you, but by all means, use whatever rub you like.  You may have your own family fav … use it, it makes no difference.

Then you can make sandwiches with it, pair it with southern collard greens, throw it in a chili, or pasta.  Whatever, just love it.  Eat it.  Do it.

INSTANT POT BBQ BRISKET

INGREDIENTS

3-5 pound flat brisket, fat cap trimmed to 1/8 inch
rub
BBQ sauce

RUB INGREDIENTS

3.5 tablespoons paprika
2 tablespoons salt
1 tablespoon cumin
1 teaspoon chipotle powder
1.5 tablespoons garlic powder
1.5 tablespoons onion powder
1 tablespoon pepper
3/4 teaspoon coriander
1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1 teaspoon oregano

DIRECTIONS

Mix the rub ingredients together if using.  Whatever rub you’re using, rub the brisket down on all sides and stick in the fridge overnight.

Cut the meat in half. Add 1 cup of water to the pressure cooker and place the trivet in the pot. Place one piece of the meat on the trivet, fat cap facing up. Place the other piece on top of it, fat cap facing up.

Pressure on high for 75 minutes, natural pressure release.

Carefully remove the brisket and brush it with your favorite BBQ sauce. It’s your choice now, you can either throw it on the grill and get it all beautiful or place it under the broiler in your oven.

Instant Pot BBQ Brisket! No smoker? No problem. You pressure cooker will turn out a bad-A brisket in a fraction of the time. Promise.

Instant Pot BBQ Brisket! No smoker? No problem. You pressure cooker will turn out a bad-A brisket in a fraction of the time. Promise.

 


Want to make a brisket on your gas grill? Easy peasy. Watch the video to see how it’s done.

Instant Pot BBQ Brisket

39 thoughts on “Instant Pot BBQ Brisket”

    1. It depends, I would stand by and watch it closely. You’re just really wanting to caramelize the sauce. Of if it’s your thing, you just want to heat it up. Just watch it and when you like the looks of it, remove it.

  1. I was wondering if I’m supposed to wait until the float valve drops before I remove the brisket or take out the brisket after 75 minutes whether it naturally releases pressure or not. It’s my first time cooking brisket in the IP. Thank you.

    1. After 75 minutes, you can either let the float drop fully, or wait at least 15 minutes whether float dropped or not. If you only wait 15 minutes, you may have to release any remaining pressure. Enjoy!

    1. Medium high heat, just long enough to caramelize, maybe 5-8 minutes on each side. You’re not wanting to cook it more, really it’s just to make it look like it was barbecued. Hope that helps, any more questions, feel free!

    1. Thank you Ann! The hype is true! Not just because of all the things you see people say, but as someone who has used a traditional pressure cooker, the electric ones, they really are no-brainers. It’s just so friggin’ easy!

  2. I have you to thank for my Instant Pot. I love it. This looks delicious! Thanks for sharing at Home Sweet Home!

  3. I just pinned your awesome recipe! Thanks so much for sharing with us at Full Plate Thursday and sure hope you are having a great week!
    Miz Helen

  4. Brisket is my Favourite cut of beef ever!The flavour bowls me over every time.It is a staple in our house.I have an Aga and do mine overnight but love your 75 minute version!Who knew such a thing coulod be acheived!I could so do with one of these.Do you find you use it all the time?Thankyou for sharing with #FiestaFriday

    1. Oh yeah, I love brisket too! It’s so versatile, I mean, brisket by itself, sandwiches, nachos, tacos, burritos…it’s just the do anything meat! Since the day I was first introduced to an electric pressure cooker, quite a few years ago now, I have never looked back. Love it. It makes life easier, if you cook things that take long. For beans alone it’s worth it.

  5. I;m so glad you did this! I had been thinking about it but not brave enough to try! The rub sounds great. I love a hit of Chipotle and like the coriander in it. I’ll give it a try next time I bbq something.

    Last year my Dad and I smoked a brisket all day and babysat it, monitored it and it was tough. Don’t know if it was the meat or us! It was a really cheap on sale grocery store brisket, but it probably was us. I don’t smoke a lot of briskets.

    Anyway I ended up tossing the rest of it in the Instant Pot the next day so that made for a great save.

    1. I’ll tell you how my stepdad always did it, and then I did it, and it always turned out great. So he smoked for like, 6 hours depending on the size. He basted it about every hour or so with this teriyaki and peach sauce he would make. But here is where it got tender – after the smoking phase he would wrap in aluminum foil for another two hours.

      Love a good smoked brisket. But I have to tell you, this one in the pressure cooker stands head to head with it. Can’t believe I’m saying that, but it’s true.

      1. I never made a bad one, and I did monitor the temp then “crutched it” in foil. I didn’t baste it with anything, tho. But the ip came to the rescue! Next time I make one (they’re really expensive up here) I’ll try the IP!!

  6. Thank you for sharing, I’m trying this tonight! I have some liquid smoke from the time I made ribs in the instant pot… would you recommend adding it here? Or might it take away from the flavor?

    1. You could, but gosh, so tiny of an amount. It’s great as is, but if you do try it with the liquid smoke I would love to hear about it!

      1. I tried it, using about 1/8 teaspoon for a 3 lb. brisket. It was awesome!! Added just a hint of smokiness. Highly recommend.

    1. Only one way to find out…try it and let me know! It’s not sitting in the liquid, so it should be fine. Not sure on the flavor it may impart, but that’s the fun of it!

  7. You wrote “Place one piece of the meat on the trivet, fat cap facing up. Place the other piece on top of it, fat cap facing up.” What does “it” refer to in the second sentence, the first piece of meat or the trivet? I assume the meat but that sounds weird to me to cook two pieces of meat pilled on top of each other. Also, is the goal when finishing it on the grill to get it crispy outside? Thanks!

    1. It does refer to the other piece of meat. I will change the wording to be more specific. You can always cook one piece at a time if it’s too weird to cook it with them stacked up, but it works great! The grilling or broiling is just to get the outside sauce “nice”. You won’t really get it crispy, since it’s sauce and you don’t want to leave it on there long enough for the sugars to crystalize. It’s more like when grilling chicken, you put the sauce on at the end to prevent burning…same kind of result here.

      1. Are these the instapots you’re using that they’ve been having problems with by starting fires

          1. But maybe, now that I’m thinking of it, there may have been a problem with the Gem, which is their slow cooker, not the pressure cooker. I’ve had no problems with mine or that I’ve heard with anyone else.

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