Efficiency meets an all time classic, this Instant Pot Corned Beef makes an age old labor intensive meal that much more accessible! Everyone should be able to enjoy the savory, tender, complex deliciousness that is corned beef, all from the comfort of your own kitchen!
Salt brining meats may seem like a thing of the past, but it’s still a staple in many cuisines to this day! The example that comes to mind most readily has to be corned beef! This dish is still a deli staple and with good reason.
If you’re familiar with this delectable dish then you know why I’m such a fan, it’s full of flavor, texture, and pairs perfectly with cabbage or potatoes. It’s perfectly seasoned and wonderfully spiced. Not only that but I’ve also cracked the code for making this delectable cut in a fraction of the time.
Instant Pot Meets Corned Beef
The Instant Pot is one of my all time favorite kitchen gadgets, and anyone who owns one knows why. Not only does it make cooking, stewing, and simmering a breeze, but apparently it’s also great for making a giant piece of corned brisket. is also completely manageable!
If you can’t find corned beef at your local grocery store, you can easily get it from a butcher, and if they don’t have it, you can order it from them and they’ll get it for you within a couple days.
What Is Corned Beef
Corned beef is really just beef brisket that’s been cured in brine with nitrate rich salt which gives it that gorgeous pink color, then boiled. It’s typically served with cabbage, potatoes and carrots, or merely sliced for sandwiches.
Ingredients
- Beef – I’m using a big old slab of corned beef. Keep in mind that you need something that will fit into your Instant Pot when buying your cut.
- Broth – Beef broth, low sodium so as to ensure we control the sodium content of our dish.
- Veggies – Carrots, red potatoes, and onion. The perfect age old accompaniments to this dish!
- Garlic – Use fresh garlic for this recipe as we’re using the peeled cloves as opposed to mincing this aromatic.
- Spices – We’re using both pickling spice and bay leaves today. You can pick these up in any spice aisle of your local grocery store.
- Beer – We want something that is dark, rich, and full of flavor – hence why we’re using Guinness today. If you can’t hunt this down use a tall can of any other Irish stout you can find.
How To Make Corned Beef In The Instant Pot
- Prepare the beef: Rinse the corned beef with cold water and thoroughly pat dry.
- Cook the beef: Place the onion, garlic in an Instant Pot®. Gently place brisket on top of the onion and sprinkle with the pickling spice. Pour with beer and beef broth, then add the bay leaves. You can also season with salt and pepper at this time, but it’s not really needed, as the corned beef is already salty. Select the manual setting on the Instant Pot®; adjust pressure to high, and set time for 90 minutes. When finished cooking, quick-release pressure according to manufacturer’s directions.
- Incorporate the veggies: Remove the corned beef from the Instant Pot® and transfer to a cutting board. Cover with foil and let it rest until the potatoes are done. Remove and discard onion mixture, reserving the cooking liquid in the Instant Pot®. Stir in potatoes and carrots.
- Finish the dish: Select manual setting; adjust pressure to high, and set the time for 4 minutes. When finished cooking, quick-release pressure according to manufacturer’s directions. Thinly slice the corned beef against the grain and serve with potatoes and carrots.
Can’t Find Pickling Spice?
Usually your corned beef will come with the pickling spice. If it doesn’t, and you’re unable to track this little combination down, then you can definitely make it at home in your own kitchen with ease! No spice grinder required.
- 1 tbsp mustard seeds
- 2 tsp coriander seeds
- 2 bay leaves, crushed
- 8 allspice berries
- 2 tsp dill seeds
- 2 tsp peppercorns
Pack This Dish Full Of Flavor
Want more flavor? Toast the pickling spices and the bay leaves in a dry hot skillet before adding them to the corned beef. We’re not looking for any change of color in our spices, we just want all those tantalizing aromas to release.
Some Tips
- Prick the fatty side of the beef brisket with a fork to ensure our liquid and spices penetrate the meat fully.
- Slice up your corned beef against the grain, this will ensure that each bite is perfectly tender and scrumptiously juicy.
- If you want to brine your own beef brisket, I’ll include a section below that details just how to do that.
Brining
This will ensure each bite of your corned beef is perfectly full of flavor and achieves that customary pink color that we associate with perfect corned beef. Here’s the ingredients needed in a brining solution.
- 1/2 cup salt
- 1/2 cup brown sugar packed
- 8 cups water cold
- 3 tbsp pickling spice
- 2 bay leaves
- 5 teaspoons pink curing salt (optional)
Up to 5 days before you want to serve the corned beef, prepare the pickling spice. In a big pot prepare the brine solution and add the brisket to the brine, throw in a couple bay leaves, cover the pot and put in the fridge, ensuring that the meat is completely submerged.
Slow Cooker Option
Absolutely! You’re in luck because I have for you a super easy recipe for making corned beef in the slow cooker. You can check it out right here:
Storing Leftovers
FRIDGE
Corned beef will keep fresh for 3 – 4 days in an airtight container in the fridge.
FREEZER
To freeze just wrap the meat in plastic wrap and aluminum foil before freezing for 2 months. Just be sure to thaw overnight in the fridge before warming in the oven.
How To Serve
Well the classics include; carrots, cabbage, and potatoes. That’s it! But if you’d rather served up a side dish that’s a bit more complex, here’s some mouth watering pairings.
- Coleslaw
- Mexican Street Corn Slaw
- White Beans with Bacon and Herbs
- Macaroni Salad
- Potato Salad
- Mexican Street Corn Salad
More Must Try Beef Recipes:
- Beef Bourguignon
- Beef Brisket Gyros
- Hungarian Goulash
- Matambre – Argentinian Stuffed Flank Steak
- Easy Meatloaf
- Easy Beef and Broccoli Stir Fry
- Garlic Butter Steak Bites
- Oven Baked Beef Brisket
- Easy Pot Roast
Craving More? Follow Along:
Instant Pot Corned Beef
Equipment
Ingredients
- 5 pound corned beef with pickling spice
- 1 medium onion roughly chopped
- 4 cloves garlic peeled
- 2 bay leaves
- 2 cups beef broth low sodium
- 14.9 ounce Guinness beer 1 can
- salt and pepper to taste optional
- 3 large carrots peeled and cut into 2 inch pieces
- 2 pounds red potatoes scrubbed, quartered
Instructions
- Rinse the corned beef with cold water and thoroughly pat dry.
- Place the onion, garlic in an Instant Pot®. Gently place brisket on top of the onion and sprinkle with the pickling spice. Pour with beer and beef broth, then add the bay leaves. You can also season with salt and pepper at this time, but it's not really needed, as the corned beef is already salty. Select the manual setting on the Instant Pot®; adjust pressure to high, and set time for 90 minutes. When finished cooking, quick-release pressure according to manufacturer’s directions.
- Remove the corned beef from the Instant Pot® and transfer to a cutting board. Cover with foil and let it rest until the potatoes are done. Remove and discard onion mixture, reserving the cooking liquid in the Instant Pot®. Stir in potatoes and carrots.
- Select manual setting; adjust pressure to high, and set the time for 4 minutes. When finished cooking, quick-release pressure according to manufacturer’s directions. Thinly slice the corned beef against the grain and serve with potatoes and carrots.
Tips & Notes:
- Corned beef will keep fresh for 3 – 4 days in an airtight container in the fridge.
- To freeze just wrap the meat in plastic wrap and aluminum foil before freezing for 2 months. Just be sure to thaw overnight in the fridge before warming in the oven.
A very thorough and well planned recipe. The resulting corned beef is of very good quality and taste. I would recommend brining a fresh cut of brisket yourselves. Worth the 5-day wait even though I keep mine for 2 weeks. I never miss adding juniper berries to the brine. Gives it that true old-fashioned corned beef taste that I only find in the small mom and pop’s restaurants when I happen to be in Great Britain.