Instant Pot Corned Beef and Cabbage

Instant Pot Corned Beef and Cabbage is the quickest way that I make this classic Irish dish that pairs so well with our no yeast Irish soda bread, making a great meal for any time of the year… not just for St. Patrick’s Day! The two-step cooking process ensures a tender corned beef with a tasty broiled crust. 

Corned Beef and Cabbage is a meat and vegetable recipe that the Irish culture is well known for.

Our Instant Pot recipe has all those classic flavors, but is made in a speedy process. The meat turns out tender and juicy, with great flavor... plus an extra: a sweet mustard crust that will make you crave this dish even more.

WHAT IS CORNED BEEF?

Corned beef is actually a brined and cured Beef Brisket. The term comes from brining the meat with large-grained rock salt, also known as "corns" of salt. Sometimes, sugar and pickling spices are added as well. Corned beef dates back to the 12th century in Irish cuisine and became very popular in the United States.

This beef cut is usually available in American supermarkets with pickling spices, whose components may vary from one brand to the next. Some may include mustard seeds, peppercorns, allspice, cloves, anise seeds, red pepper flakes, and a few other spices. The mix of spices is earthy and flavors the cured brisket very well.

You can purchase corned beef all year round. However, the peak season is around St. Patrick's Day, since Corned Beef is a classic St. Patrick's Day meal--especially when served with carrots, cabbage, and potatoes.

Because we wanted a low-carb dish, we skipped the new potatoes. But you can include them in yours, if desired, or serve it with mashed potatoes or mashed cauliflower. It’s up to you!

The package often instructs one to bring the corned beef brisket to a boil along with the pickling spices, and then to reduce the heat to a simmer for about 3 hours-- or until the meat reaches a 160°F internal temperature.

I don’t know about you, but I don’t have 3 hours to prepare a family meal. The same applies to slow cooker corned beef, which takes from 4 to 10 hours to fully cook.

If you are asking what about baked corned beef, then be aware that it can take about 1 hour per pound to cook. So our 2-pound corned beef would take at least 2 hours to get ready.

For these reasons I chose to cook mine in the pressure cooker or Instant Pot in 70 minutes. Yep! And the meat comes out tender and super tasty. That's why I cook in the Instant Pot so often. Check out how to use a pressure cooker and get our cooking charts!

Pressure Cooker Corned Beef

I am not Irish, but as a trained chef I can cook a good recipe from Ireland, too… and fast!

Personally, I found that Corned Beef and Cabbage in the Instant Pot is my preferred way to cook the classic without messing up the flavors.

This process is not only quicker but the meat comes out tender and more flavorful than when boiled on the stovetop or in the slow cooker, which are two popular cooking methods.

Although I used an electric pressure cooker, you may use a manual one if you want. Just cook the recipe over high heat and time it. 

Ingredients and Substitutions

• Corned Beef: Our recipe works with either a flat cut or point cut corned beef brisket, which take the same time to cook. Some prefer the flat cut because it is leaner, while others enjoy the marbling found in the point cut. I confess that I choose one over the other depending on the price! Be aware that you will be also paying more depending on whether it comes already trimmed or not.
• Pickling Spices: Most packaged corned beef brisket comes with a pickling spice blend. But if yours doesn't, you can easily use 1 tablespoon of pickling spices that you can buy in the store.
• Guinness Beer: The dark rich stout beer adds a lot of flavor to this dish. You can use any brand you like, or you can replace it by adding more beef broth instead-- especially if you are either on a keto or gluten-free diet.
• Brown Sugar: If you add beer to this Irish corned beef and cabbage recipe, make sure to not skip brown sugar, as it balances out all the flavors well. But if you are taking the extra step of broiling the meat surface, the brown sugar really becomes necessary for a proper caramelization or broiling of the crust. I tried replacing it with honey once and it didn’t work the same way.
• Beef Broth: We used a mixture of beer and beef stock to cook our corned beef in the pressure cooker but you may use just beef broth or stock if desired.
• Garlic/Onion/Bay leaf: These are additional flavoring ingredients used to boost the flavors. You may omit them if you wish, but I found they really add to the great final results.
• Potatoes (OPTIONAL): You can use red, russet, or new potatoes in your Instant Pot corned beef. Just cut your potatoes into 2-inch chunks or leave them whole if using baby potatoes. I skipped them this time around as I preferred to keep my meal low carb or keto.
• Carrots: I used peeled and sliced large carrots, but you can replace them with baby carrots.
• Cabbage: Green cabbage is best for this recipe! If you are using potatoes, you may need only ½ head of cabbage. But because I skipped the potatoes, I used the entire head. If using only half a head, don’t let the other half go to waste. You can make a diet cabbage soup, a ham and cabbage soup, cabbage and smoked sausage, or homemade coleslaw.
• Coarse Ground Dijon Mustard: This will be only needed if you take the second step of broiling the meat. Otherwise, omit it!
• Parsley: This adds a touch of freshness to this Instant Pot corned beef and cabbage.

How to Make Instant Pot Corned Beef and Cabbage

Cooking corned beef and cabbage in the pressure cooker is easier than you might think. Just follow this 2-step process for tasty, juicy, and tender meat. 

STEP ONE: PRESSURE COOK THE BRISKET

• If you are on a low sodium diet, rinse the corned beef and then pat dry in order to avoid an excess of salt from the brine. I did not rinse mine and it was not too salty at all. 
• Transfer the meat to a 6 to 8-qt. Instant Pot and add pickling spices, the onion, garlic, bay leaves, beer, 1 teaspoon of brown sugar, and beef broth.
• Lock the lid, turn the valve to sealing, and select the manual setting to cook on high pressure for 70 minutes or 35 minutes per pound. Or you may press the meat/steak button and manually adjust the setting for the mentioned time. SEE PIC. 1
• Once the cooking time comes to an end, allow the pressure to naturally release for at least 15 minutes, and then do a quick release.
• You may either transfer the brisket to a baking sheet lined with foil or add the cabbage and carrots (and also the potatoes if you are using them) to the pot and pressure cook them on high pressure for 3 minutes. Depending on your pot, you may have to press the rice button and set it manually for 3 minutes. SEE PIC. 2
• Once the time is over, do a quick release! SEE PIC. 3

STEP TWO: Broil the Corned Beef Brisket

• Remove the brisket from the Instant Pot and place it on a baking sheet lined with foil.
• Spoon and spread evenly a mixture of 6 tablespoon of brown sugar with the Dijon mustard all over the cooked brisket. SEE PIC. 4
• Broil, positioned about 10-12-inches away from the top of the broiler, for 5-8 minutes or until it forms a golden-brown crust. Serve with the cooked and drained vegetables! Sprinkle the chopped parsley on top. 
• Although this second step is optional, it will add more flavor to your Instant Pot corned beef recipe.

Leftover Pressure Cooker Corned Beef and Cabbage

I doubt that you will have any leftovers, but if you do, STORE them in an airtight container in the fridge for 3-4 days. You can also freeze the beef itself for up to 3 months. It is one of those easy freezer meals!

You can reheat the leftovers or use them creatively to make other dishes such as a Reuben sandwich, corned beef hash, or corned beef and cabbage soup.

More Instant Pot Beef Recipes

• Instant Pot Chili
• Instant Pot Ground Beef
• Brazilian Beef Stew
• Beer Beef Oxtail
• Instant Pot Hamburger Steak

PIN & ENJOY!

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