Instant Pot Corned Beef

Instant Pot Corned Beef just in time for St. Patrick’s Day! I am going to teach you how to make deliciously tender, fall apart corned beef in the pressure cooker. Option to add in potatoes carrots, and cabbage.

What is corned beef?

Corned beef is usually made by salt-curing a brisket cut of beef. Brisket is normally a tough cut of meat so it is made tender by a long cooking process. Using a pressure cooker like an instant pot will give you “slow cooked” results in much less time. I like to use my instant pot corned beef to make Reuben Sliders, a Corned Beef Reuben Hoagie, or Irish Nachos.

Usually, the brisket cut is brined in a pickling liquid. The pickling liquid usually includes seeds like mustard seed, allspice, peppercorn, coriander, and cloves. You can choose to rinse off some of the seeds off before you cook the corned beef, or keep them on the corned beef as you cook it.

If my corned beef comes with a pickling spice packet, then I normally first rinse off my corned beef to take away some of the salt, and then I add the pickling spice packet in with the liquid right before I am about to cook the corned beef. However, I have seen some corned beefs that have the pickling spice mixed in to the packaging already. In this case, I do not rinse off my corned beef because I like the taste of the pickling packet and I want to keep it on the piece of meat while it cooks.

Instant Pot Corned Beef No Cabbage

I love eating my corned beef with potatoes and cabbage, but not everyone else likes to. This recipe cooks the corned beef separately, so you can choose what vegetables you want to cook afterwards. If you just want to make instant pot corned beef and potatoes, you just add potatoes and/or carrots to cook once your meat is done. I love using the same corned beef liquid to cook my vegetables because it gives them such a delicious flavor.

Do you use a flat cut or a point cut of Corned Beef?

There isn’t a huge difference between these two types of cuts, but I like to use a flat cut because the shape is flatter and it gives me more even slices when I cut into it. I used a 4.5lb Flat Cut Corned Beef and then cooked it in my instant pot.

How many lbs of Corned Beef should I buy?

My recipe makes about 9 servings. If you are making corned beef for a group, there should be about 1/2 lb per person. You will want to buy more if you want leftovers. A 4.5lb corned beef will serve about 9 people. A 4lb corned beef will serve 8 people. A 3lb corned beef will serve 6 people, etc.

Do you rinse Corned Beef before cooking?

Yes! Corned Beef usually comes packaged in a salty brine with a separate sealed bag with seasoning. I like to rinse off my corned beef before cooking it and then cook it in another liquid (water/beer) and then add the seasoning bag. If your corned beef package comes with the pickling bring (seeds) already all over the corned beef, then I would only rinse it off slightly so that you do not get rid of all of the seeds.

How do you slice Corned Beef?

The best way to cut corned beef is against the grain. Lay your piece of cooked corned beef down on a cutting board. Look to see where the lines run naturally on the piece of meat. You will then want to cut perpendicular to those lines, in order to cut “against” the grain. If you cut in the same direction as the lines, you would be cutting parallel to the lines, and that is not what you want to do. Cutting the meat against the grain ensures a tender bite.

Ingredients for Instant Pot Corned Beef

• 4.5 lbs Corned Beef with seasoning packet
• 2.5 Cups water
• 12 oz Lager
• 1 tbsp pickling spice Optional! I used one by McCormick
• 2lbs small potatoes, carrots, and cabbage OPTIONAL

Instructions for Instant Pot Corned Beef 

• Place 2.5 cups of water in your 6qt instant pot
• Cut corned beef into two smaller pieces and then wash off your corned beef with water
• Place meat rack on top of the water, then place corned beef on meat rack in your Instant Pot
• Use the seasoning packet that comes with your corned beef to sprinkle all over the corned beef and in between the two pieces
• Pour the lager over the corned beef
• Add pickling spice on top
• Seal your instant pot and cook at high pressure for 90 minutes
• Let your Instant Pot do a natural release for 20 minutes, and then do a manual release
• Remove corned beef from Instant Pot, let cool a little, cut against the grain, and serve
• Optional – Once you remove the beef, keep the liquid in the pot and add 2lbs total of baby potatoes, chunks of cut up carrots, and cabbage. Then, cook the vegetables on high pressure for 4 minutes. Do a quick release, and remove from the pot.

I use a 6 qt Instant Pot and meat rack to make this.

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