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HUB 01 · Multicookers

How to Cook Corned Beef in an Instant Pot

Corned beef is a tough, brined brisket that wants long, slow, wet heat — exactly what pressure cooking does fastest. A three-hour stovetop simmer becomes about 90 minutes, and the cabbage, carrots and potatoes cook in the same beefy broth afterward. Here is the order that gets it all right.

By Stephen V.Updated How we rank
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Why corned beef suits the Instant Pot

Corned beef is brisketthat has been cured in a salty, spiced brine — a tough, collagen-heavy cut that only turns tender with long, moist heat. That is the textbook case for pressure cooking: what takes about three hours of gentle stovetop simmering becomes roughly 90 minutesunder pressure, and the sealed pot keeps every bit of the flavor in the liquid. Better still, that spiced liquid then becomes the cooking bath for the cabbage and vegetables, so the whole St. Patrick's-Day plate comes out of one pot. The trick is the order: meat first, vegetables after.

Cook the brisket first

Set the corned beef on the trivetin the pot, fatty side up, and add the spice packet that comes with it (or your own mix of peppercorns, mustard seed, bay and allspice). Pour in enough water or low-sodium broth to nearly cover — corned beef is already salty, so do not add more salt. Lock the lid, set to Sealing, and cook on high pressure for about 75–90 minutes for a 3-pound flat cut, scaling with size — roughly 25–30 minutes per pound is the usual guide. Thickness matters more than weight, so a thick point cut wants the longer end. When it is done, let it natural-releasefor 10–15 minutes so the meat stays moist.

Then the cabbage and vegetables

Lift the corned beef out, wrap it loosely in foil and let it restwhile you cook the vegetables. Leave the beefy liquid in the pot — that is where the flavor is — and add wedges of cabbage, chunks of carrot and halved baby potatoes. Because they are tender by comparison, they need only a short cook: lock the lid and pressure cook about 3–5 minutes, then quick-release so they do not turn to mush. Cooking the vegetables after the meat, rather than with it, is the single thing that keeps the cabbage from collapsing and the potatoes from falling apart.

Slice against the grain

The last detail decides the texture: slice against the grain. Look at the direction the muscle fibers run and cut across them, not along them — cutting with the grain leaves long, stringy, chewy strands, while cutting across shortens the fibers into tender, easy bites. Rested and sliced this way, corned beef is fork-tender and juicy, plated with the cabbage and vegetables and a spoonful of the cooking liquid. It is one of the most convincing arguments for an Instant Pot: a slow holiday classic done in an afternoon.

The method in one line: pressure cook the brisket on the trivet about 25–30 minutes per pound(roughly 75–90 for a 3-pound flat), natural release, rest it wrapped in foil, then cook the cabbage, carrots and potatoes in the same liquid for 3–5 minutes and quick-release. Slice against the grain. One pot, one plate, a third of the time. See what else the pot handles in what you can cook in an Instant Pot.

The hardware

The cookers this page is about

The cookers referred to above, with prices pulled live from Amazon and dated on every card. Full rankings live in the roundups linked from this page.

  • Instant Pot Instant Pot Duo 7-in-1 Electric Pressure Cooker, 6 Quart

    1,000 W

    Instant Pot Duo 7-in-1 Electric Pressure Cooker, 6 Quart

    The multicooker that made the category, and still the right default. Instant Brands publishes the wattage, the working pressure range and a stainless (not nonstick) inner pot, which is more than most of the field manages — and it costs less than almost all of them.

    $104.67on Amazon
  • Instant Pot Instant Pot Pro 10-in-1 Pressure Cooker, 6 Quart

    1,200 W

    Instant Pot Pro 10-in-1 Pressure Cooker, 6 Quart

    The Duo's mechanicals with the interface fixed: a genuine sous vide program, an auto-sealing lid, grab-and-go pot handles and five programmable buttons. It draws 1,200 W rather than the Duo's 1,000, and Instant Brands does not publish a working-pressure figure for it — the one gap in an otherwise well-documented cooker.

    $164.99on Amazon

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Questions

Frequently asked

How long do you cook corned beef in an Instant Pot?
About 25 to 30 minutes per pound on high pressure — roughly 75 to 90 minutes for a 3-pound flat cut — plus the time to come to pressure and a natural release of 10 to 15 minutes. Cook the cabbage and vegetables separately afterward for just 3 to 5 minutes.
Do you cook the cabbage with the corned beef?
No — cook the meat first, then remove it to rest and cook the cabbage, carrots and potatoes in the leftover liquid for a short 3 to 5 minutes. The vegetables cook far faster than the brisket, so cooking them together would leave the cabbage collapsed and the potatoes mushy.
Why is my corned beef tough or chewy?
Two common causes. It may need more time — brisket is tough until the collagen breaks down, so undercooking leaves it chewy. And it must be sliced against the grain: cutting along the muscle fibers leaves long, stringy strands, while cutting across them shortens the fibers into tender bites.

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