Cooking brisket at home just got quicker and easier thanks to the Instant Pot. Loaded with smokehouse flavor and ready to go in less than 2 hours, these Instant Pot Brisket Sandwiches are tender, tasty, and above all, super simple to make for a full house of hungry guests.
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Lyndsay Cordell
My relationship with brisket hasn't always been a happy one. Before I lived in the South, the word "brisket" meant a slow-braised meat served with a oniony-tomato sauce during the High Holy Days. More often than not my experience with brisket revolved around dryness (which is very confusing since it cooks for hours in liquid), making me wary of every recipe I even made with it.
That is until I came across smoked brisket. One bite washed away my previous experiences, and I made a pact to order it whenever I saw it on the menu. But it wasn't enough for me. I needed to make it at home. The only problem was I didn't own a smoker and I didn't have time to babysit it all day while it slow roasted. So I turned to my trusted savior: the Instant Pot.
How To Use an Electric Pressure Cooker to Cook Brisket
Lyndsay Cordell
Using an electric pressure cooker not only speeds up the cooking process, it also keeps the meat super tender and juicy. With an almost laugh-able prep time (you only need to cut the onions and garlic), this is the perfect recipe to prepare ahead of time for parties. I highly suggest rubbing the rub on the meat the night before along with cutting the onion and garlic so all you have to do the next day is throw everything in the pot and press "Start".
When it comes to meat rubs, use one from a smokehouse rather than a generic spice brand. Most pit masters only season their briskets with salt and pepper, so I suggest using a "steak" seasoning to get all the smoky flavor without the smoke. I used Franklin BBQ's Steak Spice Rub for this brisket and loved it!
Brisket Serving Tips
For parties, slice the brisket and leave it in the cooking liquid while the pressure cooker is set to "Keep Warm". It'll prevent the meat from drying out and will make it easy for guests to make their own sandwiches whenever they want.
READ MORE: The Secret of Smoked Brisket Starts With Trimming
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Instant Pot Brisket Sandwiches Bring The Smokehouse to the Kitchen
Ingredients
- 3-4 lbs beef brisket
- 2 Tbsp Franklin BBQ Rub
- 1 medium onion sliced
- 3 cloves garlic minced
- 1 cup BBQ sauce
- 1/2 cup chicken stock ***
- 1 tablespoon honey
- 2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar
- 1 tsp liquid smoke
- burger buns
- cole slaw mix
Instructions
- Cut brisket into thirds and rub with bbq rub mixture. Let sit for one or or up to 24 hours in the refrigerator.
- Add brisket to electric pressure cooker and top with onion slices, garlic, BBQ sauce, chicken stock, honey, apple cider vinegar and liquid smoke. Set to Manual and cook on High Pressure for 75 minutes and Natural Release for 15 minutes.
- Remove the brisket from the pot and slice across the grain. Place on a bun and top with additional BBQ sauce and coleslaw. Serve.
