How to Make Brisket in the Instant Pot (Step-by-Step Checklist)

There's a specific kind of panic that hits when a client calls about brisket with less than 24 hours before the event. A smoked brisket needs 12 to 14 hours minimum. A traditional braise runs 5 or 6. If you're a caterer, a food truck, or a restaurant kitchen that doesn't own a smoker, your first instinct is to say no. You don't have to.

I'm the kitchen operations coordinator at a catering company in Austin. I've handled 200+ rush orders in the past four years, including same-day turnarounds for corporate clients who needed brisket with less than one day's notice. The tool that makes those orders possible is the Instant Pot. It won't produce a smoke ring or a bark like a dedicated smoker, but it gets you to a tender, sliceable brisket in about two hours flat.

Here's the checklist we use. It's built for professional kitchens, but it scales down easily to a single 4-pound flat. Small events get the same treatment as the big ones — that policy has never done us wrong.

Before You Start: Cuts, Equipment, and Expectations

You'll need a 6- or 8-quart Instant Pot, the metal trivet that ships with it, and a brisket flat or point. I prefer the flat when the order calls for clean slices and the point if we're chopping. A 4- to 5-pound flat is the sweet spot for an 8-quart pot.

• 4-5 lb brisket flat (or point, for chopped)
• 1 cup beef broth
• 2 tablespoons liquid smoke
• 1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
• Dry rub: coarse salt, black pepper, smoked paprika, garlic powder

Set your expectations before you start: this tastes like excellent braised brisket, not Central Texas barbecue. If the client expects real smoke, tell them upfront or rely on a strong sauce. Transparency has saved us more bad reviews than I can count.

Step 1: Trim the Fat and Remove Silver Skin

Spend thirty seconds trimming the fat cap to about a quarter inch. One of the biggest misunderstandings about the Instant Pot is that pressure will render thick fat the way a low-and-slow smoker does. It doesn't. Leave the cap thick and the slices come out greasy in the wrong way. And remove the silver skin — it stays rubbery under pressure and makes the brisket feel chewy even when cooked to temperature.

Step 2: Season Hard, but Watch the Salt

Rub the brisket aggressively on all sides. You should barely see the meat through the rub. Most people under-season brisket; I've never had a client complain a brisket was too seasoned.

The catch: because the Instant Pot traps all the liquid, salty seasoning doesn't wash off during a long open cook. Ease back around 15 percent on salt compared to your smoker recipe. I learned this the hard way in our first month with pressure brisket — the meat was perfect, and the jus was basically a salt brine.

Step 3: Sear First. No Shortcuts.

Put the Instant Pot on Sauté mode, high setting. Add a neutral oil with a high smoke point, wait until it shimmers, then sear the brisket in batches if you're cooking more than one. You want a deep brown crust on all sides, roughly 3 minutes per side, maybe 4. No crowding. If pieces touch, they steam instead of browning.

This is the step that every rushed cook tries to skip. Skipping it saves you about 12 minutes and costs you most of the flavor depth. Don't do it.

Step 4: Deglaze and Pressure Cook

Pull the brisket out and set it aside. Pour a cup of beef broth into the pot and scrape up the browned bits with a wooden spoon. Those bits are the reason you seared.

Add the liquid smoke and Worcestershire, then put the trivet in the pot. Set the brisket on top, fat side up. Lock the lid, turn the valve to sealing, and pressure cook on High for 60 minutes for a 4 to 5 pound brisket. Add roughly 10 minutes per extra pound.

Some recipe charts say 45 minutes per pound. We tried that early on. The brisket was edible but noticeably tight in the center. At 60 minutes, the flat slices clean and holds its shape. At 90, it starts to shred — useful for chopped sandwiches, but wrong for sliced plated brisket.

Step 5: Natural Release — Don't Touch the Valve

When the cooking timer goes off, your instinct is to vent and get the lid open. Stop. Leave the valve alone for at least 15 to 20 minutes.

I'm not a food scientist, so I can't give you the protein chemistry. What I can tell you from dozens of pressure-cooked briskets: quick-release comes out noticeably tougher. The natural release gives the collagen time to relax after the pressure drops. It costs zero effort. Set a separate timer and walk away.

Step 6: Rest, Then Slice Against the Grain

After the pressure fully releases, wrap the brisket tightly in foil or butcher paper and rest it for 15 minutes. If you slice immediately, the juices end up on the cutting board.

While it rests, strain and skim the cooking liquid — that's your jus. Add a pinch of rub if it needs a flavor boost.

When you carve, find the grain direction and cut perpendicular to it. This is the most common carving mistake in barbecue, and it matters double when you're cooking fast. With the grain, a tender brisket will still fight your teeth.

Flank Steak in the Instant Pot: Same Tool, Different Book

Flank steak gets treated completely differently from brisket. It's lean, so it doesn't need an hour under pressure. The flank steak Instant Pot method we use goes like this:

Marinate briefly. Thirty minutes in lime juice, garlic, cumin, salt, and neutral oil. That's enough for a 2-pound flank steak.

Sear hard. Sauté mode at high heat, 2 to 3 minutes per side. The crust matters even more here because the lean meat has no fat to forgive a bland surface.

Pressure cook for 20 minutes on High with half a cup of beef broth. Not a full cup. Less liquid, more concentrated flavor.

Natural release for 10 minutes, then rest for 10. Slice thin, at an angle, against the grain. Honestly, the best use for press-cooked flank steak is chopped into tacos or over a salad. It won't convince anyone it came off a grill, but it's ready in 40 minutes.

Seven Mistakes That Ruin Instant Pot Brisket

These are the errors we see most when kitchens start using pressure cookers for brisket:

1. Skipping the sear. The number one way to get flavorless meat. No shortcuts on the Maillard reaction.

2. Adding too much liquid. A cup is enough for brisket. More doesn't mean more moist — it means more diluted flavor.

3. Quick releasing the valve. The timer isn't the finish line. Natural release is part of the cooking process.

4. Overcrowding the pot. When two briskets touch, the centers cook unevenly.

5. Slicing with the grain. I've watched this ruin perfectly cooked meat more than any other mistake.

6. Choosing the wrong brisket section. The flat slices cleanly; the point is richer and shreds beautifully. Pick based on how you're serving it.

7. Using a worn-out sealing ring. Easily overlooked. If the ring is old, you lose pressure and a 60-minute cook drifts to 90. Replace the ring if the pot won't seal consistently.

The Bottom Line for Small Operations

Here's the way I see it: the Instant Pot isn't a replacement for your smoker. It's the backup plan that turns a 'no' into a 'yes.' When a client calls at 9pm for 40 brisket sandwiches, you can say yes — and you'll deliver.

We lost a $3,800 contract in 2022 because we turned down a last-minute brisket order. Our smoker was down and we didn't have a backup. The next week, we bought a dedicated 8-quart Instant Pot for the prep kitchen. Since then, we haven't turned down a brisket order.

That matters more for small operations than for anyone else. When you're a food truck or a two-person catering company, you can't justify firing up a smoker for one brisket. The Instant Pot changes that math. It lets you treat that $200 lunch drop-off with the same seriousness as a $15,000 wedding. Clients remember that. Today's small order is tomorrow's annual contract.

Per USDA Food Safety and Inspection Service (fsis.usda.gov), beef is safe at a minimum internal temperature of 145°F with a 3-minute rest. For brisket, the practical target is higher—around 195°F—so the collagen breaks down properly. Use a probe thermometer until you trust your process.

I'll be honest: I don't have the definitive guide to brisket in the Instant Pot. I've seen different approaches work for different kitchens, and I've never fully understood why cook times vary so much across different cuts and batches. But this checklist is battle-tested in our kitchen, and it will get you through an emergency order without embarrassment. If you've found a better method, I'd genuinely like to hear about it.