Instant Pot Corned Beef and Cabbage Recipe for St. Patrick’s Day
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Make this delicious Instant Pot Corned Beef and cabbage to enjoy a St. Patrick’s Day meal! The flavorful and tender beef is cooked in under 90 minutes and served with cabbage, potatoes, and carrots for a yummy Irish feast!
Enjoy the corned beef dinner with a pint of Guinness, and use the leftovers in sandwiches or corned beef hash! Oh, and it can be cooked in the slow cooker or on the stovetop if you don’t have an Instant Pot!
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Instant Pot Corned Beef
What Is Corned Beef?
Corned beef is salt-cured brisket of beef. The term comes from the treatment of the meat with large-grained rock salt, also called “corns” of salt. Sometimes, sugar and spices are also added to corned beef recipes. Corned beef is featured as an ingredient in many cuisines.
Wikipedia
Now, if you’re one of my British readers you may be thinking to yourself “doesn’t corned beef come in a tin with that weird key thing to open it?“, and you would be correct. It is also known as “bully beef”
However, what the Americans call corned beef is what we in the UK would know as [Kosher] salt beef, and is often used as a sandwich or beigel filling.
In North America, corned beef dishes are associated with traditional Irish cuisine, however, it’s not considered a truly Irish dish, but an American-Irish one that is often enjoyed for St. Patrick’s Day. Corned beef was used as a substitute for bacon by Irish immigrants in the late 19th century.
Related Recipe: Boiled Bacon & Champ
Ingredients used in this recipe
We love salt beef in our household (my husband is Jewish!) and when I realised that corned beef and salt beef were essentially the same things, I just had to share this recipe with you!
Depending on where you live in the world you will need to buy either a
- Corned beef brisket – which often comes with a spice pack or
- Brined Beef Brisket – which you should be able to find in Kosher butchers and some supermarkets too. I found that Ocado sell’s Gilbert’s Kosher Salt Beef Brisket
And if you can’t find a prepared corned or brined beef brisket, you could brine your own. Here is a recipe shared by The Jewish Chronicle
I mentioned a spice pack which in the US often comes with a package of corned beef brisket. It’s unlikely that they are all exactly the same, and you may find that there isn’t one included.
The spice pack is essentially a pickling spice mix (which you can find in supermarkets) that may contain some or all of the following herbs and spices – peppercorns, coriander seeds, mustard seeds, dill seeds, allspice berries, bay leaves, and more.
I found a corned beef spice packet recipe on Hilda’s Kitchen Blog that you may want to check out and make your own.
Equipment used in this recipe
This recipe is made in an Instant Pot which is an amazing piece of kitchen equipment that is essentially an electric pressure cooker, but so much more! You get seven functions in one pot: pressure cooker, slow cooker, sautée/sear pot, rice cooker, steamer, yogurt maker, and warmer.
There is even a 10-in-1 Ultra Instant Pot that you can be used as a caker maker, egg cooker, and sterilizer. It is a seriously awesome piece of kitchen equipment
Remember the old fashioned pressure cookers with the whistle on top (I still have one!) – they can be pretty scary to use right? Well, the Instant Pot is the modern-day alternative and are so much safer to use.
All you do is plug it in and tap a button, and it does everything else. It’s as user-friendly as a slow cooker — except that it gets dinner on the table much quicker. Read about how Instant Pots work here.
Now, if you haven’t jumped on the Instant Pot bandwagon, you can cook corned beef and cabbage in a slow cooker or even in a cooking pot on the stovetop too – there is no need to miss out on this delicious recipe!
Instant Pot Corned Beef Recipe Tips
- This recipe will serve 4-6 people depending on how hungry people are and how much leftovers you want to have! The recipe lists a 4lbs/1.8kg beef brisket.
- If your brisket doesn’t come with a spice pack use 1-2 tablespoons of pickling spice instead.
- If you feel there is too much fat on the beef, you can trim some of it away – or ask your butcher to do it for you.
- You can make this recipe with or without beer.
- If you are gluten-free then instead of beer you can use chicken or beef broth/stock.
- If using beer, use a dark beer like Guinness, stout or a dark ale – depending on your personal taste preference.
- If you are in the UK look for Kosher salt beef brisket, or brined beef brisket to use in this recipe.
- Time-saving Tip: Prep the vegetables while the meat is cooking in the Instant Pot.
- This recipe uses the trivet that comes with the Instant Pot. Place the handles positioned up for easy removal when the meat is cooked.
- The time on the recipe card does not include the time it takes to come to pressure.
- Slice the corned beef against the grain.
Slow Cooker Corned Beef
- All of the same ingredients are used, but the cooking method is slightly different.
- The corned beef brisket goes into the slow cooker with the pickling spices, onion, garlic, and beer/stock and you set it on low for 8-10 hours or high for 4-6 hours. halfway through, add the potatoes and carrots, then an hour from the end, add the cabbage. Or you could cook it all at once – depends on how soft you want your veggies to be.
- The full method is in the recipe card.
Stovetop Corned Beef
- All of the same ingredients are used, but the cooking method is slightly different.
- Place the corned beef brisket, onion, garlic, beer/stock, and spices to the boil. Simmer for 3 hours. Remove the corned beef but reserve the cooking liquid to cook the vegetables.
- The full method is in the recipe card.
Make It A Meal!
You’ve made the mains and sides, but what about the rest of the courses?
Here are additional recipes to make a full meal for St. Patrick’s Day!
- Appetizer: Easy Vegetable Soup
- Bread: Soda Bread
- Beverage: Luck Of The Irish Whiskey Cocktail
- Dessert: Lucky Charms Cookies
There are 500+ Recipes on The Purple Pumpkin Blog for you to enjoy! Please feel free to check them out too.
Using Corned Beef Leftovers
Leftovers are always a good thing! Here are a few easy ideas for you to try:
- Reuben Sandwich – Spread Thousand Island or Russian dressing onto rye bread and pile with slices of corned beef, Swiss cheese, and sauerkraut.
- Corned Beef Hash – fry up some onion and garlic in a pan and add chopped corned beef, and any leftover veggies (chopped). Season if needed, add in some herbs if you like. Press everything down to form a bit of a crust, then turn and brown on the other side and enjoy!
- Corned Beef and Cabbage Soup – Chop up the corned beef and warm through in some hot chicken or vegetable stock. Add shredded fresh cabbage and season with salt, pepper, and herbs to your taste.
Corned Beef and Cabbage
Ingredients
- 6 large cloves garlic peeled and minced
- 2 small or 1 medium yellow onions, chopped
- 2 bay leaves
- 12 oz/330ml bottle dark beer e.g., Guinness, stout, dark ale and 1 cup water or broth OR
- 2 cups chicken or beef broth and 1 cup water see notes
- 4 lb/1.8kg corned beef brisket with spice pack see notes
- Sea salt and black pepper to taste
- 5 large carrots cut into strips
- 1 lb/450g red potatoes quartered
- ½ large cabbage head sliced
Instructions
- Add garlic, onion, and bay leaves to the Instant Pot container and pour the beer and water/broth OR broth and water on top – depending on which you are using.
- Place the trivet that comes with the Instant Pot inside the container with the handles positioned up for easy removal.
- Place the brisket fat-side down** on the trivet and season with salt and black pepper, to taste. Sprinkle the spice packet that came with the brisket on top.
- Add the lid and lock it into place. Set the vent to “Sealing” and select the “Manual” button. Adjust to the “High” setting and set the cook time to 85 minutes.
- When cook time is complete, allow the pressure to release naturally for 10 minutes before doing a quick release on any remaining pressure. Remove brisket by carefully lifting the trivet out by the handles (using potholders) and transfer to a platter. Set aside and keep warm.
- Return the trivet to the Instant Pot and add the carrots, potatoes, and cabbage on top. Cover and lock lid into place. Set the vent to “Sealing” and select the “Manual” button. Adjust cook time to 3 minutes.
- When cook time is complete, allow the pressure to release naturally for 5 minutes before doing a quick release on the remaining pressure.
- Transfer the cooked vegetables to the serving platter with the corned beef. Slice the beef against the grain and serve immediately along with the vegetables. Enjoy!
- Slow Cooker Method. Place onions and garlic in the bottom of slow cooker pot. Season with salt and pepper, and add bay leaves. Sprinkle with spice pack, or add 1-2 tablespoons pickling spice.
- Add the beer/stock or stock/water depending on your preference and add extra water if needed to cover the brisket.
- Set to cook on low for 8-10 hours, or on high for 4-6 hours.
- Add the potatoes and carrots about halfway through cooking.
- Add the cabbage about an hour or two before the end of cooking.
- Transfer the cooked vegetables to the serving platter with the corned beef. Slice the beef against the grain and serve immediately along with the vegetables. Enjoy!
- Stovetop Method. Place the onions, garlic, bay leaves, and brisket into a large cooking pot. Sprinkle with spice pack, or add 1-2 tablespoons pickling spice.
- Add the beer/stock or stock/water depending on your preference and add extra water if needed to cover the brisket.
- Bring to the boil and reduce to simmer for 3 hours or until the meat is fork-tender.
- Remove the beef from the pot and keep warm. Reserve the cooking liquid.
- Bring the pot of cooking liquid back to the boil and add the potatoes, carrots, and cabbage to the pot and cook for 20 minutes or until tender.
- Transfer the cooked vegetables to the serving platter with the corned beef. Slice the beef against the grain and serve immediately along with the vegetables. Enjoy!
Notes
- Time shown is for the Instant Pot and does not include time to come to pressure.
- You can make this recipe gluten-free by using broth instead of beer.
- *also known as salt beef brisket or kosher brined beef brisket.
- If you do not get a spice pack with your beef brisket use 1-2 tablespoons of pickling spice.
- **If you prefer less fat on your brisket you can trim some of it away if desired.
Nutrition
Nutritional information is always approximate and will depend on the quality of ingredients used and serving sizes. If you need exact calories and macros, please do your own calculations.
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