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Red Wine Braised Instant Pot Brisket


Meet your new weeknight dinner best friend!  This Instantpot brisket is done in one hour, including a heavenly sauce loaded with savory flavors!  Forget the 6 hours of cooking time and enjoy a tender and juicy 
brisket on any weeknight!

Meet your new weeknight dinner best friend! This Instapot brisket is done in one hour, including a heavenly sauce loaded with savory flavors! Forget the 6 hours of cooking time and enjoy a tender and juicy brisket on any weeknight!

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Did you know that there is such a thing as an Instant Pot A friend of mine brought one back from Moscow 3 years ago and kept raving about it.  Naturally, I waved my hand at her in dismissal and said, “No thanks.”

More recently, I have been watching all sorts of recipes pop up on Pinterest featuring the Instant Pot.  In several of my groups on Facebook, all the girls have been raving about it.  I was not impressed…until I heard that tough cuts of meat that take hours in the oven could be done in an hour.

Sold.  I hit BUY WITH ONE CLICK button on Amazon immediately.

What’s an Instant Pot you ask?  I will keep it simple:  It’s an electric pressure cooker.  Remember those ancient pressure cookers that used to blow up?  Yea..those terrified me too….this is not that.  This baby is electric, digital and super easy to use.  And did I tell you… you can make a brisket in AN HOUR?  Yes Instapot brisket in an hour complete with the sauce and all!

Meet your new weeknight dinner best friend! This Instapot brisket is done in one hour, including a heavenly sauce loaded with savory flavors! Forget the 6 hours of cooking time and enjoy a tender and juicy brisket on any weeknight!

I have a really incredible Melt in Your Mouth Brisket recipe that I swear by.  Actually it’s not just I who swears by it, I have friends and clients who swear by it too.  It’s divine and perfect for all your fancy dinners where nothing else but an incredibly tender roast will do.

A simple and mouthwatering oven cooked brisket that is truly fuss free! Delicious, tender and freezer encouraged!!! This is the ULITMATE crowd pleaser! This is part of my perfect high holiday meal! With plenty of make ahead and freeze options...your dinner table this year will be a breeze!

There is however one tiny little issue…this brisket takes 5-6 hours depending on its size.  So while it would be perfect when planned ahead of time…it is not so perfect if you want to get your brisket on the table for a 7pm dinner when you get home at 5:30pm.

Enter the Instant Pot.

As of recent the hubs is on a low carb diet…actually NO carb diet.  So my house has become a carnivore’s estate.  By the time Sunday rolls around, my fridge is empty with merely dairy, fruits, eggs and deli meats remaining.  So hub’s choices are limited for his dinners and or snacks.  I decided to be a lovely wife and cook up a nice wholesome dinner for him and take my Instapot for a test drive.  I had a brisket hanging out in my fridge from my last Crestwood Farms delivery and I needed to use it and fast.  So I opened up my Instapot manual, checked how long to cook this baby up for and went to town.

Meet your new weeknight dinner best friend! This Instapot brisket is done in one hour, including a heavenly sauce loaded with savory flavors! Forget the 6 hours of cooking time and enjoy a tender and juicy brisket on any weeknight!

THE TECHNIQUE

  1. Searing: The great thing about this Instant Pot is that all the steps can be done in the exact same pot.  Simply turn the Instapot to the “Sautee” option and pour some oil in.  After seasoning the brisket liberally with course salt and freshly ground pepper I placed it right into the Instant Pot to sear on each side.  About 7 minutes per side.
  2. Aromatics and Flavors: I kept this recipe filled with classic and simple flavors. I removed the brisket and deglazed the pot with some tomato paste, ensuring to scrub the bottom well.  Then I added in roughly chopped onions,carrots, garlic cloves and  rosemary and let it cook a few minutes to get them sweating.  Lastly in went back the brisket, red wine, chicken base and chicken stock.  I placed the lid on, switched it to “close” and changed the setting to “meat/stew” for 50 minutes.  That’s it guys.  Then I sat back and enjoyed funny re-runs of “Parks and Recreation”.  Once I decreased the pressure I opened up the lid and an instant “HOLY CRAP” escaped my mouth.  It was indeed beautifully tender and practically falling apart.  Perfect.
  3. The Sauce:   I removed the brisket to rest on the cutting board.  (This is imperative, the brisket needs to rest before cutting, just like any other meat or roast in order to output the most tender results).  I prefer my sauce to be from the natural cooking juices.  I turned the Instapot to “Saute” and let the sauce boil away.  After about 10 minutes, I turned it off and pureed it a bit in my trusty Vitamix.  All that was left was to slice the brisket and douse it in that luxurious sauce.

Meet your new weeknight dinner best friend! This Instapot brisket is done in one hour, including a heavenly sauce loaded with savory flavors! Forget the 6 hours of cooking time and enjoy a tender and juicy brisket on any weeknight!

I served my super tender Instapot brisket to the hubs with a side of love and my munchkin and I got my super crispy Garlic and Herb Roasted Potatoes.  Serves him right for wanting all protein 🙂 That being said…he was quite pleased with his dinner and was very surprised that my brisket took all of 1 hour.

Thank you Instapot…this is the beginning of a new friendship!

My Instant pot

For my personal Instapot I decided to get the largest one they make.  I may have been overzealous but I can only imagine having my entire family of 15-20 people over for a party and not having enough room in the Instapot for my massive brisket.  So therefore I got the Instant Pot

However mostly everyone I speak to has the and they are quite happy with it.

Either one you choose…would be perfect regardless and still make you an incredibly tender brisket in no time.

My original Melt in Your Mouth Brisket has an awesome tutorial on how to slice the meat as well as how to trim the fat!  Make to check it out!

Melt in Your Mouth Brisket from the Girl and the Kitchen

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Red Wine Braised Instapot Brisket (5 of 5)

Red Wine Braised Instant Pot Brisket


5 Stars 4 Stars 3 Stars 2 Stars 1 Star

4.7 from 24 reviews

  • Author: Mila Furman
  • Total Time: 60 minutes
  • Yield: 0 people 1x

Description

Meet your new weeknight dinner best friend! This Instant Pot brisket is done in one hour, including a heavenly sauce loaded with savory flavors! Forget the 6 hours of cooking time and enjoy a tender and juicy brisket on any weeknight!


Ingredients

Scale
  • 4 pound brisket
  • 2 tbsp tomato paste
  • 1 large onion (chopped roughly)
  • 3 large carrots (chopped roughly)
  • 6 cloves of garlic roughly chopped
  • 2 sprigs of rosemary
  • 1 cup of red wine
  • 1.5 cups chicken or beef broth
  • 1 heaping tbsp of chicken base
  • salt and pepper to season
  • vegetable (avocado or coconut oil to sear the meat)

Instructions

  1. Dry the meat with a paper towel and season well with course salt and freshly crushed black pepper.
  2. Turn the the Instantpot to the “saute” setting. Add in oil and wait until the display reads “hot”.
  3. Sear the brisket well on each side, about 7 minutes per side.
  4. Remove the brisket and add in the onions, carrots,  and tomato paste. Use the tomato paste to scrub up all the brown bits from the bottom of the pot. Allow to saute for 5 minutes.
  5. Add in the red wine, chicken or beef broth chicken base, garlic and rosemary. Scrub the bottom making sure to get all the browned up bits (this is called deglazing).
  6. Add the brisket back into the pot and place some of the vegetables on top.
  7. Press the “keep warm/cancel”button to reset the Instapot.
  8. Press “meat/stew” and set the timer for 50 minutes.
  9. Once the timer goes off, allow it to lose pressure naturally. If you do a quick release on a large and tough piece of meat like this brisket you risk toughening the meat up. Allow to rest while tented with a foil.
  10. Once the machine has released its pressure, remove the brisket and switch the mode back to “sauce”.
  11. Allow the sauce to reduce for 10-15 minutes and use either a blender or an immersion blender to puree the sauce.
  12. Slice the brisket and serve.

Notes

1. My original recipe has an entire description of how to slice the meat properly.
2. This is extremely freezer friendly. In fact, it is one of the few recipes that tastes incredibly after defrosted. Just slice it cover it with sauce and freeze. Reheat it in a 350-degree oven, covered for about 40-45 minutes. And serve.
3. Some Instapots may take longer to heat up so the final cooking time may vary. That being said this will still be cooked in a significantly shorter amount of time than any other cooking method.
4. The size of your brisket will also effect your cooking time. This size is great for a typical dinner for 4 people. I have noticed that for every pound of meat it will add on about 15 minutes of cooking time.

5. The nutritional information should only be used for information purposes.

  • Prep Time: 10 minutes
  • Cook Time: 50 minutes
  • Category: beef, dinner, Main Course
  • Cuisine: American, Jewish

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108 Comments

  1. I started making this at about 7pm. It’s now 10pm and I am waiting for the sauce to render. The total time in the instant pot was about 2 1/2 hours (1/2 hour to come to pressure, 50 minutes cooking time and 1 hour to naturally release). Just wanted to let others know the actual prep and cooking time. It’ll be our dinner tomorrow!






        1. Hi Jill! Sorry this comment made its way into spam and I am just seeing it! The garlic is added with the rosemary. Thanks!

    1. You don’t have to leave it for an hour for natural release — if it hasn’t come down in 15 minutes then do the fast release.






    2. If you seared your meat in the Instant Pot why in the world did it take 1/2 hour to come up to temp? It actually took 10 minutes for my to come to pressure. After 20 minutes or so, you will NOT do any harm to your dish if you finish releasing the pressure manually. The more you use your pot, the more relaxed you will be on using your own intuition when preparing meals for your family. Just realize, it it isn’t done to your preference, clamp the lid back on and bring it back to pressure for 10 or 15 minutes then release the pressure after 10 or so minutes. Depending on the size of your roast you will eventually pare your recipe to perfection.

      1. Thank you. Yes the IP can be finicky and does require a little bit of a learning curve. But once you get it…it’s perfection!

  2. Yes, it does take less time than a slow-cooker of course, but an hour is simply not true.

    It’s closer to a 2.5 hour production. 25 minutes to come up to heat, 14 minutes minimum to saute the brisket, 40 minutes to naturally release pressure, and then the 50 minutes to actually cook it.

    Keep it in mind before you start it on 7 PM on a Sunday, you won’t be eating until 10. If I had known it would take so long I would’ve started at 5!

    The gravy was good.






  3. Definitely update the time to cook. Its basically 2.5 hours. I saw one hour and started to cook, and now we missed soccer practice.






    1. Hey Tommy! The active cooking time is actually an hour 🙂 So sorry you missed soccer practice 🙁 One of the best part of the Instant Pot is that it really will turn off once it is done and just keep everything warm. Let me know if you have any questions!

  4. This was an excellent beef brisket. My family loved it and nothing was left. It makes a lot of sauce for pouring over the meat or you could thicken it up and use it for gravy over potatoes..






    1. Hi Debby!!! I’m so glad you liked I️t!!!!!! What an awesome idea with the gravy! I hope you enjoyed I️t 🙂 have a wonderful holiday season!

  5. FYI:
    I added the garlic at this point but it is left out in your instructions.
    “4. Remove the brisket and add in the onions, carrots and tomato paste. Use the tomato paste to scrub up all the brown bits from the bottom of the pot. Allow to saute for 5 minutes.”
    Didn’t notice ’til I was actually putting things in the pot. Comment from girlfriend ” Wow, how did you make that gravy?” and “that gravy sure is good!”

  6. Hello! I’m trying this for the first time today. It is for a family dinner so I really hope it comes out well. I have a few suggestions for this recipe. First, the narrative at top does not match the step by step instructions after the ingredients. In the detailed instructions do not mention the garlic at all. Also, the Insta Pot settings are different as well. Is it meat/stew or manual? Is it high pressure or low? One set of instructions used the word sauce as a setting and the other one sauté. I believe that for first time users clear instructions are important.

    1. Hi Marta!!! Omg my auto correct has been going crazy lately!!! Thanks so much for catching those errors!!! I have fixed them! Please let me know how it turned out I would love to hear what the family had to say!

      1. Hello Marta, I am making your recipe for Christmas eve dinner and need to double meat to 8#. Would I also double sauce? Also….cook time will go from 50 min to 100 min, yes? On meat/stew high or low pressure?
        Thank you and very excited to try!
        Mats

  7. Hi,

    I am planning to make this for a group dinner. Do you think it would be okay to make the day before and reheat? If so, how would you recommend reheating!

    Thanks!

    1. Yes you absolutely can!!!! I would reheat in a pan covered in foil in the oven with the braiding liquid. 350 degrees for about an hour

  8. Im going to make this tomorrow. Are the carrots firm enough to eat if I put extra in? Or will they be too much and can only be blended into the sauce?

      1. Can beef base be substituted? I’m not understanding why the chicken base instead of beef base for a beef entree.

        1. Because the beef is typically saltier and it’s a much stronger flavor. However if that’s all you have go ahead and use it!

  9. I’m making this for tonight’s dinner, can I ask that you update the cooking time as mentioned by others as its very misleading.

    It took me 25 mins to actually do the prep not 10mins, including the searing.
    Then it takes at least 10mins for the instant pot to come up to pressure before it starts the 50min cooking time….luckily I started mine at 2pm for the prep then 3pm for the cooking, also my brisket was only 2.2lbs which helped…. I will let you know how it turns out though,, I’m looking forward to it!

  10. Wow, just WOW!!
    I followed your recipe, exactly as written (which I almost never do), other than substituting a 3.5 pound chuck roast, since my grocery store was out of brisket. (And skimming the extra fast of the top of the pot, before blending it into sauce.)
    I had a good idea of the timeline, both from the recipe and the comments. I budgeted 3 hours, start to plate, which was pretty accurate. It took 20 minutes to sear the meat, another 10 to get the veggies and liquids ready, and then 50 to actually cook the meat. It was just over an hour to release pressure naturally, and then another 20 minutes to finish the sauce.

    I would not recommend this dish for a busy weekday, but it made a perfect Sunday Dinner, and was still way faster (and better) than if I’d cooked it in the oven!

    This recipe was one of THE BEST roasts I’ve ever made! The sear kept the meat crispy on the outside, while being moist, and flavorful throughout. The sauce… OMG, the sauce! There was so much flavor and depth to that sauce, the texture was silky, and the best part was, it didn’t need any thickener.

    Thank you so much for this recipe, we loved it!






  11. Mila, you’re a genius. This recipe couldn’t be anymore straight forward and simple with an outstanding finished product. Seriously, a child with a little supervision could make this. We used a 2 pound section of the brisket that I purchased since there is only two here to eat. Effortlessly followed the recipe to the end and couldn’t be anymore pleased. The sauce was the perfect complement to a perfectly cooked brisket, absolutely amazing flavour. This will definitely be on the menu again. Would be something we’d be happy to serve to guests. Thank you so much..!!






  12. After reading everyone’s comments about how long this took to make I started getting my supplies out about 4:15. I shouldn’t have worried because it only took me one hour and 50 minutes from start to glorious finish! I was just salting and peppering my brisket when my husband burst into the house in a big, frustrated fluster, gave me his puppy dog eyes and asked for help. (He was installing a new stereo system in his truck and needed me to hold the stereo and a flashlight while he connected wires!) Any project he undertakes typically runs 3-4 times longer than he estimates so I’m back in the house at 5. I warned him that dinner was going to be well after 7. He shrugged, grabbed a bag of chips and disappeared into his office. Sigh, I love that man! Back to the recipe. It took 20 minutes to sear the meat and saute the veggies. Because the pot was already hot it only took 10 minutes to pressure seal the pot. Fifty minutes later the natural pressure release started so I prepped my roasted carrots and sweet potatoes side dish. I gave it 15 minutes then released the rest of the pressure and removed the lid. OMG if my kitchen didn’t smell good while sautéing everything before, it now smelled amazing! Ten minutes to simmer the heavenly juice and cream it with my hand blender and done! One hour and 45 minutes. It was fantastic and the hubs said to put your recipe on our “must have again” list Just a few notes though. The description of the recipe mentioned shallots but they weren’t in the recipe. I used two small ones and added them with one medium onion. Also, I used a 1.75 lb brisket so I reduced the volume of chicken broth to one cup but kept the red wine (an excellent cabernet sauvignon) at one cup.






  13. You don’t mention anything about trimming fat before cooking. How much do you trim the brisket.

    Also, anyway to get vegetables that aren’t mushy? I usually have a lot of carrots and mushrooms when I cook brisket traditionally.

    I have a 3 LB brisket I’m going to try tonight.

    1. I don’t trim the fat because typically I buy the brisket with minimal fat already on it . Whether you do this recipe in the oven or the instant pot, the longer cooking time will result in mushy veg 🙁 what you could do is this: once the brisket is done, remove it and turn sautéed option on and add the mushrooms into the cooking liquid for a little bit. This will cook them up for you without getting mushy

  14. At the top of the article where you discuss the aromatics you mention putting shallots in in the Instant Pot, but you don’t list shallots in the ingredients. Can you update the recipe to include directions on how to include this item?

    1. Hi Tara, that must have been a typo thank you so much for catching it! It does not have shallots in it typically, however, if you do want to use shallots, you would add them in at the same time as the onions.

  15. Excited to try this recipe! In your Servings, it says 8 people, but in your Recipe Notes, you say the recipe is good for 4 people. Can you please clarify?

    To double the recipe for an 8 lb brisket, would I add another 60 minutes to the cooking time for a total of 1 hour, 50 minutes? (“…for every pound of meat it will add on about 15 minutes of cooking time…”) Or are you saying the release time will be longer?

    Thank you!

    1. Sooooo the serving size is set up as such more so for the nutritional info. It’s easier to calculate it that way. Yup it would be 15 minutes per pound cooking time. Good luck!!!!

  16. I’ve made this in the instant pot and it was delicious! Could it be made in the slow cooker? Hoping to have it cooking during the day and done when I get home…






    1. Be careful when adding any paste or concentrated stock. It will add too much salt.. so check salt at each step even tomato’s may be packed in salt. Otherwise great recipe.

  17. This was simply amazing. I was a little nervous as I had never used a pressure cooker before, but this meal quickly put my anxiety at ease. I started the meal in my instant pot at 330pm and was completely done by 515. My kids and I LOVED it!!! The only thing I changed was that I only had beef better than bouillon (low sodium) but I think I’ll do so in the future as well. I could see this being made at least every other week with how simple this is. Thank you so much for this incredible recipe.






  18. I don’t have chicken base and would like to make this tonight to eat tomorrow. What can I use as a substitute and how much? Thanks!

    1. I’m so glad you enjoyed it!!! Even sometimes when it takes a hot minute I like to think it’s still shorter than the alternative right 🙂

  19. I need to cook for double the serving size here. Do you think I can double the recipe and put 8lb of brisket in the IP at once or I have to do two separate batches?

  20. One of my first meals I made in my new 8 quart Insta Pot. SOO good!! Everyone loved it. I was worried the Rosemary would overpower the flavor, but since I have massive bushes growing in my yard, it felt wrong to leave it out! It was just enough to give the sauce a subtle flavor from the rosemary. I used my immersion blender to blend all the veges into the sauce and it was delicious on the meat and mashed potatoes! All together a great recipe!! Thanks Mila!






    1. Love love love using the immersion blender for this!!!! I have plenty of other recipes on here that use rosemary for you to try out 😉

  21. It should be great. I will try this recipe for my friends to taste at weekend. Love instant pot since it offers many nice and easy recipes to cook.






  22. This recipe is fantastic! You will cry when the meat and or sauce is gone. Don’t skimp on the garlic, wine, or rosemary. This and a little baked sweet potato-Yum!






  23. I only have a pound and a half brisket (hubby bought it on sale). Should I cut the sauce in half for the recipe? I am making mashed potatoes to go with, but I don’t want to ruin the roast. ..This is my first time using my Instapot!

  24. Great recipe. This was a Jewish New Year hit at our house! I added 15 more minutes of cooking time and the meat was tender and didn’t fall apart. Definitely use an immersion blender and consider thickening the sauce with cornstarch/water slurry.






  25. Help! I made this and had sooooo much liquid that it wasn’t even close to the beautiful sauce you show. I tried to let it reduce but I’m still left with soup. Any ideas what went wrong.

    1. Your meat could have been suuuuper juicy 🙂 In the future you can always thicken it up with a slurry at the end (equal part cornstarch to water. start with a tbsp at a time.) Or you can just puree some of it and thicken it that way!

  26. Since I was given a instant pot I’ve been very interested in cooking recently. I will try this dish right now. To be honest, this is the most detailed guide I have ever seen.

  27. I just received an Instant Pot as a gift. This was the perfect inaugural recipe! The sauce it makes is luscious. I threw in a few whole baby bella mushrooms just because, and removed them before pureeing the sauce. They were delectable.






  28. Thanks everyone for the heads up to start cooking 2.5 hours before mealtime! 20 mins prep, 20 mins to pressurize, 50 mins pressured, an hour to depressurize naturally, and then time to rest the meat and thicken the sauce.

    I followed the recipe exactly, no subsititons, and the brisket was as hard as a brick. The flavor was fine but it was shockingly hard.

    What could have caused that?

    1. Once in a great while it could be the meat believe it or not. It sounds like you did everything right so i imagine it was just a fluke 🙂

  29. Absolutely mouthwatering! Would give 6 stars if I could! Only alteration I made was to add a bit of cornstarch to thicken the sauce. A new go-to favorite






      1. Hi! I was wondering if I could leave this on warm for a few hours after cooking? Also, last time I made this made this the pressure didn’t release naturally after 30 minutes, so I had to quick release. Is it possible it could take more than 30 mins? Thanks






        1. Yes you can leave it on warm. If it doesn’t release naturally then just go ahead and release it 🙂 It should not go for more than 15 min

  30. This is the second time making this delicious brisket recipe! My family loves it! Thank you for your effort and sharing. Thanks also to those who commented; comments always helpful.

  31. I made this brisket with only one alteration because I was out of red wine. Used a homemade beef stock in place of the wine and it turned out amazing! I make the brisket for Passover every year and this one got rave reviews. Thank you for sharing!






  32. Hi, I noticed the recipe states 4lbs of meat to serve 8. then I noticed the clever way to change the recipe to serve 4 equals 2lbs of meat. Your notes, however, mention that 4. The size of your brisket will also affect (it should be affect not effect according to my grammar buddy tool,) your cooking time. This size is great for a typical dinner for 4 people. Now I am confused since the default was 4lbs. Will it still be 50 minutes for 2 lbs? Thanks!






  33. Absolutely delicious. I was worried about cooking brisket after reading how tough it can be and this was perfect. My husband loves pot roast and this did not disappoint. The sauce it makes is amazing, no need for thickening. Served with roasted veggies, burgundy mushrooms and boiled potatoes for a perfect dinner.






  34. I am looking forward to trying this recipe tomorrow? Can I substitute something for the chicken base? I am looking for something that has no dairy and is certified kosher. Can I use the Vegetable Base or just skip it?

    1. Just base it on the recipe and add more time as necessary. I would add 20 minutes and if it is still a bit tough just add more time.

  35. Delicious!!! Tender and savory!! I added a couple of bay leaves. Also, I didn’t think the sauce needed to be reduced at the end. I just strained the fat out of the sauce before pureeing.
    Finally a braised brisket recipe for Hanukkah that isn’t overly sweet! Tasted like my mom’s pot roast!!!

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