Instapot Corned Beef

two things Detroiters will care about tomorrow, Tyreek St. Patrick and corned beef.

Transparency moment: I absolutely hated the pictures for this recipe and didn’t want to post them. I just love to shoot great content photos for you all however the need to always want perfection often disguises procrastination. This year, we’re being consistent and posting anyway. You won’t always hit things on the nose, stop being hard on yourself and share what you’re passionate about. As long as the recipe works, who cares about a photo? Sometimes you have to gather yourself, like get over it, babe. The gworls need to know how to make great corned beef at home.

I’ve been watching people in green stumble out of local bars all weekend, we love a drinking holiday and St. Patrick’s day is all about beer and corned beef dinners. As a Detroiter, we’ve always celebrated St. Patrick’s Day in some form thanks to our strong Gaelic roots. In the 1800s many immigrants from Ireland made their home in Detroit’s oldest neighborhood, Corktown. Corktown is even named after the second largest city in Ireland, Cork. As the decades passed, Irish and German families moved from their homes, and Black Americans moved in as they found their way around the midwest during the Great Migration.

Why corned beef? Well, beef was a precious commodity in Ireland and cattle were only used for their strength, not consumption. When cattle were killed because it was older or unable to work, the meat was cured and saved for parties for the Royals. Today, we eat corned beef to celebrate the feast of St. Patrick.

My go-to way to make great corned beef that is fork tender is to use my insta-pot. It takes care of all of the work and you can skip the step of boiling the brisket like you’d need if slow roasting. I like to keep it simple and use the seasoning pack included with the corned beef brisket. I like to take a rubber meat tenderizer and smash the seasoning pack and mix with 2 tbsp of yellow or dijon mustard before allowing it to marinate on the brisket for at least 30 minutes.

What You Need:

• Corned Beef Brisket (3 to 5 lbs)

• 1 can of Guinness Beer, can be substituted for more stock or water

• 5 Garlic Cloves

• ½ medium Yellow Onion

• 2 to 3 cups for Beef Broth, 3 for brisket weighing closer to 5lbs

• 2 tbsp Dijon or Yellow Mustard

• 2 Bay Leaves

What to Do:

1. I like to start by cutting off some of the big pieces of fat on the brisket. Save some for flavor while cooking. Or you can cook it as is. Rinse the brisket with cold water to wash away some of the salty brine.

2. Sear onions and garlic cloves in instapot until they become fragrant.

3. Turn the instapot off and add beef broth, beer, and trivet (or steamy rack) that comes with your instapot. This protects the brisket from burning or overcooking at the bottom of the pot.

4. Lock the lid, close the pressure vent, and set corned beef to cook on Pressure Cook for 90 minutes.

5. Once the brisket has finished cooking, allow the quick-release method to vent for 5 minutes before removing the lid and brisket from the instapot.

6. Once removed from instapot, transfer the corned beef brisket to a baking sheet or tray and allow it to rest, covered with foil, for 10 to 15 minutes before serving. This ensures that all of the juices are redistributed to the meat and won’t all fall out on the cutting board when serving.