Corned beef and cabbage is the quintessential St. Patrick’s Day fare. But even I, a woman so Irish my eyes are green*, hate how long it takes and how it makes your entire house smell gassy all day. Seriously, the smell of boiled cabbage is the worst thing ever. SO, I decided to see how it would all fare in the Instant Pot!

It takes a little over two hours from the start of the recipe until you’ve got dinner on your table, once you’ve accounted for warm-up and cool-down times. So while it may not cut cooking time as drastically as some IP recipes, it’s vastly easier and contains the smell SO much better. NO COOKING CABBAGE SMELL AT ALL!! And honestly, the corned beef comes out pretty amazing.

You’ll need:

• 4#ish Corned beef brisket, rinsed
• spice packet that comes in the meat package
• 15 peppercorns
• 3 T seedy mustard
• 1 large yellow onion
• 4 cloves garlic, smashed
• 1 dark beer (porter or stout)
• 2 C veg broth or water
• 1 head cabbage
• baby carrots (up to a 12 oz bag, depending on how many you like)
• baby potatoes (up to a pound)

For serving:

• Stone-ground mustard
• Horseradish sauce
• Parsley

Cut the onion into large chunks, then smash the garlic with the side of your knife and peel it. Toss those in the bottom of the pot. Put the rack in your pot and get going on the meat.

Rinse the beef, then spread a good tablespoon of your seedy mustard onto the meat side. Sprinkle the meat side with your spice packet, then put the brisket into the pot, meat side DOWN. Put the rest of your mustard onto the fat side, plop it into the pot, and toss the peppercorns on top.

Pour your beer over the meat, then fill the pot with vegetable broth or water until it’s halfway up the sides of your brisket. If you’re sensitive to salt, I’d suggest using water instead of broth, as it will draw more salt out of the meat. Seal it into your Instant Pot and set it for Manual 90 minutes.

WALK

AWAY

Seriously, it just needs to cook. You have over an hour and a half to do whatever you want. Maybe have one of those dark beers you used for the meat. Tune up your harp or rosin your bow. Set a Leprachuan trap!

When the cooking time is up, leave the IP where it is for 15 minutes. It will stay on the keep warm setting during this natural pressure release.

When your 15 minutes is almost up, core your cabbage and cut it into quarters. Cut your potatoes into quarters (or halves if they’re really tiny).

Open your vent. Use caution because the beer may spit up a bit; IT’S OKAY! THE POT IS NOT GOING TO BLOW UP. Carefully remove the beef to a serving platter. Trim the fat off of the meat, then flip it over so the meat side faces up. Spoon one ladle of the juices over it, and cover with foil to rest.

Strain the remaining liquid into a bowl and discard the solids. PUT THE INSERT BACK IN THE INSTANT POT. I have forgotten to do this, and ladled liquid directly into the cooker…. NO BUENO. Return about 1 1/2 cups of the liquid and the rack to the instant pot, add the carrots, potatoes, and cabbage, seal the lid, and cook on high for 6 minutes. Quick release the pressure this time.

Slice the beef against the grain and serve with the veggies on the side, drizzled with a little melted butter and some chopped parsley.

To be honest with you, I had never made this before. It turned out pretty amazing. I did suggest a slightly longer cooking time than I did (I did 85 min and it needed a touch longer) and a shorter natural release period (I don’t think the extra 5 minutes I gave it did much). Other than that, I was pleasantly surprised by my own culinary prowess. My only note from the tasters was to make MORE next time.

Sláinte, and may the luck of the Irish be with you!

*I know most Irish people have blue eyes, like my grandpa. It is called creative license, and I use it.

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