- Philip Munda
Instant Pot Brisket

We recently spent a week in Cape Town where a friend took us to the amazing gem that is Arthur's Mini Super. It's a small unassuming place on Arthur's Road in Seapoint that has some of the best sandwiches we have ever tasted. They have a really special Cubano sandwich that would probably bring Jon Favreau to tears; it has a great acidic pickle inside and is served with a hot sauce that you'll want to take home with you. The other sandwich we tried there was the Brisket Bun and it was so good it made Ash involuntarily swear. The meat literally melted away when you took a bite and it was something I couldn't stop thinking about even after we'd left cape town. Seeing as Uber Eats doesn't cover a 1400km distance (do better Uber) I decided I had to make a brisket sandwich of my own before I went mad, the instant pot made the process easy and quick as it cooks for about 75 minutes and is ready to fall off the bone. We served it on a bun with some white cheddar and red cabbage slaw that helped cut through the richness of the brisket.
Serves: 4-6
Time: 2.5 hours
Difficulty: Easy, the most difficult part is keeping your hunger at bay as the instant pot is finishing up
Ingredients
Brisket
1.8kg Brisket bone in
1 Tbsp Garlic Powder
1 Tbsp Onion Powder
1 Tbsp Chilli Powder
1 Tbsp Ground Cumin
1 Tbsp Mustard Powder
1 Tbsp Cayenne Pepper
1 Tbsp Paprika
1 Tbsp Salt
100 mls Whiskey
1.5 Cups Beef Stock
1.5 Cups Barbeque Sauce
4 Cloves Garlic
Slaw
150g White Cabbage Shredded
1/3 Cup Yoghurt
2 Tsp Mustard
3 Tbsp Apple Cider Vinegar
1 small clove garlic
Salt and Pepper
Method
For the slaw mix all ingredients together in a medium bowl and leave in the fridge till ready to serve
Mix all the spices together and rub over all sides of your brisket, this can be done the night before or just before cooking if you don't have time
Add a small amount of oil to your instapot (oven friendly pot/baking tray) and sear all sides of the brisket before setting it aside. You should use the 'saute' setting on high.
Deglaze the pot with the whisky making sure to scrape all the browned bits from the bottom of the pan, add the beef stock, BBQ sauce and garlic and simmer for 5 minutes. Use the 'saute' setting on low.
Put the brisket back into the pot and close the lid. Set it to pressure cook at 'high' pressure for 75 minutes. (for smaller briskets (1-1.5kg) cook for 60 and for larger (2.5-3kg) cook for 90)
If you're not using an instapot: preheat the oven to 150 C and cook the brisket for 6 hours or until the internal temperature is 95 C.
Once the cook time is done allow the pressure to release naturally for 15 minutes before opening the valve to release the remaining pressure, this will prevent your meat from seizing and becoming dry.
Remove the brisket from the pot and leave it to simmer on low to thicken the sauce. In the meantime cut/shrewd your brisket before adding back to the sauce for 10-15 minutes to soak up the deliciousness.
Serve on toasted buns with the slaw and your choice of other toppings.
Happy Cooking!
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