the Older Bolder Life Friday Feast: Instant-Pot Korean Beer Braised Brisket

Those that follow my recipes here on the Older Bolder Life consistently have seen that we’ve been leaning often of late to some of the flavors of classic Korean cuisine.

My wife and I have truly been enjoying the spicy tang of gochujang in particular lately, and Korean dried chile flakes – gochugaru – are nothing like what most of us in the States have grown up using for dried chile flakes.

One other confession might be appropriate here; we’ve been very slow to come around to the Instant-Pot craze. The primary advantage of the Instant-Pot is time; that time savings is accomplished by pressure cooking foods more or less like your mom and grandmother did. Granted the Instant-Pot is packaged up nicely with a lot of electronic bells and whistles; I’d just never purchased one as I preferred to braise and slow cook using classic, if also time-intensive, methods.

Back a few weeks ago my elderly mother gave us an Instant-Pot she’d purchased on the advice of another family member; it was one of the larger units and was in fact too heavy at 18 pounds for her to even pick up.

After combing around for a tasty recipe to run a test cook or two with, I came across something fairly close to this Instant-Pot Korean Beer Braised Brisket, which is amazingly close to my favorite braised brisket recipe from childhood with the added boost of gochujang, gochugaru, and a host of Korean-inspired spices.

After cooking through this one several times, I’m not a huge fan of sautéing in the Instant-Pot; at least by my hand it was difficult to get a truly good sear on the brisket before the longer cook – I’ll still sear on the stove in a hot skillet.

That said, when cooked and chilled overnight and reheated the next day, this brisket slices like a dream, is packed with amazing Korean-inspired flavors, and is stunningly good doused in the pan juices (reduce the sauce down by about half) with a flavorful cauliflower rice dish alongside.

And I have to admit, with just a 90-minute cook under pressure, and a prep and set up that is easy peasy, this recipe is a keeper.

4 to 5 pound beef brisket, cut into 4 or 5 pieces
1 1/2 tbsp dried red chile flakes, gochugaru is best
1 1/2 tbsp good sweet paprika
1 tbsp kosher salt
1 tsp fresh ground pepper

2-3 tbsp avocado, olive, or coconut oil
1 large onion, small dice
4-5 garlic cloves, minced
1 1/2 tsp fresh ginger, minced

1/3 cup gochujang (Sriracha in a pinch)
2 tbsp ketchup (use this one)
2 tbsp tamari or coconut aminos
2 tsp good fish sauce
1 tsp toasted sesame oil
1 cup lager style beer

Optional
1-2 tbsp honey or dark brown sugar

Cut the brisket to size and rub with the Chile flakes, paprika, salt, and pepper. Cover and refrigerate for up to 24 hours (shoot for 12 hours plus).

Either using a large skillet or the Instant-Pot sauté function, heat a tbsp of oil over medium heat and brown the brisket pieces on all sides (add more oil as needed); then set meat aside. Add another tbsp of oil, then sauté the onion until beginning to soften and caramelize around the edges, then add the garlic and ginger and sauté for another 90 seconds.

Now stir in the gochujang, ketchup, tamari or aminos, fish sauce, sesame oil, and beer (and return to the Instant-Pot if using a skillet). Add the beef, seal, and cook on high for 90 minutes. Let the pressure release naturally for 20 minutes, then release remaining pressure manually.

Transfer the brisket to a platter and cover; now simmer the sauce for 15 to 20 minutes until reduced by at least half. Skim the fat and serve alongside the tasty brisket (sliced or pulled).

Enjoy.