Korean-Style Chile-Braised Brisket (Instant Pot)

This Korean-style brisket is braised in a delicious sauce flavored with gochujang, which is a paste made from Korean red chiles. 

 

The sauce is so luscious and juicy, and the meat is tender and succulent. It's delicious with noodles, mashed potatoes, or rice, or paired with your favorite cole slaw. 

This is a great make-ahead meal and can even be made a day in advance. Leftovers are delicious too. I even stuffed some in a breakfast burrito with some eggs. 

Brisket is a very flavorful cut of meat, but it benefits from cooking low and slow as it takes a long time to get tender. I usually wrap it in heavy duty foil along with a sauce base, and roast it in the oven at 275 degrees F for three hours. 

You can also make it in the slow cooker and let it cook on low for about nine hours, which is how I've made barbecue brisket. 

This was the first time I tried making it in the Instant Pot, and I was thrilled with the results. If you only have a slow cooker, feel free to prepare the ingredients as described and place everything in the pot to cook. Your house will smell amazing. 

Ingredients for the Korean-style sauce:

• 4 to 5 pounds of beef brisket
• Red chili flakes
• Sweet paprika
• Salt and pepper
• Onion and garlic
• Ginger
• A cup of beer
• Gochujang
• Ketchup
• Soy sauce
• Brown sugar
• Fish sauce
• Sesame oil.

These days, gochujang is fairly easy to find in your grocery store, but if you can't find it, and don't have an HMart or other Asian grocery store in your area, you can usually find it online. 

The flavor of the final sauce is spicy (but not hot) and slightly sweet. Between all of the ingredents and the juices from the meat, you will want to use every last drop. 

Tips for making this brisket in the Instant Pot:

Your brisket may come with a fat cap on it. As tempted as you will be to trim it off, at least leave some of the fat on the meat. It helps keep it juicy. You can trim it after the meat has cooked. 

Speaking of fat, you will need to skim off the fat from the top of the sauce. I like using a fat separator for this job because it's so easy. 

The night before you cook this brisket, rub the spices all over it, wrap it, and refrigerate it overnight. If you are short on time, you can just refrigerate it for an hour. 

Be sure to cut the meat into about 3 or 4 pieces so that it will easily fit in the pressure cooker. 

You can either use the sauté function of your pressure cooker to brown the meat and cook the onion mixture, or you can use a skillet. I used a large skillet so that I could brown all of the meat at the same time. 

Welcome to another Multicooker Monday, where we use small kitchen appliances such as the Instant Pot, Crock Pot, or air fryer to make delicious dishes. I love it because it encourages me to make use of the kitchen gadget I just couldn't live with out!

Multicooker Monday

• Buttermilk Fried Chicken from A Day in the Life on the Farm
• East Indian Pork Roast from Sneha’s Recipe
• Easy Pork Vindaloo - Instant Pot from Food Lust People Love
• Garlicky Collard greens and Split Pea Stew/ Collard Greens and Split Pea Dal from Magical Ingredients
• Korean-Style Chile-Braised Brisket (Instant Pot) from Karen's Kitchen Stories
• Riblets in Black Bean Sauce from Palatable Pastime

Korean-Style Chile-Braised Brisket

Yield: 8-10 servings

Author: Karen's Kitchen Stories

Prep time: 30 MinCook time: 2 HourInactive time: 1 HourTotal time: 3 H & 30 M

This Korean-style brisket is braised in a delicious sauce flavored with gochujang, which is a paste made from Korean red chiles.

Ingredients

• 4 pounds beef brisket, cut into 3 or 4 pieces
• 1 tablespoon dried crushed red pepper flakes
• 1 tablespoon sweet paprika
• 2 teaspoons salt (possibly more to taste)
• ½ teaspoon black pepper
• 1 to 3 tablespoons neutral cooking oil
• 1 large yellow or brown onion, cut into 1/2 inch dice
• 4 garlic cloves, peeled and minced, or garlic paste
• 1 tablespoon grated fresh ginger, or ginger paste
• 1 cup American-style beer
• ¼ cup gochujang paste
• 2 tablespoons ketchup
• 2 tablespoons soy sauce
• 2 tablespoons brown sugar
• 2 teaspoons fish sauce
• 1 teaspoon sesame oil

Instructions

1. Mix the red pepper flakes, paprika, salt, and pepper together and rub the mixture all over the meat. Wrap the meat in cling wrap and refrigerate for between one and 24 hours. 
2. Either using the sauté function of your pressure cooker, or using a large skillet, heat one tablespoon of the oil. Sear the meat pieces about 2 minutes per side. You can add more oil if necessary. 
3. Set the meat aside on a plate. 
4. Add more oil if necessary and cook the onions until they are beginning to brown, about 5 minutes. Add the garlic and ginger and cook for one more minute. Stir in the beer, gochujang, ketchup, soy sauce, brown sugar, fish sauce, and sesame oil. 
5. If you have used the pressure cooker to sautè the sauce, turn the pot off. 
6. Place the meat in the pressure cooker and top with the onion mixture if it is in a skillet. 
7. Seal the lid and cook on high pressure for 90 minutes. Let the pressure release naturally for about 20 minutes before manually releasing it. 
8. Remove the meat to a cutting board and tent with foil. 
9. Turn your Instant Pot to the Sauté setting and simmer the sauce for about 15 minutes, until it's reduced by half. Using a fat separator or a large spoon, skim the fat from the top of the sauce and discard. 
10. Slice the meat against the grain, place it in a serving dish, and top with some of the sauce. Serve the rest of the sauce on the side. Or, just pour all of the sauce over the meat in the serving dish. 

Nutrition Facts

Calories

618.21

Fat (grams)

37.58

Sat. Fat (grams)

13.62

Carbs (grams)

12.50

Fiber (grams)

0.78

Net carbs

11.71

Sugar (grams)

7.47

Protein (grams)

53.51

Sodium (milligrams)

1186.56

Cholesterol (grams)

192.32

Karen's Kitchen Stories

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This recipe was slightly adapted from Dinner in an Instant.