Homemade Pastrami!
Ok, y’all. Based on all the requests for a recipe for my Pastrami, I’ve decided to put this thing together.
I firstly want to say, “Welcome!” to all my new followers! Thank you for visiting!
I’m not recreating the wheel here because that’s too much for me right now, but I’m combining a few different things to make it less time consuming for everyone. It’s going to be long enough this way as it is. I’m trying to show you I value your time.
Here we go…
First and foremost, you’ll need to cure the meat (you’ll essentially be making Corned Beef in this step) and that is something you need to take very VERY seriously, because if it’s done wrong, you can get yourself or someone else sick. The thicker your cut of meat (mine was pretty thick), you’ll need to get a flavor injector and inject the brine into the thick parts of the meat. This will ensure it’s evenly distributed. That will also help lower your curing time (not by a lot), but you’ll still need to let it cure in the fridge awhile. Mine brined for 20 days due to the size (14 lbs and about 4.5-5 inches thick). I used a hotel pan and covered it with the corresponding lid to keep other stuff from touching it. Here’s a reliable curing calculator. https://amazingribs.com/…/salting-brini…/curing-meats-safely
Get yourself a kitchen scale, if you don’t already have one. You need one that is reliable. Also, it should have the ability to measure in grams, and it should have a tare function (look it up). The cure will also require additional spices, there are basic ones, but the rest will be up to you. Here’s something to get you started, but do some research on what spices to add. I added bay leaves, cloves, black peppercorns, mustard seeds, coriander seeds, garlic powder, and onion powder to my brine. Don’t skip the cloves, corriander, or mustard seeds – I’m telling you. You don’t need a lot. Maybe 1 tbsp full of each in the brine. Steep the spices into the curing brine. After steeping, let it cool. Pour it into your curing container and put the brisket in it. Let it cure in the fridge. https://amazingribs.com/…/beef…/home-made-corned-beef-recipe
After it’s been cured for the specified length of time, you’ll want to pull it out of the fridge, rinse it off, pat it dry, and put it back in the fridge in a way that air can circulate under the brisket. Let it air dry in the fridge for at least one day, but overnight at a minimum if you can’t wait. To make the rub, use the link here – Toast the whole spices (see pic below) before roughly grinding them and adding them to the powdered spices: https://amazingribs.com/tested-recipes/spice-rubs-and-pastes/katzs-pastrami-rub/
I didn’t smoke it the entire time to get up to the internal temp on that article. I smoked it for 6 hours at about 250F. After that, I put a medium cooling rack under the brisket and put it on a sheet tray, which I then covered with heavy duty foil. Put it in the oven at 225 for the rest of the time to get it up to temp. Again, I had a big brisket, so it took 10 hours inside at 225. Your brisket may be done on the smoker. Too many variables for me to predict. After it’s up to temp, I uncovered it in the oven at 225 for about 45 minutes to 1 hour in order to dry out the bark a bit.
Let it sit, uncovered, on the counter for about 1.5 hours to rest and cool a bit. I simply took the sheet tray out and put it on some hot pads on the counter so I didn’t have to mess with moving the Pastrami itself.
After it has rested, you’re ready to slice. Slice it about 1/4 to 1/8″ thick. That’s as thin as I could get it with a knife. A slicer might work better, but only a really good one. Honestly, the Jewish delis in NY would scowl at you for trying to use a slicer, so just do it like they do… use a sharp slicing knife.
Enjoy!
