I used to make it all the time when I had use of my smoker, using this recipe
I know some people dislike using pink salt, but you have to in order to get authentic pastrami. I go to costco and get a whole packer, usually in the 15-18 pound range and use that. now that I have really mastered bread/dough making, I make my own deli rye and that really adds to the final product. its not hard and makes a lot of leftovers, but to do it right takes a lot of time. using an oven instead of a smoker does suck, but its still better than 98% of store bought pastrami
I make what i call cheating Pastrami. Take a commercial corned beef, coat in pastrami seasoning and put on the smoker. Then wrap and put in the oven for the steamed part. Is it pastrami? Not really. Is it good? Yes and satisfies the craving that typical crap “pastrami” from the deli counter around here is. Since we lost our true delicatessen many years ago there is nothing edible available.
To everyone on this thread, sorry I haven’t been responsive after starting the thread. I thought I would get an email indicating there were responses and assumed this topic had been met with a yawn. Happy to see all of the diverse thought here.
That said, definitely looking to get as close to Katz as possible (holy grail, I’ve been there several times), don’t want to take any “shortcuts” and I’m confused about the steaming. Your response seems to be the first definitive approach I’ve seen to steaming. Seems like most recipes count wrapping the brisket (the crutch) as the steaming part. When you say “steam,” do you bring it inside, put it on some kind of rack in a roaster with a bit of water and just steam on the burners?
I smoked it on a Sunday to 165 (I’ve heard meat won’t take past 140). Threw it in the fridge and pulled it out for dinner on Tuesday. My better half sliced it cold (easier to slice cold), then placed it in a pan (the one pictured above) that was rested on a trivet in a wok filled with water. She has a lid for the wok, so the meat was covered and when she heated the burner. I’ve seen recipes that call for steaming in the stove. We had very good results; my only complaint was that the rub needed more black pepper.
1 oz Pink Curing Salt (Prague Powder #1)
8 oz Sea Salt
8 oz sugar (I use the Costco evaporated cane juice)
Mix thoroughly and store in an airtight container.
For the pastrami, I would get a Costco Prime brisket and remove the flat from the point keeping the fat layer on the top of the flat. Use the point for burger grind.
Weigh your flat and use 1 TBS of cure per POUND of meat.
Into the cure, mix in the following ingredients per pound of meat:
Put your flat into a large ZipLoc bag and shake like hell to coat the entire surface with the cure mixture. Remove as much air as possible and then put into the reefer for 5 days or up to a week.
Remove from the refrigerator and wash off all of the cure. Soak in water for 4 or 5 hours to draw out some of the salt. Remove from water and dry off completely with paper towels.
Crust with a 50/50 mix of coarse pepper and coriander and then smoke as low as you can until the temp hits 165. Figure out how to rig a steamer to hold the flat and then steam for 3-4 hours until it is easily shredded with a fork. Refrigerate overnight and slice away.
Hi, All. Thanks for all the comments and thought I’d update my final results (for my first, but obviously not last) time.
First, at the last minute I decided to buy a corned beef. As this is near St. Paddy’s Day, Costco had their corned beef vendor (forget who it is) providing the brined meat. Also, it was under $5/pound, so hard to beat. If I’m going to screw it up, may as well start cheap. Was just under 4 pounds.
That said, I rinsed it and soaked for a couple hours (could have used more, I think), then coated liberally with mostly 50/50 coriander black pepper with a touch of garlic powder.
Used Kamado Joe and my new favorite toy, the Fireboard Drive thermometer/fan package to smoke (with Apple) at 225 for a little under 4 hours (165 degrees exactly). (BTW, fan works great. Highly recommend).
Then refrigerated overnight (only because of time reasons, no thought about impact). Steamed the next day in a roasting pan with a rib rack covered in tinfoil in 350 oven for a little over 3 hours, until internal temperature hit 205. Let rest for 30 minutes.
Result was amazing. The picture below doesn’t do it justice. I made one mistake, which was to cut several slices with the grain until I realized what I was doing. Cutting against the grain makes a significant difference in the overall texture. But flavor, tenderness and overall impact were amazing. Just had it on toasted rye with spicy mustard. May make a Reuban today with leftovers, but really not necessary. Tastes great stand alone.
If you can’t tell, I’m very excited about first time. Can’t wait until I do a full brisket from brine to cook. But obviously this is something you can’t eat every day, so may be a month or so.
