Pastrami from scratch

Are you going to brine/make your own corned beef or use a store bought and save a step for Pastrami?

Basically for me it's cure the brisket to make corned beef (some soaking involved depending on your saltiness tolerance) then it's rub it and smoke it to make pastrami then usually steaming it to get the texture most NY deli's have.

Corning a brisket is just brining it. Usually wet. Biggest issue is what will you be using for curing agent? TQ? Pink Salt? what?

The plan is to start with a CAB packer, separate flat from point and go from there with wet or dry cure. I'll use TQ either way.

In the "Thoughts on Pastrami thread of 2010, dls mentions switching back and forth between dry and wet brining. Just wondered if there was a minus or plus to either method.

Never tried dry Max. But my wet cured corn beef for pastrami have come out great.

So have my store bought corned beef, but that probably is too easy for a professional chef.

Once we get closer to St paddy's Day and corned beef is cheap, I'll give Pastrami a try with the pre-cured meat.

Whichever method of curing I go with this time, I'll go the other route next time. By end of March I'll have an opinion and all 3

Gotta make a batch of garlic-dill pickles to go with all this Pastrami.

quote:

Originally posted by MaxQ:
In the "Thoughts on Pastrami thread of 2010, dls mentions switching back and forth between dry and wet brining. Just wondered if there was a minus or plus to either method.

I added the thread for those following the discussion:

Thoughts on Pastrami

This is all Rod grey's fault...he posted several pics of Pastrami sammys on FB yesterday

I'm no Pastrami Expert. I think it's because we don't have the Deli's here in Oklahoma to compare to the famous East/West coast Deli's.

Max I think you get the same results wet or dry the difference is time. Dry takes longer. I see results for the Corning Step in the 3 to 7 day range. I also like to inject if it's a large brisket to help it get started.

I know you like to experiment, get a couple and try a wet and a dry and see what you think.

Will do.

Pastrami 1 will be wet cured.

So, Max it's the big day.

Anxiously waiting for the update. Photos?

I smoked the meat yesterday, pulled at 168. Next was the steam process...8" full hotel pan + 6" perforated hotel pan...covered with foil. 350 o oven for 1.75 hrs. - pulled at 190.

I tried a nib off the point, a bit salty but it was the end. (They brined for 13 days) The flavor of the meat + spice rub was great...very pronounced flavor.

I'll follow up with pics, taste feedback and the spice rub recipe tomorrow.

Ready for slicing and reheat. Lookin good, eh?

The spice mix was:
- 2 parts cracked peppercorns
- 1 part cracked coriander seeds
- 1/2 part cracked mustard seeds
- 1/2 part granulated garlic

I think the cracked (vs ground) coriander really popped the flavor.

Looking good MaxQ. Color is spot on.

Congrats on the success. I missed the part about how your cured it.

Maybe a general rehash of what you did, and what you might change?

I began with a 12 lb Creekstone Choice brisket. Separated the flat from point and wet brined both in the brine mentioned HERE

quote:

Originally posted by MaxQ:
Here you go:

2 qts water
1# Tender Quick
1# Brown sugar
4 tbs Pickling spice
3 tbs Garlic, minced
1 tbs each cracked coriander, whole black pepper, and mustard seeds
1 tsp Ground cloves
1/4 cup Honey

Bring this mixture to a boil, stir to dissolve solids, then cool. Place briskets in container and pour chilled cure mixture over, then add enough water to cover. I also inject the thicker parts of the brisket in several places to ensure the cure solution penetrates. I haven't always done this, and sometimes there has been a failure to get the meat fully cured to the core, so I think it's a good idea to be safe. Mix well, weight down briskets to guarantee they remain submerged, then place in fridge. Remember to turn once a day for 5 days.

The wet cure called for 5-7 days but I let it go for just shy of 13 days. Removed from brine and refreshed in water for 3 30 minute intervals.

Next step was the application of the dry rub, stated above. I believe the use of whole coriander, black peppercorns and mustard seed ground coarsely in a coffee mill was a key factor (vs pre-ground)

I smoked the point & flat in the FEC at 250 until an internal of 165. Next they were placed in a perforated 6" stainless steel hotel pan, placed over an 8" hotel pan of boiling water, covered with foil. That went into a 350 o oven with digital probes in the point and flat. Each was extracted at 190 and left to rest for an hour.

The only change I'd make is reduce the wet brine time to 9-10 days. The end slices were a tad salty but the central slices were spot on.

I'd encourage anyone who likes Pastrami, or Corned Beef (wet brine minus herb rub and smoked/steam) to give this a shot. The results are worth the effort.

Chris,

Great job, thanks for posting the details. Hope you don't mind, I copied the info over to this thread.

I've got a Brisket in the freezer that had aged 50 days, so maybe I need to make a new "how to" photos and a few other surprises.

MaxQ;

Are you serving this great looking Pastrami in your restaurant? If so, did your Health Dept have any issues or concerns regarding the curing process, i.e. requiring a HACCP plan?

Thanks.

No. The Pastrami was purposed for a Superbowl party. Having never made it before, I wanted the experience of having done one myself, and tasting the results.

Thanks