Fake Pastrami?!

Sounds good woodburner. If I was about 16 hours closer I would slip over with some rye bread and mustard and try a sandwich.

What temp. did you set you're smoker? 8 hours sounds like a long time.

I find that it goes anywhere from an hour to 1.5 per lb. on briskets... I went with about 200 to start and boosted to 225 toward the end, to get to final internal temp.

I'll go ya one better on that, Woody. Do what you did, but weight it overnight with the spices on it in a cool place. I use a big pot of water on a board. It's like a rub. And it gives the spices more penetration and gives the meat a very pastrami texture!

I corn my meat first, as you know, but even with storebought corned meat, I don't do the soak thing. I wonder cuz I don't find it all that salty. Is it a brand thing, do you think?

Oh...one more thing...that is NOT fake Pastrami, Mister! That is how Pastrami is made! If it isn't made that way, THAT'S fake!

Hey Andi: that's good advice. The pepper wasn't really "worked in" to the pastrami... the weighting will help. And thanks for your confirmation of authenticity! I'm just letting the factory do half the work, right?!
BTW, the store-bought corned beef normally sets in simmering water for a few hours, releasing a bit of salt, I think. I tried this about a year ago without soaking.... it was delicious, but WAY too salty, but it was so good I couldn't NOT eat it, so my head ended up like a piece of salt cod...

Woodburner: I did about the same thing with very popular results. Can add (or not add) a mustard paste, plus all your suggested goodies.
Saltiness was a problem here, too, so we soaked it. Corned beef is salted, by definition. Smoking it removes water, thus concentrates the NaCl, yes? Yes! Other conventional (New England) recipes call for just about boiling that briskett, so you remove salt as you cook. That's my theory. Andi has her own perspective on life and nature, conjured up somewhere in the vastness of Alaska.
Andi, please define "weighting" as you used it in your response to Woodburner. Weighting with spices? Say again, pls?

Some pastrami recipes have you smoke it at around 140F for several hours, then cook by simmering ala corned beef. That might get some more salt out. Probably have to lay on a bit more smoke to make up for some lost in the water.

Have not tried making pastrami, but pressing works great for corned beef that's intended for sandwiches. Just drain meat, trim excess fat, and while still hot put it in a close-fitting flat bottomed container like a plastic tub or saucepan. Sprinkle top with pepper or spices, etc. On top of meat, put a plate or plastic-wrapped board that fits pretty snug inside the container so it sits on top of the meat. On top of the plate goes a quart or half-gallon jar of water for weight. Refrigerate for a day. It'll slice much more neatly.

Okay...weighting. It means putting a weight on top to compress the meat. Like duh...HA! Yes, with the spices all pressed in.

The Salt Thing: Corned Beef is salty, and so is Pastrami. Weighting it also doesn't help this much. I prefer to keep the salt in, and when I slice the meat (on a slicer) I put it in a pan of boiling water for a minute...like chipped beef. Otherwise the Pastrami is tough as an old boot. After a minute in boiling water, it's like butter.

I have several recipes that call for cooking your corned meat 1/3 done. Then spicing, weighting, and smoking. I haven't done it this way, but it is perfectly acceptable and will solve the extra soaking step. Your texture will also be more "open" or tender/stringy. That's okay, too!

I believe my recipe is on here somewhere. It uses more than pepper for pastrami....