Pastrami

Picked up 2 corned beef flats, 3.5 & 3.75 lbs.


Soaked in cold water for 30 hours, changed it several times.


Rinsed and dried.


Oiled and rubbed with:
4 T fresh coarsely ground black pepper
1 T yellow mustard powder
1 T dark brown sugar
1 T sweet paprika
2 T granulated garlic
2 T granulated onion
2 T Kosher Salt
4 T Spice House Corned Beef Spice Mix**
½ T ground celery seed
**Was specifically designed for marinating beef brisket. Use 3-5 tablespoons for a 5-pound brisket, along with salt brine. This is a popular blend for St. Patrick's Day celebrations.
Hand-mixed from mustard seeds, Moroccan coriander, Jamaican allspice, Zanzibar cloves, Turkish bay leaves, Indian dill seed, China #1 ginger, star anise, black pepper, juniper berries, mace and cayenne red pepper.


Vacuum sealed and let it rest in the fridge for 24 hours.


Put in the FEC-120 at 160º with AMNPS Tube for 3 hours.


Then upped the temp to 230º for 2 more hours.


Till the IT hit 152º then foiled and coolered till IT hit 160º


Then it went into the fridge overnight.
Steamed it for 1.5 hours on a rack above beef broth & crab boil.


Steamed till the Thermapen probe slid in "slicing easy" in all areas (not as easily as I would have on a packer brisket) the temps were in the 195-200º range.


Sliced some a little thicker for dinner.


Sliced the rest thin for sandwiches.


Vacuum sealed the leftovers.


It turned out great, although I never had real deli pastrami before so nothing to compare to other than grocery store lunch meat pastrami and this blew that away. Will for sure make it again, might have to watch the newspaper and see who has it on sale after St. Patty's Day and stock up for another batch.