Pastrami

Andi,

I have smoked pastrami several times. I trim the brisket so it does have hardly any fat, then cure it. I start smoking at 120 degrees for 1 hour, then raise the temp to 140 for another hour and then finish at 180 till you reach an internal temp of 160. I like mine pretty smoky, so for one brisket I usually put in 4 oz of wood.

Stuart

Thanks, Stuart. These are small chunks of completely lean moose I have corned. The biggest one weighs just 4 lbs. I spice them and press them for 24 hours under a weight to compact them even further, and soak with the spice. I will do your method, though as yet, I have to open the door to take a temp reading. I have a great Fluke Model 51, but the temp probe that will go into the CS is on back-order from Grainger.

Andi,

No problem with opening the door to check temp. When you are smoking cured meats it is actually good to get a little air movement on them. My guess is that it will take 1-1/2 hours at 180 to reach 160 degrees.

Have you frozen pastrami successfully? Some cured meat gets saltier in the freezer.