Pastrami?

Not sure if this what you are looking for but here it is:

Fake Pastrami?

Chunkwood, Chris A. has a very good pastrami-from-scratch recipe at

Pastrami, just heartbeats away!

Once there, click on "Let's Cook" then scroll down to beef recipes. I've tried the pastrami. I'll probably post the results next time I cook it. The only suggestion I have is to cook the brisket to 185* rather than 165*, unless you like your pastrami very chewy.

Not wanting to speak for Andi, but simply paraphrasing her. She uses a wet corning method. Weights at the end. Her seasoning, I believe, is pretty much the same as Chris's. Again, that's surmising from what she has posted/e-mailed previously.

Good luck.

Is the link above the one you wanted?

Did a "search" on Pastrami and found 27 results.

You can also do a search for Pastrami and on Andi's Member # and that will also do it.

Most of the Pastrami stuff is in the Brisket Archives, since afterall Pastrami starts as a Brisket.

Here is another good site has Tasso to:

Randy's Pastrami

Made pastrami out of a piece of sirloin tip a few months ago, using a brine of TenderQuick and assorted whole pickling spices (bay, coriander, allspice, cinnamon, clove, black pepper, white pepper, dry chilis). If I remember right, I used about 1 tbsp/lb TenderQuick and enough water to cover plus about 1/4 cup spices. Brined for about 10 days. This is how I usually corn beef. You could add garlic (I avoid garlic and onions) and some sugar.

Cooked half for corned beef and half for pastrami. Pastrami was smoked at 140F for around 6 hours, then simmered in crockpot for another 6 or so until tender. Seemed authentic and had a very pretty color.

So, the main differences between this and other recipes are:

Brining as opposed to dry curing
Additional types of spices
Smoking, then simmering to complete cooking

A final note: Try dicing the leftover scraps, mixing with diced raw gold or white potatoes, sort of pot-sticker cooking in bacon fat by browning a bit, then adding a very slight amount of water until potatoes are done. Makes a delicious hash.

Thanks for the sites and information from everyone. Sorry I has been so long to post the results. I started with a choice packercut brisket. I used a good sweet pickle bring that I use with my jerky. This contained the same ingrediates as some of the suggested post. Brined for 8 days, rinsed very good, seasoned and weighted for 24 hours. Smoked with 3 oz. of hickory to 170 degrees, for about 7 hours. The meat was very moist and tender, but did not have a pink color as I had hoped and that the other pictures had. Now the bad news, way to salty. did not have a taste that even resembled pastrami. I will regroup and try again when i figure out what went wrong. Thanks for the help.

Can you post exactly what you did?

Specifically what was in your brine? Did you have anything like Tenderquick? This will also help with the saltiness problem if we know what you're putting in.

The reason I ask is that the meat needs to be cured to get the redness. Think of the discussions we've had about Smoke Ring...to produce that redness you need something that cures the meat.

And I would suggest following exactly one of the other recipes. Little changes can result in big differences. Once you have one you want, then I'd try modifying it.

Smokin'

8 days seems a bit quick to corn a whole brisket - 10-20 days might work better. Still, if using TenderQuick or other nitrite, you would have got red color at least at the outside. I'm also surprised that it was tender when cooked only to 170F.

When I tried making pastrami, I smoked and then simmered it until very tender. The simmering water got quite salty, so that might help with getting out extra salt.

Also, I wouldn't bother weighting the meat until after it's cooked. The purpose is to get a nice dense finished product that slices well.

Hey, dudes, here's a message from Andi. She survived the earthquake.

quote:

And tell them Pastrami Boys that I don't use Pickling Spice. I make up my own from whole fresh spices and yes, definitely coriander and mustard. The trick about the saltiness is: Leave it salty, but just before or soon before you serve, slice it and give it a minute or two in a boiling water soak. It will take out the salt and instantly tenderize, much like canned chipped beef. Then you can serve it warm, or chill for later. Sheesh, I gotta teach them boys have to pull up their pants, too? Hahahahaha!

Keep `em coming...life is getting hairy up here.

Howdy,
The brine I used is a sweet pickle brine from a old smoker book that I have had good results from. The ingredients are:
1 Gal. H20
1-lb. Salt
1/4 lb. Sugar
1/4 oz. Saltpeter
2- cloves Garlic
1oz. Pickling spice

I have used this alot and have found that I dont get the chemical taste of tenderquick. I don't know why in this case the results were so far off. I know that 8 days was hurrying it a bit. The meat was tender and juicy even at 170 degrees, but I believe that is because it was a "choice" cut.(We have access to very good meat here.) I did boil some thin slices very quickly, but this changed the meat from tender and juicy to bland and rubbery. Thanks for the help. Your patience is appreciated.