PBC Pastrami

[IvyH]

Bought a store made corned beef from a local butcher who made it in house. Soaked for 16 hours, and now have it seasoned and wrapped in plastic. I used the seasonings Meathead recommended, minus the sugar, added more black pepper, and a slight amount of my own all purpose.

I'll start smoking on the PBC after 24 hours, but I'm thinking about going to 180, then wrapping to get to 203 and skipping the steam since the PBC already generates so much steam. Any advice? I have 24 hours to change this approach. I'll try to add some pics when I get started and will comment on the final product. Happy Memorial Day weekend folks!

[Jerod Broussard]

It still won't be as tender as if you steamed. While the PBC does produce a very humid cooking environment I don't see it replicating the steaming process you take a brisket through for pastrami.

I'd give it at least a 2-3 hour rest after the cook and it should be fine.

[HouseHomey]

IvyH I have made them and this last time steamed to 205/207 I don't recall at this moment. I found that the steaming was the "Kicker." Unless I SV (here we go again) I will never skip the steaming again. It's a personal thing perhaps. In the pics I pulled the brisket about 135 (wind issues) and steamed the next day and broiled more for bark. It's was even better the next day heated quickly with a little butter.

[fzxdoc]

I've done them both ways, steam and no steam. For store-bought corned beef, I can't tell the difference. For home-cured corned beef, there may be a very slight difference in tenderness, not enough to risk losing some of that yummy rub/bark, IMO, due to the softening of the bark. I've only done a side-by-side comparison of home-cured corned beef once, though. Experiments are ongoing.

I find the more I handle the finished product by including a steaming step the less I like the bark at the end of the day. Putting it under a broiler or back onto the grill just caused me to lose more of that barky goodness. That's when I stopped steaming it. I just couldn't figure what steaming brought to the party except to follow tradition. I wonder if, back in the day when the process was first figured out, it was just a convenient way for delicatessens to reheat the pastrami/finish the cooking process without having that "warmed over" taste.

The corning process makes the brisket very forgiving, at least in my experience. It's the only time I don't cambro a brisket after taking the pastrami to probe tenderness at around 203.

However you choose to do it, IvyH , you're going to have a delicious result.

Kathryn

Oh and P.S. making pastrami is the only time that I don't hang the brisket on hooks in the PBC, but put it on the grate instead, fat side down.

[IvyH]

Thanks everyone. Since I've posted, I made a rig to steam on the PBC, which my better half talked me out of, done more research, and opened the fridge and stared at the flat as if to hope it would just tell me what to do. I've decided to go with my first thought, smoke till 180, then finish wrapped in foil to 203. Will post pics tomorrow.

[IvyH]

Oh, and thanks Kathryn! Plan on using the grate, couple hours fat side down, then rest of the cook fat side up. For the wrap, plan on going fat side down to preserve some of the bark.

And I don't recommend researching how to do pastrami. Everything from Katz's buys their brisket cured and smoked then boils, to it doesn't get smoked, only slow cooked in the oven??? Whatever... Trial and error is about the best thing. Make it your own.

[fzxdoc]

IvyH I used to do fat side up for a couple of hours, then flip fat side down so the bark could form nicely on the less fatty side. I found that flipping the pastrami caused some of the bark/rub to come off, so now I leave more of a fat layer for protection against the heat and keep it fat side down for the whole cook.

[JDuffy]

Can't wait to hear how it turns out. there is a resturant near me that makes a porkbelly pastrami. I hope to try and replicate it sometime over the summer.

[IvyH]

And we're under way! PBC sticking around 232 to start. Happy Memorial Day!

[fzxdoc]

Lookin good!

[HouseHomey]

Yeah baby!! All comment above is good stuff. Get the mustard ready.

[lschweig]

Can someone tell me how to attach photos?

[JPP]

The do-hickey icons in the input area down below. The camera icon (on the left) or the one that looks like a paper with a clip on it...

[IvyH]

Strange...PBC hit 360 after 1 hour. I've never had that happen. Wrapped some foil around the re-bar, adjusted the dampener, back to 250. I'm wondering if I hit the dampener when I dumped my last batch of coals. I'm a little concerned, but not too much. After 3 hours, meat is at 153. In about an hour, will flip to fat side up, add some marinated chicken breasts (boneless, skinless, ugh). When it hits 180-185, wrap fat side down, throw on a few links of boudin, and go grab some beer.

[IvyH]

I'm in a stall, temp staying at 153. PBC temp is staying at exactly 250, but I did pull one of the foil pieces off the re-bar. I may change my tactics and wrap earlier than 180 so I dont have to add more coals.

[fzxdoc]

FWIW, a full load of coals in my PBC basket lasts anywhere from 8 to 12 hours, IvyH, so you shouldn't have to re-load unless you don't want to wrap. Your PBC is running cooler than mine does, so YMMV.

My last pastrami cook (2 pastramis) took 8.5 hours, wrapping at 190 degF internal temp, with an average PBC temp of 291 degF. That smoker stayed above 250 for a few more hours after I took the meat off.

A really thick piece of pastrami (3.5 inches thick) took 10.5 hours at an average PBC temp of 270. With that cook, the fire died at about 8.5 hours so I wrapped it and finished it up in a 250 degree oven.

Kathryn

[IvyH]

So, a pick of my chicken breasts just to share. Marinated overnight in a piri piri sauce with extra garlic. Then wiped off, seasoned with an all purpose similar to PBC's, but with less black pepper and a decent amount of celery salt. Covered with cilantro and let sit a couple of hours.

Now back to the pastrami...not going well. 170, decided to put in a pan filled with Modelo Especial n water since it looked pretty dry. 30 minutes in realized the pan was leaking. Put another sheet of foil underneath. Boudin n chicken are rolling right along. Fingers crossed on the evil little pastrami...

[IvyH]

Alright, finally done. Chicken cooked to a perfect 165, boudin looks great.

So I pulled the pastrami at 202 and put back in the oven under the broiler for about 20 minutes. Temp only went up around 5 degrees. I've rested for about an hour, loosely tented with foil. The bark came out very crunchy. Unconventional, but this is the best pastrami I've made.

[fzxdoc]

Wow, does that ever look tasty, IvyH! The pastrami looks perfect, and sounds as though it may have tasted perfect too. Congrats on handling such a diverse cook on the PBC so well.

Kathryn

[IvyH]

Thanks! The chicken marinade, a couple hours and adding the cilantro to it would have been better than marinating overnight then adding cilantro. Still decent. The pastrami was, flavor and bark wise, the bomb. A little on the dry side. Crazy, but next time I'm injecting with a low sodium beef stock.