SVQ Pastrami - Perfected

[Atalanta]

Hey guys, I'm going this this weekend with store-corned beef. I read that you let it sit in the rub uncovered in the fridge so the rub doesn't stick to the wrapper. What if you have a "defrosting" fridge? It will start dehydrating the meat if I have it uncovered. I've used this aspect to dry peppers LOL Will 24 hours in this environment make a difference? Make it better?

[gabulldog]

If I've got about 8lbs of brisket pastrami I've smoked, vacuum sealed and refrigerated, should I preheat the water before starting the sv (195 @ 4 hrs)? Seems like all that cold meat and the larger volume of water would make it tough for the sv to get it up to temp. And, at 195, is there any risk of melting the bags (ziploc or vacuum) or leakage? Don't want to blow it having done all this work up to this point.

[pkadare]

You should always pre-heat your SV. Otherwise, depending on the thermal mass you put into the bath, you run the risk of putting the temp down into the danger zone. I usually rely on just using hot water from the tap, but again, depends on the amount of thermal mass. Zip lock bags, I don't use, but from comments on forums, you do need to watch them at high temps. Foodsaver bags I've never had a problem with.

[klflowers]

+1 on pkadare and fzxdoc comments. Preheat. And I have never used ziplock bags; I always use foodsaver bags.

[RonB]

You can boil vacuum bags, but zippers may leak, so I suggest double bagging if using them.

[fzxdoc]

gabulldog , according to the Chef Steps website Ziploc bags fail at temps above 158° so they recommend at temps above that to use heavy duty sous vide bags. I have used Heavy Duty FoodSaver Gamesaver bags without a problem. You can get them at Walmart.

And yes, preheat the water. The idea would be for the meat to come up to temp through the unsafe zone (40 to 140°) as quickly as possible. At least that's my thought process, being pretty food-safety conscious in the kitchen.

Are you doing QVQ or just QV? Just curious. Let us know what you decide and how it turns out.

Kathryn

[NukeGuy]

This was extremely helpful. I corned a bunch of moose a while back and today something inspired me to get it out and do something with it. I decided I wanted to give pastrami a whirl. I'm going to try two different methods at the same time:

1. Sous vide first for about 48 hours. I'll then let it cool a bit, hit it with the rub and move it onto the smoker.

2. The reverse of #1 - closer to what David Parrish describes above. Rub ---> Smoke ---> Sous vide finish.

I'm fairly sure #2 is going to win but it certainly doesn't hurt to experiment!

I do the sous vide first as well. 36 hours at 165F, chill in the fridge then smoker to just warm the meat up and give it some smoke. About 30% weight loss during sous vide though and I don't trim, I let the sous vide take care of that.

[rickgregory]

Just because I don't want to see you sicken and die, I'll restate what others have said... ALWAYS PREHEAT. Even with small amounts of food in relation to the amount of water. You want to the food to zoom through the unsafe zone and get to the water temp as fast as possible where (assuming you're over 130F) it will pasteurize .

[fracmeister]

It might look better than mine but Katz’s deli and those Toronto boys don’t have anything on how this tastes. Most of it gone by the time I took pics

[Waiting for the Worms]

That looks just about perfect! I love this method for doing pastrami.

[David Parrish]

Nailed it!

[IowaGirl]

Where do you live? I'm on my way for summa dat.......

[BpiccuK2]

This was one of the best things that I have ever made.

employee monitoring software

[RonB]

Looks great and welcome to The Pit.

[klflowers]

That’s what I say every time I make it

[Troutman]

I'd eat that !!!

[David Parrish]

Very honored to see this thread still getting attention!

[jfmorris]

The technique you outlined here is the best pastrami I've ever made, and the only method I plan to use going forward! SNS Deluxe Kamado meets new fangled electronic sous vide gadget... I was looking for uses for the Anova or else was going to get rid of it...

[Waiting for the Worms]

Your technique is the only way I make it anymore. Can't thank you enough for sharing it with us!

[Schwyy]

I've mentioned in the prior comments that this recipe alone is worth a Year's membership

[jjdbike]

Folks you have GOT to try this method for Pastrami. This is far and away the best I've ever made, and I'm not sure it can get any better. I used Meathead's recipe, and tweaked it with my own experience as well as some advice I received from
docblonder over a pastrami dinner we have in Boston last year. I'll highlight the differences from the standard recipe as I describe my process.

Acquire meat. My butcher rarely has brisket on the shelf, but always has boneless short ribs. I was wanting to try something different anyway so this time I grabbed 6 pounds of Angus grade boneless short rib meat which had been cut into many similar sized 4 ounce pieces.
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I cured the meat for 2 1/2 weeks using Meathead's curing recipe, but bumped up 50% since the recipe is for 4 lbs of meat and I was curing 6. After the cure the meat looked florescent pink and the curing liquid was clear of cloudiness or scum.

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After the cure I desalinated the meat for 8 hours then rubbed it with Meathead's pastrami rub
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Let that sit in the fridge uncovered for a couple of days
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Then it's time to smoke. I placed the meat on the indirect side of the kettle with Slow 'N Sear and smoked it at 225 F. I used three cherry chunks for smoke flavor.
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This looks and sounds amazing!!!!
I have two corned beef flats in my freezer destined for pastrami. How would I need to modify this smoke / SV “raw” short ribs, to pre corned beef flats?
Respectfully,
JD

[jfmorris]

This looks and sounds amazing!!!!
I have two corned beef flats in my freezer destined for pastrami. How would I need to modify this smoke / SV “raw” short ribs, to pre corned beef flats?
Respectfully,
JD

I can answer that, as I've done this technique many times.

Desalinate the corned beef flat overnight in water, then pat dry and add your pastrami rub. I prefer to put the rub on and let it sit overnight in the fridge again, so that the rub sticks really well.

I then smoke the flats until they hit about 170, unwrapped. I then pull them off the smoker, and vacuum seal. I then put in the fridge if planning to have a pastrami feast soon, otherwise I've frozen it for months in the deep freeze. When ready to finish, I just drop the vacuum sealed smoked flat into the SV bath at 195F for 4 hours. 5 if frozen. Pull from the bath, cut the bag open and place on a cutting board and slice with a sharp knife if eating hot. We did this for St. Patrick's day - pastrami Rubens.

If you want to use a deli style slicer, take the flat out of the bag, so that the surface can dry out, and put in the fridge until chilled, then run through the slicer. I've done this when slicing thin for lunch meat.

[jjdbike]

I can answer that, as I've done this technique many times.

Desalinate the corned beef flat overnight in water, then pat dry and add your pastrami rub. I prefer to put the rub on and let it sit overnight in the fridge again, so that the rub sticks really well.

I then smoke the flats until they hit about 170, unwrapped. I then pull them off the smoker, and vacuum seal. I then put in the fridge if planning to have a pastrami feast soon, otherwise I've frozen it for months in the deep freeze. When ready to finish, I just drop the vacuum sealed smoked flat into the SV bath at 195F for 4 hours. 5 if frozen. Pull from the bath, cut the bag open and place on a cutting board and slice with a sharp knife if eating hot. We did this for St. Patrick's day - pastrami Rubens.

If you want to use a deli style slicer, take the flat out of the bag, so that the surface can dry out, and put in the fridge until chilled, then run through the slicer. I've done this when slicing thin for lunch meat.

Outstanding!
Thanks so much!
I know what I’m cooking over spring break!
Best regards.
JD

[MonsterDuckMadness]

I am trying out the David Parrish method myself, because it seems brilliant. I have, though, what I am sure will turn out to be a not-brilliant question:

If I were finishing on my cooker, I would take it to 203F, obviously. Why is it that when Using SV, we go only
to 195? Is there. Specific reason, other than that, it clearly seems to work? I’m happy to go to 195… Just curious about thinking… My rudimentary science brain figured it might be done quicker at a higher temp. But what do I know….

[barelfly]

I think it’s the amount of time at the temp of 195* that makes this work compared to taking it to 203. I haven’t done this specific method, but have done similar. And with SV cooking, its temp is doneness and time is tenderness.

I don’t know if that answers your question or helps, but if not, hopefully someone can help with that more.

[fzxdoc]

I have used Dave's brilliant method several times. The pastrami turns out perfect every time. So trust the method. The collagen would have been well broken down and gelatinized after 4 hours in the sous vide bath at 195°, and it's that juicy result that you're looking for.

Sous vide bags can handle temps from 185° to 212° without failing, depending on the bag and the seal. (FWIW, Ziploc Freezer bags cannot go above 158° .) For that reason, I like to keep the SV temp at the recommended 195° so the bag's seals and integrity are not stressed as much.

BTW, with this method, I move the meat directly from the smoker to the SV bath. If you are planning on finishing up the SV step the next day, a plunge into a 50/50 ice/water bath before putting the somewhat-cooled meat into the fridge is a wise move from a food safety standpoint. But then you probably already knew that.

Enjoy your cook, MonsterDuckMadness , and let us know how it turns out.

Kathryn