Pastrami question

[JCBBQ]

I loved my Saint Paddy’s corned beef, now I’m going to go for pastrami.

In the last year or so I’ve figured out my brisket game. I’ve smoked for about 4hrs then put in a foil boat w tallow until probe tender. Then wrapped in butcher paper and put in my oven to rest over night at 150 until serving time.

I really like this method bc I don’t have to stay up at night and the rest seems to really make a difference making it very wobbly.

My question for folks who make a lot of Pastrami is can I do the same method or will my pastrami bark fall apart? I don’t know why I think that but years ago I tried to steam my pastrami and I vaguely remember it falling apart.

For pastrami aficionados, what’s your preferred method and do you rest at all?

[hoovarmin]

I like that method with brisket. I may have to try it out one day.

[JCBBQ]

I like the foil boat bc it creates great bark and w tallow it powers past any stall. Probably gets less smoke but the benefits out way that.

[Bob K]

hoovarmin, definitely give it a shot. it's my go-to method for brisket past 2-3 years now. once i like the color, it goes in the foil boat. sometimes tallow, sometimes not. usually about the 4 hour mark as JCBBQ notes. overnight rest in toaster oven at 150. stolen from ChudsBBQ & MadScientistBBQ you-tubers, credit to them

[bmillin]

I loved my Saint Paddy’s corned beef, now I’m going to go for pastrami.

In the last year or so I’ve figured out my brisket game. I’ve smoked for about 4hrs then put in a foil boat w tallow until probe tender. Then wrapped in butcher paper and put in my oven to rest over night at 150 until serving time.

I really like this method bc I don’t have to stay up at night and the rest seems to really make a difference making it very wobbly.

My question for folks who make a lot of Pastrami is can I do the same method or will my pastrami bark fall apart? I don’t know why I think that but years ago I tried to steam my pastrami and I vaguely remember it falling apart.

For pastrami aficionados, what’s your preferred method and do you rest at all?

Can't wait to hear the answers on this!

[barelfly]

I only chime in because I did this yesterday. After desalinating and letting the rub get happy over night, I smoked at 250* to 165 IT then wrapped in foil and bumped temp up to 275 and took it to 190 IT. From there, I wrapped in a towel and into a faux cambro for a few hours. I had a nibble of the end and it was perfect! This started as a 3.5lb corned beef I thought 190* wouldn’t dry it out and cooking in the foil would help.

It’s wrapped in plastic wrap for a few days then I’ll make sandwiches, most likely slicing first then warming in a pan with a lid and a little of the juice that was in the foil when I pulled it. I won’t steam the entire pastrami because i don’t like how it turns out.

Your method looks excellent, the only thing is will it slice like pastrami if it’s still pretty warm? If you don’t necessarily care about the slicing, I say go with it since it’s what you know and prefer out of brisket. Otherwise, wrap in plastic and keep in fridge to let that bark set up. How you go about warming after…well, perhaps that where both of us can get some help.

[barelfly]

JCBBQ - that is how I’m doing it - as I want to make sandwiches with my sauer kraut that I’ll pull from the crock and jar today. There isn’t one best way. I spent a lot of time searching for various methods on the site, this was one that a few have used. Meatheads method, from what I can tell is basically what you plan on doing, which I think would work great based on how the pastrami came out yesterday. I think I would have been able to slice it pretty well without it falling apart.

[barelfly]

I basically did his method as well, just adding in the fridge hold and warming again later. I’ll report back on my method and let you know how it turns out.

[JCBBQ]

Thanks!

[Oak Smoke]

Last year I took some advice I’d read here and rested my rubbed corned beef in the fridge on a wire rack for 12 hours before I smoked it. It made a huge difference in how the rub adhered to the meat. I smoke mine to 170 then wrap in foil and take it on up to probe tender like I would with a brisket then give it a minimum 4 hour rest in a cooler. After that all that and even through slicing the rub-bark stays on very nicely.

[Oak Smoke]

JCBBQ I have eaten right after the rest but much prefer to vacc seal and rest for a week in the fridge to let the flavors do their thing. At that point I will either wrap it in foil and put it in the oven on warm up, which is 170 in our oven, or freeze it for later. Even after freezing and warm up I’m happy with how the rub is adhered

[Bob K]

JCBBQ - seconding Oak Smoke 's advice on letting it sit overnight with the rub on before smoking. bark/crust adheres waay better this way

also, no need for the finished product to fridge overnight. as long as it's rested for a few hours at least and cooled down a bit, say 170* or less, it will slice beautifully

[JCBBQ]

Bob K thank you!!

[Spinaker]

I always hold mine and I try to make sure to let it steam off once I unwrap it. Then I can allow the bark to firm back up.

I smoke it all the way to 200 F. And do not wrap it until the hold stage and I never steam it.

Basically, I cook them just like I would any other brisket I make. I void wrapping for too long or too early cause I want to protect that thick bark that pastrami is known for.

[Spinaker]

At least an hour. But I have held them up to about 4 hours if needed. I find that 2 hours is about perfect. Then Let them steam off for 10-20 mins, on the counter top. carolts

[Stuey1515]

This man knows pastrami, I do a similar method. Only ever steamed it once per the Kat's recipe, maybe it was my ham fisted cooking but I wasn't happy with it. Treat it like a brisket

[klflowers]

This is what I do too. I don't wrap or steam. And sometimes I don't hold very long either.

[JCBBQ]

After reading above, why doesn’t pastrami bark up and stay on like a Texas brisket?

[Spinaker]

It does, I just wanna make sure that it stays extra thick. And I let it steam off to firm up.

[JCBBQ]

So helpful guys! Thank you.

[carolts]

Glad you asked the question!

[carolts]

Today’s pastrami (bottom two) and a hunk of brisket. Thanks Spinaker.

[JCBBQ]

Lol

[fzxdoc]

Good eating ahead!

[carolts]

It was Barkalicious! Seriously, we had a bit that day and today I got out the meat slicer. Based on the samples while I sliced, we've got some really great Rubens and just plain sandwiches ahead.

[fzxdoc]

My Pastrami Method:

Use brisket points (or corned beef points if using storebought) if you can

1. Soaking:

Soak store-bought Low Sodium corned beef (24% DV salt solution—500-800mg sodium per serving) 8 hours in 2 gallon Ziploc bag with 16 cups cold water (add ice cubes). Do not change the water.

Soak store-bought regular corned beef (36-46% DV Salt Solution 1100- 2200mg sodium per serving) 24 hours in a 2 gallon Ziploc bag with 16 cups cold water (add ice cubes), changing the water at the 8 and 16 hour mark.

For brisket that I corn myself, soak 8 hours in a 2 gallon Ziploc bag with 16 cups cold water (add ice cubes) without changing water.

Place the Ziploc bag(s) in disposable Aluminum foil Roasting pans (set onto cookie sheets for support) and place them in the fridge.


2. Rub: Rinse the meat, give it a good shake, but don't wipe the meat dry.
Place the meat on a rack set in a rimmed sheet pan.
Place small metal skewers (like those used in a turkey trussing kit) in the meat to indicate the direction of the grain. (For me, toothpicks break off when removing them from the firm bark, so I don't use them for grain markers).
Add as much rub as you can get to stay on the surface of the meat after being patted down. I like a heavy rub.
Lightly spritz the rub surface with a fine mist of water to wet the rub in places where it looks dry.
Let sit, uncovered, on the rack set into the sheet pan, in the fridge, for 48 hours.

3. Smoke at 250-275° with a few chunks of wood added to the charcoal in kamado or PBC to 200° or probe tender.

4. Remove to a rack to cool, on the countertop, to 150°.

5. Place the sheet pan with the rack and the pastrami into the fridge with some frozen gel packs under the pan until the meat cools to below 38° or so.

I also put some frozen gel packs in a sheet pan above the meat so the food in the shelf over the meat doesn't warm up. I do this by creating a "sheet pan shelf" a couple of inches above the meat, using spacers (empty jam jars work well for spacers). The meat can be wrapped once it is thoroughly chilled.

6. The next day, slice and then either freeze or keep the pastrami in the fridge until ready to eat. I slice before freezing, (thin but not paper thin--slices that still hold their shape) but YMMV.

7. Rewarm by your favorite method. The crust will stay on whether nuking or rewarming in the oven. I never use steam.

For Reuben sammies, I nuke the meat for a few seconds to take the chill off and then assemble the reuben sandwiches, making sure the sauerkraut has been warmed through first. Then the sandwiches go into a panini press for a thorough heating and cheese melting before serving. Delicious.

Kathryn

[WayneT]

Dang! That’s some serious pastrami love. I gotta try this.

[fzxdoc]

I just moved the additional pastrami info that was here into my main post above as an edit, now that raywjohnson fixed the posting bug for us. Thanks again, Ray!

Kathryn

[klflowers]

Sometimes I get so impatient that I eat it cold on bread with mustard. Nothing else. I am addicted to pastrami. I have to limit how often I make it lol

[Evvy]

fzxdoc, When you say brisket that you corn yourself, may I safely assume that you meant one that has already been corned (by you)? I ask because I'm about to try a 5-lb brisket by following Meathead's corned beef process/recipe.

About how long can I expect a 5-lb corned beef brisket to cook in a smoker to make pastrami? Does the formula 90-minutes/lb apply as a guideline?

[fzxdoc]

...continued...
Smaller, thinner pieces may go all the way to probe tenderness without wrapping (195 to 203°)
Thicker pieces get wrapped at about 180°ish and then taken to probe tenderness*.
All wrapping is done with foil, wrapped as tight as possible, without added liquid.
*Most times I take the pastrami all the way to 203°/probe tenderness without wrapping. Depends on how quickly the cook is going and when dinnertime is.

K.

[fzxdoc]

...I keep running out of available characters...Hope this info helps, Evvy .

K.

[Evvy]

It does help, thank you!

[JCBBQ]

Figured I’d document it here. Corned my 4.5lbs flat for 64hrs. Rinsed/soaked for about 3…possibly 4hrs I lost track. Now it’s rubbed and as per the suggestions above I’ll let it sit until I smoke it tomorrow.

Im so pumped for reubens tomorrow. Haven’t had one in ages.

[JCBBQ]

Yes pastrami Reubens.

[Spinaker]

That’s gonna be bark city!!

[JCBBQ]

Spinaker from your lips to god’s ears…as they say.

[Evvy]

I corned my brisket and it finished today. I can't smoke it until Saturday. Should I freeze it and try next week when I have more time to plan?

[realdocBBQ]

Just a few days extra? Leave it in the brine. No big deal. How long has it been in already? But the answer is, yes, you can freeze it with no bad effects.

[Spinaker]

Take it out of the cure, desalinate for 8 hours and then let it sit in the fridge on a wire rack and sheet pan. Put the rub on and let that baby sit in the fridge. The rub will set up really nice with that much time.

[Evvy]

realdocBBQ It's been in the 2.8 days from the calculator; a little more, actually. I'm thinking that the nitrites and salt pasteurized it so I could desalinate it for 8-hours per above and season it for 48-hours to make pastrami on Saturday.

[Bob K]

Any of the above. Leave it in the brine for a couple more days, no problem. (I find that the recommended 2.8 days on the calculator for thinner pieces sometimes isn't enough to get the cure all the way to center, resulting in the "grey spot" so I shoot for 4-5 days, it can't really cure "more" than fully cured, though it can get waterlogged if you go, say, an extra week.) Or, as you noted, it's cured! It can easily sit in the fridge for a week, and somebody smarter would probably say 3 weeks

[shify]

Curing is pretty flexible on the back end. I let mine ride in the cure for about 3 days longer than planned due to unexpected work travel and was fine. I also plan for 24 hours for desalination and 24 hours rubbed and setting up in fridge. So using that timing I’d just let it ride for 2 more days and so the desalination on Thursday, rub on Friday and smoke on Saturday. Or start tomorrow for the 48 hour seasoning time.

[realdocBBQ]

Yeah, if it's been in the cure 2.8 days, nothing's going to hurt to leave it 3.8 or 5.8. I wouldn't do it for 2 weeks, it can still start to get slimy and such. But it's no big deal.

Or take it out and freeze it, without desalinating no problems there.

Or desalinate it (or not) and leave it in the fridge for a few days or so, or a week sealed up in vacuum seal bags or something. It's pretty forgiving once cured - remember, curing was a storage/preservation technique.