A recent post about Tri Tip pastrami got me thinking. Here is SoCal, Tri Tip rules. You can get it anywhere at anytime, and very often very cheaply.
I decided Tri Tip Pastrami was in my future. As this was an experiment, I sought out the smallest Tri Tip at the store- it was about 2.25 pounds. If this was a failure, I didn't want to be too deep into it.
Trimed it very aggressively, used my (slightly) modified version of Steven Raichlen's Pastrami brine and rub.
This is post-brine:
The meat is very gray, and very firm.
Pre smoke, with the Pastrami rub. I forgot about it a little, and it sat in the fridge, ready to smoke, for 2 days.
Onto the Weber, oak chunks for smoke:
Finished product
The verdict?
This was 100% a home run! Let me take that back. This was a Freddy Freeman, walk off Grand Slam in the World Series! (Apologies to NYY fans and Dodger haters, and this is from a Giants fan).
Everything a Pastrami should be, the DW and I agrees that this was the best pastrami either of us had ever had, with neither of us having been to Katz's or even Langers here in LA. Tender, smoky, salty, garlicy, peppery, coriandery, beefy. I steamed up some slices in a vegetable steamer, slapped it on some (cheap) not so great rye with mustard and pickles, and wolfed it down, so good!
Making Tri Tip pastrami has the internet a bit divided, some say to smoke it to 160, some to 175, some say take it to 203. I took it to about 160, I decided I wasnt going to wait any longer and pulled it off. Stored in the fridge whole for 2 days, then sliced and packaged.
There is ONE, SLIGHT, con to this:
Because of the odd shape to Tri Tip, the yield is less than I hoped. A little over one pound from a whole (small) tri tip. I trimmed about a 1/4-1/3 lb in fat off, and whatever liquid cooks out, I had about 1/2-3/4lb of odd shaped ends that I couldn't run through the slicer without putting my fingers at risk. But this didn't gpot to waste- next day brought me Pastrami Hash on the Blackstone.
Lesson for next time:
Get two! Of the biggest I can find!
But wait, there's more!
I was in Italian deli a week or so later, and looking in their meat case, I saw their Pastrami: They had two kinds, Brisket, and Top round, The wheels started spinning- Hey, Costco has two packs of Top Round for pretty cheap, why can't I do that?
Well, I can, and I did!
Same procedure as before, here are the results:
Pre smoke, extra rub caked on, and a sprinkle of pickling spice over the top.
Post smoke
Inside:
Finished product:
Thoughts?
Really, really good. Not QUITE as good as the Tri Tip, but the Tri Tip is a much "better" cut of meat. The yield though, is MUCH better, as the meat is a much more uniform shape. Although that meant no Pastrami hash this morning
.
Overall, a terrific result. I've got really, really, really good Pastrami in the freezer, that will last me a few months.
Next time, TWO Tri Tips go on, for sure, maybe three.
I decided Tri Tip Pastrami was in my future. As this was an experiment, I sought out the smallest Tri Tip at the store- it was about 2.25 pounds. If this was a failure, I didn't want to be too deep into it.
Trimed it very aggressively, used my (slightly) modified version of Steven Raichlen's Pastrami brine and rub.
This is post-brine:
The meat is very gray, and very firm.
Pre smoke, with the Pastrami rub. I forgot about it a little, and it sat in the fridge, ready to smoke, for 2 days.
Onto the Weber, oak chunks for smoke:
Finished product
The verdict?
This was 100% a home run! Let me take that back. This was a Freddy Freeman, walk off Grand Slam in the World Series! (Apologies to NYY fans and Dodger haters, and this is from a Giants fan).
Everything a Pastrami should be, the DW and I agrees that this was the best pastrami either of us had ever had, with neither of us having been to Katz's or even Langers here in LA. Tender, smoky, salty, garlicy, peppery, coriandery, beefy. I steamed up some slices in a vegetable steamer, slapped it on some (cheap) not so great rye with mustard and pickles, and wolfed it down, so good!
Making Tri Tip pastrami has the internet a bit divided, some say to smoke it to 160, some to 175, some say take it to 203. I took it to about 160, I decided I wasnt going to wait any longer and pulled it off. Stored in the fridge whole for 2 days, then sliced and packaged.
There is ONE, SLIGHT, con to this:
Because of the odd shape to Tri Tip, the yield is less than I hoped. A little over one pound from a whole (small) tri tip. I trimmed about a 1/4-1/3 lb in fat off, and whatever liquid cooks out, I had about 1/2-3/4lb of odd shaped ends that I couldn't run through the slicer without putting my fingers at risk. But this didn't gpot to waste- next day brought me Pastrami Hash on the Blackstone.
Lesson for next time:
Get two! Of the biggest I can find!
But wait, there's more!
I was in Italian deli a week or so later, and looking in their meat case, I saw their Pastrami: They had two kinds, Brisket, and Top round, The wheels started spinning- Hey, Costco has two packs of Top Round for pretty cheap, why can't I do that?
Well, I can, and I did!
Same procedure as before, here are the results:
Pre smoke, extra rub caked on, and a sprinkle of pickling spice over the top.
Post smoke
Inside:
Finished product:
Thoughts?
Really, really good. Not QUITE as good as the Tri Tip, but the Tri Tip is a much "better" cut of meat. The yield though, is MUCH better, as the meat is a much more uniform shape. Although that meant no Pastrami hash this morning
.Overall, a terrific result. I've got really, really, really good Pastrami in the freezer, that will last me a few months.
Next time, TWO Tri Tips go on, for sure, maybe three.
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