First time pastrami

[CaptainMike]

Hello all, It's my first time posting so be gentle. I picked up a 14 lb whole packer brisket from Costco the other day and was wondering about turning the whole thing into corned beef/pastrami. I have seen the pastrami recipes on the site and they all seem to call for 4-6 lbs of meat. I'm wondering if I can simply ramp up the ingredients and brine time, or would it be better to only use the tip and find something else to do with the rest? Thanks in advance!

[Willy]

I know the one key ratio is the weight of meat to the amount of curing salt--don't overdo or under do that. In general, the weight of meet to the other ingredients would scale as well. I also think the cure time would likely be longer for the thicker point than the thinner flat. Others will be along shortly and will have more experience than I have.

What I have done in the past is use the flat for pastrami and the point for smoked brisket.

[SMOG MAN]

After trimming, separate the point and cut the flat in two pieces and then all 3 should be about the right size to follow the ratio's for each piece.

[Amnesiac]

Hello all, It's my first time posting so be gentle. I picked up a 14 lb whole packer brisket from Costco the other day and was wondering about turning the whole thing into corned beef/pastrami. I have seen the pastrami recipes on the site and they all seem to call for 4-6 lbs of meat. I'm wondering if I can simply ramp up the ingredients and brine time, or would it be better to only use the tip and find something else to do with the rest? Thanks in advance!

See:

Bottom line: To double the recipe, make two distinct separate batches by following my recipe for each batch. Please don't ask me to scale a recipe to 5 times, or 30 turkey legs just for you. I can't do it. It is not just a matter of multiplying the quantity of ingredients. There are too many variables. And math is not my favorite subject. I know these recipes are good, they are safe, and they work. Scale them at your own risk.

[Jerod Broussard]

Trim fat cap down. Seperate the point and the flat.

Weigh what you have, then just trim down to get 4-5 pound pieces as recommended for the recipe.

[fuzzydaddy]

CaptainMike We'd love to get an intro from you over in the Introduce Yourself channel when you get a minute.

[CaptainMike]

Thanks everyone for the tips (no pun intended)! And to fuzzydaddy, I'll get to that intro today.

[Mr. Bones]

Welcome aboard, from a fellow newbie, Cap'n!