Welcome!


This is a membership forum. Guests can view 5 pages for free. To participate, please join.

[ Pitmaster Club Information | Join Now | Login | Contact Us ]

Only 4 free page views remaining.

Announcement

Collapse
No announcement yet.

For those contemplating pastrami

Collapse
X
 
  • Filter
  • Time
  • Show
Clear All
new posts

    For those contemplating pastrami

    I find the corned beef you cure yourself with Meathead's recipe is in fact better than the stuff you can buy at the store. If someone has never had it it is still pretty good, but there is a step down. I just had to try it one time.

    I use those big 2.5 gallon Zip Lock bags to cure.

    If you want flat, you can actually cut yourself ALL FLAT, not buy something labeled flat only to have mostly point, which was still pretty good since we are talking Select (meaning it wasn't over fatty, I prefer leaner stuff). Tried my best to figure what was in the dang bag.

    Curing yourself you don't have to desalinate enough to desalinate the world's oceans, and I love salt. You'd better desalinate AND change out the water on a store bought a few times. Time don't mean squat once equilibrium takes place. I rinsed, soaked for an hour, changed water and soaked another 3 hours, then refilled the pot as full as I could get it and let it go another 8+ hours. I barely got it down enough.


    Granted with all the salt a store bought will last about a month in the fridge until you have to use or freeze. Even halotolerant bacteria die in that crap. When they say "up to 35%" they mean every bit of that.

    I would definitely recommend putting the rub on a day or two ahead of the smoke.

    I smoke these dudes pretty much uncovered all the way. I took this dude up to 208 internal for quite some time. I was hoping to hit 210. And those temps were checked with the Thermapen. Just before 200 I wrapped up the already very dark outer edges so they would not "jerkify" too much. After the smoke it was wrapped and held in a 150 degree toaster oven for over 2 hours. It was still over 170 when I pulled it out the oven.

    I sliced at 140-ish. No sous vide pre or post smoke and no steaming.

    Pics, just picture pastrami.




    #2
    I jus' gotta try this!!!!

    Comment


    • Jerod Broussard
      Jerod Broussard commented
      Editing a comment
      It is like nothing else. I've had two sammiches today even with what I would call "sub par pastrami"

    #3
    Thank you! I really need to get around to sourcing some instacure/prague powder. All I can get around here are super-lean, super-tough briskets, and they'd be better as pastrami than as bad BBQ brisket.

    Comment


      #4
      Thanx for posting this Jerod.

      Comment


        #5
        Great no-nonsense pastrami post, Jerod. Thanks!

        I like using store bought corned beef because it's so doggone forgiving and shaves a few days off the prep time when we get in the mood for some quick pastrami. It may not have the curb appeal that home-cured pastrami has, but it still eats darn good.

        Also, in my side-by-side comparison, the store bought corned beef shrunk up more during the smoking phase than the-home cured slab, so I always make at least 2 of the store-bought ones at at time.

        Ditto with desalinating really well and for letting them sit, uncovered, in the fridge overnight with a bunch of rub on before starting the smoke. Helps the bark to stick when the surface is drier like that, at least for me.

        You fixed it just like I do--no steaming. I don't even cambro it to keep the rub stay good and adhered. Just took right from the smoker to the table where it magically evaporated in a flurry of knives, forks, and sammies.

        Good to hear that yours turned out so well. I bet that pastrami is history by now--not a molecule left.

        Kathryn

        Comment


        • Jerod Broussard
          Jerod Broussard commented
          Editing a comment
          fzxdoc (That's funny I almost put @Kathryn) No doubt about the shrinkage! I firmly believe some of it jumped out the kettle.

        #6
        Great post Jerod. This makes me think it is doable for me to give pastrami a go. Thanks.

        Comment


        • Thunder77
          Thunder77 commented
          Editing a comment
          It's sooo easy. And you will love the results!

        #7
        RonB dtassinari Mr. Bones If you have not tried it you really need to. Its really is good stuff. Jerod Broussard you are correctamundo with the desalination. No Joke.

        fzxdoc I'm a sucker for the steamed pastrami but I also like leftover soggy salad, excessively wet sandwiches (I don't even take off the lettuce) the next day and sloppy burgers that run juice and mayo down my arm. It's a gift 😀

        I prefer the fatty portion because when I reheat it the next day for breakfast that fatty flavor is amazing when it browns a little, slap a couple of peppercinni in the pan with extra juice with provolone or Swiss and load up the bread when the cheese melts.. geeze I so need one now.... thanks Jerod.

        Comment


        • EdF
          EdF commented
          Editing a comment
          We think alike HouseHomey!

        #8
        Shrinkage leads to...memories of George Costanza

        Comment


        • Mr. Bones
          Mr. Bones commented
          Editing a comment
          LOL!

        #9
        Originally posted by HouseHomey View Post

        fzxdoc I'm a sucker for the steamed pastrami but I also like leftover soggy salad, excessively wet sandwiches (I don't even take off the lettuce) the next day and sloppy burgers that run juice and mayo down my arm. It's a gift 😀

        I prefer the fatty portion because when I reheat it the next day for breakfast that fatty flavor is amazing when it browns a little, slap a couple of peppercinni in the pan with extra juice with provolone or Swiss and load up the bread when the cheese melts.. geeze I so need one now.... thanks Jerod.
        Yeah, I like the point as well in pastrami for the added flavor. Once I found corned beef at Walmart that was all point, no flat. The brand was labeled either flat or point. It was great. I did a couple of each and everyone in the family was happy.

        My biggest complaint about steaming is that the rub often slides right off when I'm trying to slice, and I love that rub!

        If I'm not serving it hot off the smoker, I chill the whole pastrami overnight in the fridge and slice it thin the next day. I make sammies using a panini press, so I usually pre-warm a batch of slices about 30 seconds in the microwave to take the chill off and then pile them on the sammie before squishing it on the panini press. The meat (and other fixins) get good and hot that way.

        I like your pan-seared idea, though. Yummy yum yum.

        Kathryn

        Comment


        • HouseHomey
          HouseHomey commented
          Editing a comment
          Now I'm thinking crunchy pannini cheesy pastrami bite😀 Yes the rub is an issue hot. The next day the rub is ok like you said but those hot steamed pieces ❤️❤️❤️

        • EdF
          EdF commented
          Editing a comment
          My momma taught me to take the sliced pastrami and steam it in a pan for sandwiches.

        • kmhfive
          kmhfive commented
          Editing a comment
          EdF! Great idea! I also like the pan-seared with pickled peppers!

        #10
        So if I run to the store and pickup one of those 3-4 lb prepacked corn beef briskets and smoke it...is that pastrami? (Sorry I live in Memphis, TN. We get pig anatomy in kindergarten, but they don't teach us about cows. )

        Comment


        • Jerod Broussard
          Jerod Broussard commented
          Editing a comment
          Yep, just make sure and soak it in water before you smoke it. I would soak it at least 12 hours changing the water about three times. Meathead's pastrami rub is goooooooooooooood!!!

        • EdF
          EdF commented
          Editing a comment
          Start fermenting your own homemade sauerkraut now, get some rye bread and swiss, and google for the dressing. Reuben, here it comes!

        • droopie69
          droopie69 commented
          Editing a comment
          I was wondering, because I did one a few weeks ago...but didn't know to soak. I didn't add any salt and it was gone before the slices hit the cutting board. Guess I got to get another now. Dang.

        #11
        You can use the store bought corned beef to make pastrami but there's a little more to it than just smoking it. See Meathead's recipe on the home site. It's awesome and well worth the effort!

        Comment

        Announcement

        Collapse
        No announcement yet.
        Working...
        X
        false
        0
        Guest
        Guest
        500
        ["pitmaster-my-membership","login","join-pitmaster","lostpw","reset-password","special-offers","help","nojs","meat-ups","gifts","authaau-alpha","ebooklogin-start","alpha","start"]
        false
        false
        {"count":0,"link":"/forum/announcements/","debug":""}
        Yes
        ["\/forum\/free-deep-dive-guide-ebook-downloads","\/forum\/free-deep-dive-guide-ebook-downloads\/1157845-paid-members-download-your-6-deep-dive-guide-ebooks-for-free-here","\/forum\/the-pitcast","\/forum\/national-barbecue-news-magazine","\/forum\/national-barbecue-news-magazine\/national-barbecue-news-magazine-aa","\/forum\/national-barbecue-news-magazine\/national-barbecue-news-magazine-aa\/bbq-news-magazine-2019-issues","\/forum\/national-barbecue-news-magazine\/national-barbecue-news-magazine-aa\/bbq-news-magazine-2020-issues","\/forum\/national-barbecue-news-magazine\/national-barbecue-news-magazine-aa\/bbq-news-magazine-2021-issues","\/forum\/national-barbecue-news-magazine\/national-barbecue-news-magazine-aa\/bbq-news-magazine-2022-issues","\/forum\/national-barbecue-news-magazine\/national-barbecue-news-magazine-aa\/current-2023-issues","\/forum\/national-barbecue-news-magazine\/national-barbecue-news-magazine-aa\/current-2024-issues","\/forum\/free-deep-dive-guide-ebook-downloads\/1165909-trial-members-download-your-free-deep-dive-guide-ebook-here"]
        /forum/free-deep-dive-guide-ebook-downloads/1165909-trial-members-download-your-free-deep-dive-guide-ebook-here