I just can't stand it anymore... I NEED some pastrami!

[realdocBBQ]

So I don't have the room or the patience right now to cure my own. I've been discouraged by the fact that I cannot find a grade marking on ANY of the store-bought corned beefs I've seen, but I finally just had to bite the bullet.

Last night I picked up a flat and a point. The point, I managed to find one a hair over 4 lbs, the flat I think was just over 3. I don't really have time to do it sous vide, as much as I'd love to, so I'm going with the traditional Meathead Almost Katz' recipe, I suppose.

Just finished trimming them up, tossed in some cold clean water in a great big container. I don't have time to do an 8-hour soak, and last time I did that (with my own home-cured brisket), it came out too bland and needed more salt. So I'm going to soak these for about 3-4 hours total, with 1-3 water changes. Since I can't sleep and was up in the middle of the night, I figured I might as well get a jump on it.

I've been craving me some pastrami for ages, I think it was Christmas '16 when I did it last. <sigh>

So, here's crossin' my fingers. I've already got a nice rye and a rye/pumpernickel swirl, some Thousand Island dressing and some store-bought bagged sauerkraut. I know, I know... it was all I could manage on short notice last night. I do have to go back to the store today for some good Swiss - the deli was closed last night, and I was NOT going to settle for the prepackaged kind. Just gotta draw the line somewhere, right???

Plan is to get it on the smoker around 8-9AM, catch some Z's if I'm too tired to go to church with The Old Lady, then pull it off mid-afternoon somewhere during the stall and set up some sort of steamer. I don't know how I'm going to do that, exactly, but I will figure it out.

Happy Sunday, people!

[DWCowles]

I don’t never steam them. I just smoked it like I would a brisket. If I’m not mistaken Huskee don’t steam either.

[realdocBBQ]

The last one I did the same way - no steam. I might do that, if it cooks quickly enough to get done for the evening - I don't want to be waiting too late to eat! Jeez, my last chuckie took like 12+ hours and it KILLED me! Half my guests gave up and went home!

[W.A.]

Do what you got to do Boss. There is no way it can taste bad.

[RonB]

Any way you smoke it, that's the way you need it. (My apologies to Journey )

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=atxUuldUcfI

[Pirate Scott]

Sounds like you have a Solid Plan. Git R Done.

[Huskee]

Those store-bought units will likely be killer salty if you only go 3 or 4 hrs. I did one last week at 8hrs, too salty. 12 hrs, much better but still salty. Could be the particular brand I use though. Have fun!

[DeusDingo]

i agree, i had to soak mine 24 hours before it was down to an edible level

[realdocBBQ]

I dunno. Only way to know is to get after it. If it's inedible, then... well... I dunno, I guess I'll just have a hotdog. <sigh>

I'm at 170°F on the point, 166°F on the flat right now.

[Huskee]

You're absolutely right, you never know till you try. I've bought the same brand many times from the same store. Perhaps that brand is just uber salty. I hope you have great luck it would be great to nail it the first time!

[texastweeter]

hows it going? Never don my own pastrami, but friggin LOVE a griddled reuben sammich...making me hungry.

[Spinaker]

You gotta try that recipe. It is amazing. I think Meathead's corned beef, is far better than anything I have ever been able to buy in a store. Corn your own, it is much better.

[Huskee]

texastweeter Oh man... Just like making your own bacon it's well worth it. I'm not a Reuben fan but I like pastrami on sammies with havarti cheese, mustard and dill pickles, got to have the dill pickles they're mandatory. And then put it on a panini press. My wife just made me two of them yesterday for dinner. Aw man there's hardly anything better, the world is a great place when I'm eating one of those.

I like to cheat and buy store-bought corned briskets like this thread talks about. Then all you have to do is soak it to desalinate it, put the rub on, and then smoke it like brisket. The store-bought ones are about to go on sale soon for St Patty's Day.

[realdocBBQ]

At 188°F/194°F for the flat/point right now. About, what, 9 hours in? Somewhere around there. Looking good, probably another hour or so, then I'll likely pull them to "rest" *oops*, I mean "hold". Doesn't look like I'll need to steam. I hate how much these shrink, they look like I've lost half my pastrami already! lol

Should I wrap and rest in a cambro like a regular brisket? I haven't in the past, I've just let it sit under foil for maybe 10-15 minutes. I've got foil or pink butcher paper. They've gone totally unwrapped up to this point. I just probed them and they need some more time for sure. Fairly tender, but not like I want them.

I assume they don't get the "jiggle" the way a regular brisket will, right, since they're cured?

[Huskee]

I'd wrap now, but that's simply my preference. And no, they won't jiggle like a regular brisket. Mine always seem to shrink by nearly half. The finished hunk is laughably small compared to what I started with.

[realdocBBQ]

That's what I'm thinking... God, they've turned into little hockey pucks! lol

[Huskee]

realdocBBQ I asked my wife to grab two from the store the other day. She said she only got one cuz it was huge. It was about 4 lbs. When all was said and done ishowed her the finished hunk, and it made about 8 Or 9 slices plus crumbs. Ithink she realizes now why I said grab two.

[6th Borough BBQ]

I've still never made my own pastrami, it's just to easy to get to Katz.

[NortheastAl]

I soaked storebought corned beef for 10 hours with three water changes and I probably could have gone with a 24 hour soak for most people's taste. I do like salty, so it wasn’t an issue. I did mine somewhat like a brisket. Smoked it to 180°, then steamed it to 203°, wrapped it in foil and towels and just put it in the microwave to rest for a couple hours. Came out great. You can’t beat Meathead's recipe.

I steamed it in a a pasta pot with the colander insert. Make sure you rest the Pastrami on foil or it will drip the bark off the bottom.

[realdocBBQ]

Well, everyone said it came out pretty good. For the 3rd time now, I've been really disappointed in the rub. I keep cutting back the pepper, but it is just WAY too peppery for me. I'ma try something else next time.

As for the salt, it wasn't bad. I think I soaked about 3 hours with 3 water changes, at room temp, starting from the fridge. Water was very cold, straight from the tap. Eating the pastrami plain, the pepper was overpowering, and it was a slight bit too salty - not bad, but noticeable. On a sammich with toasted rye, spicy mustard, Swiss or Emmental (I had one of each), plain and bland storebought kraut and Thousand Island dressing, it wasn't noticeable at all. It was just right, really. I do like my things salty, but The Wife is much pickier, and even she said on the sammich it wasn't overpowering at all. Everyone else loved it.

So, I am overall pretty happy. I am going to have to do my own again, but I can tell you, I will just use a point. I flat out don't care for the flat. I've said it every time I do this, but the flat just doesn't do it for me, it's just too dry. The point it where it's AT, baby!

Thanks for all the advice!

[Huskee]

My last batch I cut the pepper back by about 1/4 or maybe 1/3. Then, the pepper I did use was 50/50 black pepper and white pepper. That really seemed to tone it down a bit. FWIW.