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Pastrami Brine time vs Rub in Fridge

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    Pastrami Brine time vs Rub in Fridge

    I did the full Katzs Deli brisket smoke / steam last weekend, and it turned out awesome.
    What I couldn't find, however, was an 'artisan brined' corned beef from any local butcher, and didn't have the time to do my own, so I bought a local Maple Leaf corned beef (raw, cryopack, in the brine) and used that.
    Made the rub from scratch using Meathead's recipe, and did the whole smoke/steam on a WSM. Click image for larger version

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    Now here's my current predicament:
    That was SO GOOD, that I immediately went down to my local butcher and bought a 1/2 brisket, which I butchered into 4 chunks, and got them into a poultry bag with the full brine:
    Click image for larger version

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    That was Sunday Morning, so as of today, it's been brining for 6 days.
    I plan on doing the full smoke tomorrow through the day, and then doing the steam for a family gathering on Sunday morning.
    Getting to the predicament -- it's this:
    Meathead suggests letting the rub sit for a few days after the brine, but I don't have that much time.
    Would it be more important to let the brisket sit in the brine for another 24 hours, then just slap the rub on before it goes in the smoker?
    Or nix that last day of brining, and get the rub on in the fridge for the next 24 hours?
    Which would be more beneficial?

    #2
    Yes. I no longer let it sit with the rub on it. You can absolutely do it right before it hits the smoker. Please make sure to soak in the cure according to the recipe exactly as the calculator states for your piece of meat, DO NOT shorten it. Then if you don't have time to let the rub sit, just rub right before smoking like you would a regular brisket.

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      #3
      Someone more knowledgeable may correct me here, but I believe the 24 hours in the fridge with the rub on is to get the rub to stick. The brining is done and it's probably not adding a lot more flavor to the meat. I was in a similar hurry last time, and only let the rub rest go for about 4 hours. I didn't have any trouble with the rub staying on, so I would say you can cheat on that part.

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        #4
        My first one I did, it sat with rub in the fridge maybe an hour, turned out amazing. The second one I did I let it sit in the fridge much longer and really there wasn't much difference. The biggest difference for me was the first one I corned myself, the second one was a pre-corned hunk. I wasn't impressed with the store corned end product at all, but the selection in my area is not that great to begin with.

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          #5
          actually, the more I look around, the more I'm seeing that 5 days in the brine should be more than enough.
          It's getting rinsed tonight, getting the rub on in an hour or so, and going on the smoker at 8:00am tomorrow.
          Thanks y'all! I feel I'm ok with this now.

          Comment


          • Red Man
            Red Man commented
            Editing a comment
            In your case I would desalinate over night and rub right before it goes on the smoker.

          • Troutman
            Troutman commented
            Editing a comment
            I don’t think you heard Huskee, follow the calculator, it will tell you the length of time versus the weight and size of the meat, not popular opinion as to what others did.

          #6
          Use the curing calculator to determine minimum time in the brine. I’ve had better results with the rub when I gave it longer in the fridge. Don’t skimp on desalination with water changes. If I was gonna skimp on any of those steps, it would be the time for the rub to set, no question.

          Comment


            #7
            I've always had a more, I dunno, durable? bark if I let it set up overnight, especially if I've steamed to finish. The most fragile bark I've had on a pastrami was applied right before the smoker and cooked all the way. But if I had to cut a corner it'd be the rub time.

            The happiest medium I've found is let the rub set at least overnight, smoke until the bark is where I want it and then sous vide at 190 for 4 hours.

            Comment

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