I am a newbie here. I just cooked my first pastrami. I followed Meathead's recipe. I used a prepared 4.4 lb corned beef, 1 3/4" thick. Soaked in water for 12 hours, changed the water twice. Used Meathead's spice recipe. Weber kettle with SNS, BBQ Guru at 225 deg, apple wood. The cook took 14 hours. On the Weber for 11 hours at 225 deg, then the last 3 hours in the over at 235 deg to get IT of 203 deg. Incredible crust, great flavor, very tender, pretty moist. My question - why did it take SOOOOO long? I monitored the grill temp and IT with multiple different thermometers just to make sure I was getting accurate readings. Thank you!!!
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Need some advice after cooking my first pastrami
HI All,
I am a newbie here. I just cooked my first pastrami. I followed Meathead's recipe. I used a prepared 4.4 lb corned beef, 1 3/4" thick. Soaked in water for 12 hours, changed the water twice. Used Meathead's spice recipe. Weber kettle with SNS, BBQ Guru at 225 deg, apple wood. The cook took 14 hours. On the Weber for 11 hours at 225 deg, then the last 3 hours in the over at 235 deg to get IT of 203 deg. Incredible crust, great flavor, very tender, pretty moist. My question - why did it take SOOOOO long? I monitored the grill temp and IT with multiple different thermometers just to make sure I was getting accurate readings. Thank you!!!Tags: None
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When I first started grilling/smoking I also thought 225 was the "go to" temp, but like rickgregory said try a little hotter next time and you will be surprised at the drastic drop in time necessary. My "go to" temp on the kettle is 250 (will vary +/-20 degrees) but after I wrap will bump it up to 275. We do like pastrami too, I will be watching our local Walmart as they put flats and points on sale prior to St. Pats Day, bought 10 points last year which make fantastic pastrami.
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I bought 8 of the Walmart points too. A friend had said that the Walmart points were fine to smoke without desalination. I tried one from Walmart and one from a local store right out of the package. They were rinsed and then rubbed with meatheads pastrami rub and cooked together so everything was the same. The Walmart was just fine, the other was way too salty.
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Club Member
- Jul 2016
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- Virginia
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Club Member
- Apr 2016
- 16781
- Near Richmond VA
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Weber Performer Deluxe
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First, welcome to The Pit.
I shoot for 250° when I do a low and slow cook, but I don't worry as long as it stays between 225° and 275° if time is not a factor. If time is a factor, I'll try to keep the temp in the upper end of the range. Some here do cook even hotter with great results.
I have never wrapped, but if I did, it would be after the bark is set and firm.
The stall is the period where moisture is evaporating from the surface of the meat. That evaporation prevents, (or greatly slows), the rise in temp. If the meat has spent a week or so in a wet brine, and additional time desalinating in water, it will have more moisture that needs to evaporate, so it will take longer to cook.
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- Jul 2014
- 6400
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My toys:
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I've got 3 pastramis on the smoker as I type this.Pit Barrel Cooker rocking along at 275°. Should take about 8 hours or to take the pastramis to probe tenderness which should be in the neighborhood of 203° internal.
Meathead recommends 225° for all of the recipes he writes because he says his goal is to keep things consistent and simple, especially for those new to smoking and grilling. Plus he says he has all of his smokers dialed in at 225°.
But the wonderful thing about smoking (which is always a learning experience for everyone) is that you can make adjustments based on your experience. You may want to goose your smoker temp up next time you do a long cook and see if you like the results.
You've got yourself some great pastrami there. Enjoy.
Kathryn
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Thank you all for you feedback and wisdom. I really appreciate it. I am learning grilling/smoking is one of the very few things in life where "eating you mistakes" is a REALLY GOOD THING. Thank again.
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Peaceful I had exactly the same problem with my pastrami the first time I made it. It took to long. Si, start at 225 until it stalls, wrap it in butcher paper !!!not foil!!!! and rise the temperature to 275. Now it takes about 3-4 more hours. Now you have a delicious pastrami with a good crust and you’ve saved time.
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