Homemade Pastrami Attempt

So apparently I make corned beef which takes like three weeks. Then you rub it and spice it up, smoke it for hours and then serve on some sort of bread like product. I guess I could go whole hog here and make the bread, make the pastrami, and make the mustard and other condiments. What the hell right?

I have never made it before, but I have hopes that I am competant enough to pull it off.

Has anyone made this before? And I guess I mean your own corning, not taking a precorned beef and rubbing and smoking.

I will post as I make it and do up the corning, hopefully with pictures.

I want to do the same thing but I would have to cook mine in the oven due to equipment constrictions

I lost my recipe. Try one of the following. Good luck!

Some links:

1) Corned beef and pastrami

2) Pastrami

3) Emeril's pastrami

4) More pastrami

5) http://www.beef-cooking.com/homemade-pastrami.html

I have done it with this method several times using my ugly drum smoker http://www.virtualweberbullet.com/cornedbeef.html

Yeah, I do it from time to time.

Prefer short ribs to brisket or plate.

Bought the Brisket, going to put it into the brine either tomorrow or thursday. I will start taking pictures then. I am totally interested in doing this and can't wait!

So it has begun! I just put it all together and it looks and smells great. Now just wait three weeks.

My mouth is watering already!

I just rotated this today for the first time. It will get a rotate every few day just to make sure all is going well and no spoilage or anything of that sort. It smells heavenly so far.

Me want some. Me want some.

I have a 5lb corned beef and 5lb of pastrami in brine now. 10 days from now... YUM

I used the last of my home corned beef tonight.
Soon, I'll need to schedule some fridge space for brining

Ah... the age old question:

Brining meat vs. keg space.

Like choosing a favorite kid.

I just checked on mine yesterday for color and texture what have you. It looks right...?! Can't say I know what it is supposed to look like, so I am going with that answer.

And if I had to chose, I chose brining meat because I can drink garage temp beer at this time of year

Actually, anyone have any close up pictures of what the meat is supposed to look like while brining? Mine is kinda gray outside and yet pink. I will try to take a picture if I can. I just turned it yesterday and it is smelling fine.

Yep, grey/pink, and the inside will be pink.

I'll try to remember to take a pic, too.

Dammit! I have to learn to stay out of the food threads!

1, because I'm hungry

2, because it makes me want to try cooking new and tasty food!

It is day whatever now and I am a day away from taking it out of the brine! So out of the brine tomorrow or Thursday, (and then I have heard of soaking it, but it seems to me that it would lose it's flavor no?) onto BBQ smoker Saturday morning and into my belly that afternoon.

Any words of wisdom for me. It is my first time ever cooking a pastrami on the BBQ. I did a corned beef in a pan with some liquid and then just covered in foil, with minimal smoke and it came out beautiful. This I am thinking though will get maybe an hour on the grill with smoke and then into a pan and covered and cooked for another four hours. I have heard so many stories of some seriously over dry pastrami that I almost don't want to have it see the actual grill at all for fear of drying the bejesus out of it. I really think that I am going to aim for maybe even some loose foil so that I get some smoke flavor and maximum moisture.

There was a smoker/BBQ site that someone recomended and I have never been able to find again. It was chalk full of good little tidbits and in a format similar to this one. If you think of it can you post it.

I've done the quick pastrami with a corned beef flat from http://www.virtualweberbullet.com/index.html It turned out very good and was a use for all the bulk coriander I bought for wit beer and found I didn't really care for.

Matt, maybe the Smoke Ring is what you are thinking of...

http://www.thesmokering.com/forum/index.php

All right, so I have now taken the pastrami out and it is in a cooler with some ice ready to go onto the smoker tomorrow about noon. I just made up my rub of a fifty fifty coriander and black pepper. I wanted to go easy since I assume that the brine is salty enough. Simple and yet effective. It will be smoked with cherry wood and maybe hickory tomorrow for about two hours and then covered for the next two and steamed for another hour or so.

I am starting a thread about A Party in February to document the entire BBQ and smoking process for 10lbs of Pastrami, 20lbs of Brisket, 20lbs of pulled pork and 10lbs of chicken. I am going to try my best to actually take pictures tomorrow and not just get caught up in the moment of drinking heavily and cooking too much.

I used 2 TBSp of Morton Tender Quick, with Penzey's corned beef pickle (in a bag). I think I used 3 TBSp of it. Added 2 TBSp brown sugar, pickled for 6 days and grilled.
OMG this is good!

I will be trying the Paprika and black pepper/smoke this weekend.

Gawd: The corned beef with whole-grain mustard on Jewish rye with Sauerkraut was AMAZING!

you guys need to check out the smoking brothern forum. I got almost 2 pounds of canadian bacon curing right now. i will smoke with either pecan or apple.

I am about to put the rub on the pastrami and will be putting it into the smoker in an hour or so. Pictures to come.

FYI: Brine doesn't put salt into the meat. It's the increased density of the saltwater that forces water into the meat. Brining doesn't replace the need to add salt to a recipe.

Having said that, I've never made corned beef or pastrami, and I think I want to try it. Like right now.

It came off really nice looking, well cooked and super salty. When iI do it next time, I am going to soak it the night before in water to remove some of the salt. Otherwise, it was really tasty.

paulthenurse said:

Me want some. Me want some.

Click to expand...

Sorry for the interuption, but!

Hey Paul........ I need your info so I can ship you the wine for the Secret Santa......... Get back to me ASAP, please.

Barry

Salute!