Attempting first pastrami this weekend

[noak]

Last weekend my first ever smoke was a pork shoulder (turned out good but I could do better).

This weekend I am going to try my luck with a corned beef I just purchased from a big box store. Its an 11 pounder so I think I need to cut it in half to fit properly.

Anyone have any tips/tricks for smoking a pastrami before a newbie learns the hard way?

 

[old sarge]

Welcome noak from SE Arizona. I’ve never done pastrami but have done a lot of briskets, super easy. When you get a chance please head to the Introduction section and let us know a little about yourself. We also like first name. And enjoy your smoker. Dave

 

[SuperDave]

Biggest tip for smoking a corned beef is to soak it 12 - 24 hours in plain water. Store corned beef is very salty so soaking it leeches out some of the salt. My next tip is to take the seasoning packet that comes with it and grind it as part of your rub.

 

[barelfly]

I would change the water out 3 times as well when soaking to help desalinate the corned beef. I’ve also read to go easy with salt when adding the rub when you smoke due to the level of salt in store bought corned beef.

Next time you want to make pastrami, there are some posts here that detail how to make it all at home, corned beef to pastrami that is very good!

But have fun making this!

 

[noak]

Thanks for the tips so far. I'll post pictures and updates after the weekend.

 

[SuperDave]

No salt in the rub that I've ever used for pastrami, ground pickling spice, garlic powder, black pepper, all over a mustard rub.  Smoke for about 4 - 5 hours and wrap in foil with some apple juice or beer, continue to cook at 250 until the meat reaches between 190 - 195 internal temperature.  Start doing a toothpick test to see if toothpick goes in and out of the meat with no resistance.  When that happens, wrap in towels and put in a cooler to rest for a couple of hours. 

 

[noak]

Pastrami done. I made a step-by-step album for anyone interested. Not bad for the first time! I'm loving this smoker!

https://imgur.com/a/DdzMU

 

[old sarge]

Nicely done and well documented step by step. You might want to think about posting this under beef for others to find when looking for recipes.

 

[JustChillin]

Good job!! I will be smoking one for St Patrick's Day. Thanks for the post.

 

[Hank R]

That sure does look good and I bet tastes even better. ;D

 

[SconnieQ]

Pastrami is not just smoked corned beef. It has it's own unique rub and flavor profile. Sometimes a different seasoning in the cure also. And in a perfect world, it would be made with beef navel, but a lot of deli's use brisket. What I've learned over the years is that the rub should be primarily black pepper and coriander. There are other ingredients you can add, like garlic powder, onion powder, ground mustard, etc, but coriander should be the dominant flavor in order to taste like pastrami. Do not add pickling spices to the rub (like allspice, clove, ginger, cinnamon, mace, cardamom) or that little packet that comes with it, or it will end up tasting like smoked corned beef, which is not terrible, but it's not pastrami in my book. Plus, pastrami is always steamed after smoking in order to make it meltingly tender. My 2 cents. Everyone probably has their own idea of what pastrami should taste like. I try to mimic the best pastrami I've had in NY and in my local NY style deli, which don't have that "corned beef" flavor defined by pickling spices.

 

[DivotMaker]

Great pics, Noak!  I have never seen a store-bought corned beef 11 lbs!  I would love to find one of those.  All I ever find are points or flats in the 4-5 lb range.  Where do you live?

 

[noak]

New Jersey. This was from Restaurant Depot... one of the smallest ones they had and it barely fit!

 

[jaka]

SconnieQ mentions steaming the pastrami after smoking. How does one do this? By the way, the pastrami looks absolutely delicious. Good job Noak.

 

[SconnieQ]

SconnieQ mentions steaming the pastrami after smoking. How does one do this? By the way, the pastrami looks absolutely delicious. Good job Noak.

Some people boil their pastrami after smoking, then steam (Katz's supposedly). I prefer to "steam" it in the oven (covered in foil with a little liquid). You could also do this part in the smoker. Ruhlman rules on such things:
"So this is what I do when I want both smoke and long slow cooking. I smoke the meat for a couple hours. Then I transfer it to a 200 to 250 degree oven to finish. With this pastrami, I would cook it in the oven for 30 to 60 minutes to bake the smoke on, and then cover it with foil and 1/2 cup of water and cook it for another 2 to 4 hours till it’s tender (the water is to make sure there’s plenty of steam)." –Michael Ruhlman

Here's the full recipe:
http://ruhlman.com/2011/09/how-to-make-pastrami/

 

[jaka]

SconnieQ thank you for the prompt and informative response. This is a great forum.

 

[noak]

When I reheated my pastrami I used the steam method. I just boiled some water and put my metallic pasta strainer on top of the pot and covered it. That created plenty of steam to re-heat the pastrami and make it moist.

 

[SconnieQ]

This guy uses Ruhlman’s exact recipe for the cure and the rub (except for 6 days in the cure instead of 3, and a mustard coat before the rub), and a smoking technique that can easily translate to the SI. A really well-done video.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G3z1kcZfkEE

Also, if you have the ability to sous vide, you can low-temp smoke to an internal meat temperature of 150 or so, then vac seal and sous vide at 143.6F (62C) for 72 hours.

 

[Lonzinomaker]

I watched the video.  Saw that the cure was added to the brine and then boiled.
I thought heat deactivates the cure. So when making a brine with cure, it should be added after the cure is cooled.
Am I wrong?

 

[SconnieQ]

I watched the video.  Saw that the cure was added to the brine and then boiled.
I thought heat deactivates the cure. So when making a brine with cure, it should be added after the cure is cooled.
Am I wrong?

Yeah, I didn't notice that. I agree. I would definitely add the cure after the brine has cooled. That tiny bit of cure will dissolve in cool water just fine. Ruhlman also adds the cure before he boils the brine. There is some debate as to whether boiling affects the sodium nitrate/nitrite. I've not found a scientific answer to that, just opinions. But I think the generally accepted approach is to just be safe, and add the cure to the cooled brine. Also, for the final tenderizing cook, I prefer to add 1/2 cup liquid to a pan and cover tightly with foil, rather than just wrapping in foil, but I think both ways should work.