current smoke: first pastrami

[mnola917]

So my pastrami has been in the smoker at 225-250* since 9:00am. Its been hovering at 134 degrees now for a long, long time. I hate this point. No matter how early I start, I always manage to cut it close with time, because I have to leave my house at 5, its 2:30 in ny right now.

 

[the dude abides]

Hang in there. You're in likely in the stall. It could go quick. Knock on wood.

Tell us about the process.

 

[bigtrain74]

Im doing mine tomorrow night... I always start mine last at night to ensure I have enough time to finish it... Don't forget the Q-view... Good luck!

 

[bigtrain74]

No Pun Intended!

 

[mnola917]

I didnt take pictures of anything prior to it being in the smoker, but ill definitely get a few of the final product.

I went the easy route and bought a 3lb flat cut corned beef brisket, soaked it in water overnight to get out the saltiness. I Rubbed it down with:

5 Tbsp freshly crushed Coriander Seeds
3 Tbsp freshly crushed Black Pepper
8 Cloves of minced garlic
2 Tbsp YellowMustard seeds
5 Tbsp Sea Salt
3 Tbsp Brown Sugar
5 Tbsp Paprika

Then I let it marinate for 24 hours, put it in the smoker this morning at 9 at 225-250. Im waiting for the Temp to reach 165, them Im gonna foil with a little water and apple juice (im not too sure if other people do that with pastrami, but i figure it'll make it a little more moist) then Im going to take it out of the smoker at 185, let it rest and cool, then slice it up tomorrow.

 

[chisoxjim]

I will be interested in your results as I am trying my first pastrami on Saturday morning.

My plan is to soak the 4-5# flat cut corned beef brisket Friday night until Sat morning, put the rub on(ground corriander, black pepper, garlic powder), and smoke it(starting about 8 or 9 a.m.) at 250 degrees until the meat hits 180 degrees. Then I will either wrap in foil, and put it in a closed cooler for 2 hours to "rest", or try the steam in the oven method until the meat hits 205 degrees.

I just need it done by dinner time for some Rachel sandwiches.

Ill take pics of the whole process.

 

[the dude abides]

I did a 2.6 pounder a couple of weekends ago. It took me 7 hours to get to 165. It was frustrating. Just hang with it. It will come along. I'd wrap at 165° then keep on the heat til 190°+ or as long as you can before you have to go. Then let it rest in a cooler for an hour-ish before slicing

For when you're bored read the post titled "My Night From Heck with A Corned Beef Brisket"


Is this for dinner tonight?

When you foil you probably don't need to add the apple juice unless you want to add that flavor to the meat. If anything a quick spritz but I wouldn't do too much.

 

[mnola917]

Its acutally just going to be for slicing, for lunch and stuff throughout the week. I also wanted to know if you guys ever turn the meat over? I know ribs dont have to be turned, but I'd imagine it would help even out the cooking. I havent flipped the strami over yet, and Im wondering if I should.

 

[the dude abides]

I didn't. Just left the fat side up.

 

[mnola917]

Just hit 165, i took it out of the smoker foiled it, and put it in the oven at 235 (same thing, except im saving charcoal)

 

[the dude abides]

Sounds good. At least you got through the stall.

 

[mnola917]

Thanks for your help today Mr. Lebowski! I gotta head out to work (famous daves, kinda ironic if you think about it)

Smoke On!

 

[the dude abides]

LOL No problem. Glad I could be there. Let's just say after my first brisket and all the help I had...I owed somebody some kind of help.

Now let me know how it tastes.

 

[scubadoo97]

Just keep in mind connective tissue is still breaking down until it hits 180 to 190.

You want some resistance in the meat, pull between these times. You want soft and tender, take it to 200.

 

[chisoxjim]

great tips thanks,

 

[mnola917]

well its finished, rested and i took a few slices before I'm going to bed. Qview in the morning. Its very, very, very, very salty. Now, I may be a bad judge because I dislike salt so much that I eat unsalted potato chips, but I think the recipe that I used (from the BBQ Bible) was wayyyy too salty. I actually rinsed the meat off under water to get some of the excess salt off, it helped a little. Im hoping with a good rye bread and some thick swiss cheese I'll never notice its saltiness.

 

[ronp]

Did you do the fry pan test?
I also noticed you rubbed it with 5 TBS of sea salt. Maybe that is why. No need to add more salt. JMHO.

 

[nicko]

I did the same thing the first time. Put salt in the rub. I made a double batch of rub and only put in 4 Tbs of Koaser salt. try that it came out good.

 

[azrocker]

Sometimes I soak in a cold bath before I season. I even do a double just to get some of the salt out.

 

[scubadoo97]

Prepared corned beefs are plenty salty and I would highly advise against adding salt to the rub. Fry test before and after soaking is recommended if you are not familiar with results from corned beefs with similar salt contents. I am not one to under salt food but some of these corned beefs are way salty. Remember they are intended to be boiled/simmered which will leach out a lot of salt.