Everything did turn out well. I wasn't too keen on the sausage spicing at first, but it is aging into it nicely. Last night dinner consisted of a whole lot of sausages, pastrami and some home smoked salmon my sister's husband got from a relative in Alaska. All served on crackers with some nice hot homemade mustard that I made with some homemade apple cider vinegar. I was a happy camper.
I'm going to let the sausages age for another day in the fridge, if that's the right term, and then vacuum bag and freeze what's left at that point.
This pastrami is the best yet, by texture, tenderness and richness. It was from a commercial corned beef. The second one I made, the one I dry cured, was made from young animal and it cooked differently and was dryer and less rich. I speculate that the best pastrami is made from canner and cutter. All of the collagen in old bull that makes the temp hold around 150 as it converts to gelatin really does it. Or I could be crazy.
There isn't much in that smoker that isn't old enough to drink. Some of it might be ready for social security. I looked for early build pictures, but I can't find them on the computer. Will start a build thread shortly in any case.
Thanks again for the encouragement.
I'm going to let the sausages age for another day in the fridge, if that's the right term, and then vacuum bag and freeze what's left at that point.
This pastrami is the best yet, by texture, tenderness and richness. It was from a commercial corned beef. The second one I made, the one I dry cured, was made from young animal and it cooked differently and was dryer and less rich. I speculate that the best pastrami is made from canner and cutter. All of the collagen in old bull that makes the temp hold around 150 as it converts to gelatin really does it. Or I could be crazy.
There isn't much in that smoker that isn't old enough to drink. Some of it might be ready for social security. I looked for early build pictures, but I can't find them on the computer. Will start a build thread shortly in any case.
Thanks again for the encouragement.