Tuff pastrami help!

bradsbbq

Newbie

Original poster

Feb 22, 2013

21

10

• Dec 13, 2013

• #1

So i smoked a pastrami for 2 hours, my temp got crazy and went ip too 350 degrees for about 30 minutes till i calmed it down. so 2 hours latter i took the pastrami off it was reading 165 wich i heards was a good temp. i took it off foiled it and sliced it and it was tuff as nails! what the heck why did this happen i put it on the smoker thinking to cook it a little more?

 

hambone1950

Master of the Pit

Jul 23, 2012

1,400

46

Metrowest Boston , ma.

• Dec 14, 2013

• #2

Dude , I think you gotta Cook it a lot more ! What did you start with , a brisket , or a corned beef ? I think you might have mistaken 165 for the finished temp....165 is usually when people foil a brisket to help get past the stall.
cook it to 165 and THEN start cooking it to tender.....forget the temp and use a probe of some kind. When that probe slides in like butter , then the meat is done. Temp might be as high as 205. But tender is the object here , not a specific temp. Good luck.
Edit: BTW , what are you cooking on ?

 

Last edited: Dec 14, 2013

fwismoker

Master of the Pit

Dec 31, 2012

4,279

1,033

North East Indiana

• Dec 14, 2013

• #3

When people take their pastrami out early as you did they are steaming it after...if you're doing it in the smoker you gotta go way  longer to probe tender, if you want to steam a little after that you can but i don't see the need.

 

hambone1950

Master of the Pit

Jul 23, 2012

1,400

46

Metrowest Boston , ma.

• Dec 14, 2013

• #4

In a deli they typically slice pastrami cold and then steam it as they make sandwiches. But that's a restaurant setting. When we buy it at the supermarket we'll usually drop a bunch of slices in boiling water for a few minutes , then drain and make sandwiches.

 

dls1

Smoking Fanatic

Jun 6, 2012

935

224

Depends On The Day

• Dec 14, 2013

• #5

The process I've used for years (decades) when making pastrami pretty straight forward and always produces an excellent finished product. At the smoking stage, I do so at 170F to an IT of 160F-165F. I then remove it, wrap in foil, and refrigerate overnight under weights. The following day, I take straight from the refrigerator and place it on a rack in a roasting pan with 1" of boiling water in the pan below the rack. I wrap the pan tightly in foil and steam it in a pre-heated oven at 250F to an IT of 170F.

Works every time, and is always very tender and moist.