PASTRAMI FROM SCRATCH ON THE LANG

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Al - just curious at what temp did you remove the brisket and does the can of soup just sit open in the pan. It's my first crack at this just want to make sure I get it right.

Thanks...

Glenn
You pour the soup in the bottom of the pan & put the brisket in it.

The final IT was 195 on this one, but sometimes they take a little higher temp to get done.

When you get up to 195, check it with a toothpick or wooden skewer.

It should go in with little to no resistance, if it's not sliding in real easy then let it cook a little longer until it's probe tender.

Good luck & let me know how it turns out!

Al
 
I was in the grocery store the other day with Judy & she was looking for something & I said I'm going to check out the meat dept.

It so happens the meat mgr. was standing by the beef & I asked him if he had any brisket flats around 8 lbs.

He came back with this guy, a real nice Angus choice flat. And the party begins.


I trimmed most of the fat off. It was only 12 oz.


I mixed up a cure. I used the bacon cure calculator to calculate the salt, sugar, & cure #1.

Then I added 1/4 cup each of granulated garlic, granulated onion, black pepper, & pickling spices.


I mixed it up together with a whisk.


Put the brisket in a vacuum bag.


Poured the cure mix in the bag, half on one side first.


Massaged it in real well.


Then the other half on the other side.


And massaged that in too.


Then vacuum sealed the bag. And into the fridge for 11 days. Flipping & massaging it daily.


After 11 days I removed it from the bag & rinsed it off & patted it dry.


I sliced the end off cutting against the grain, so I would know which way to slice it when it was smoked.

Sometimes with the crust & pepper coating it's hard to see the grain when it's cooked.


I did a fry test with the corner. It was fine, not too salty so no soaking needed.


I just coated it with black pepper on both sides.


And vacuumed it up again. This time for 2 days in the fridge.


Got up early this morning & fired up the Lang.


Got the brisket ready & thawed the trimmed fat that I saved in the freezer.


Into the Lang on the bottom rack with the fat above it dripping on it to keep it nice & moist.


I kept it on the grate for a couple of hours to put a crust on the bottom, then I put it

in a pan with a can of French onion soup.


Back on the bottom rack.


At about 4 hours the IT was around 180.


At 5 1/2 hours it was done. I got up early thinking this would take 8-10 hours to smoke,

but I guess since the Lang has heat both on top & underneath they cook stuff a lot faster.

So it was all good, we had pastrami sammies for lunch & I think were having Reuben's for dinner.


Of course Judy made some rye bread.


Here's the star ready to be sliced.


It was very moist & tender. I cut some off each end to see if they were the same.


The slices were supple enough to bend double over your finger & pulled apart with just a little stretch.


And here's lunch. I added a couple of slices of Swiss and of course some dill pickles.


And here's dinner!


Thanks for looking Guys!!

Al
Wow, just wow...
 
Al as a native New Yorker I've studied your recipes for Lox and Pastrami carefully. Although I've always brined my briskets, your equalization dry cure makes sense to me (for the same reason I prefer my bacon dry-cured) and I'll be trying that next time. The question I'm considering now though is final internal temperature during the smoke, and post smoke treatment. I've always smoked to 150°, then sliced (cold) with ease on my slicer. It is common for folks to smoke to the same temperature and then steam to ± 200°. It is also now common for folks to smoke to 150° or so and then cook it in a water bath at 150° for 48 hours.

So my question to you is, have you experimented much with these variables and do you have any insights into the pros can cons of the various post cure treatments? It feels like I'll be splitting my next brisket into thirds and trying all three methods simultaneously, but I'm curious if you (or anyone else here) has already done this.

Also, fun fact: traditionally pastrami was made with Navel and not Brisket, but this cut must be sourced from whole animal butchers and is otherwise basically impossible to find.
 
The pastrami I do now is the same cure method, then smoked to an IT of 150, then into a SV for 24 hours at 155. It has a much better texture than just smoking it all the way. I just did an eye of round pastrami & used the same method. Only I just smoked it to 130 IT then into the SV for 20 hours at 132.
Good luck with yours.
Al
 
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How did the eye of round turn out? for the eye of round is it also an equilibrium brine? I followed the link in your post above and you use a gradient brine (soaking in a bag). I hope I got the brine terms correct.

Thanks
 
Last edited:
How did the eye of round turn out? for the eye of round is it also an equilibrium brine? I followed the link in your post above and you use a gradient brine (soaking in a bag). I hope I got the brine terms correct.

Thanks

The eye turned out very good.
I use Pops brine & inject the middle with the brine, then into a bag & into the fridge.
Here is one I did a while back.
https://www.smokingmeatforums.com/threads/eye-of-round-pastrami-mucho-q-view.242696/
But we like them better when you finish them with a SV, instead of smoking them all the way!
Al
 
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I was in the grocery store the other day with Judy & she was looking for something & I said I'm going to check out the meat dept.

It so happens the meat mgr. was standing by the beef & I asked him if he had any brisket flats around 8 lbs.

He came back with this guy, a real nice Angus choice flat. And the party begins.


I trimmed most of the fat off. It was only 12 oz.


I mixed up a cure. I used the bacon cure calculator to calculate the salt, sugar, & cure #1.

Then I added 1/4 cup each of granulated garlic, granulated onion, black pepper, & pickling spices.


I mixed it up together with a whisk.


Put the brisket in a vacuum bag.


Poured the cure mix in the bag, half on one side first.


Massaged it in real well.


Then the other half on the other side.


And massaged that in too.


Then vacuum sealed the bag. And into the fridge for 11 days. Flipping & massaging it daily.


After 11 days I removed it from the bag & rinsed it off & patted it dry.


I sliced the end off cutting against the grain, so I would know which way to slice it when it was smoked.

Sometimes with the crust & pepper coating it's hard to see the grain when it's cooked.


I did a fry test with the corner. It was fine, not too salty so no soaking needed.


I just coated it with black pepper on both sides.


And vacuumed it up again. This time for 2 days in the fridge.


Got up early this morning & fired up the Lang.


Got the brisket ready & thawed the trimmed fat that I saved in the freezer.


Into the Lang on the bottom rack with the fat above it dripping on it to keep it nice & moist.


I kept it on the grate for a couple of hours to put a crust on the bottom, then I put it

in a pan with a can of French onion soup.


Back on the bottom rack.


At about 4 hours the IT was around 180.


At 5 1/2 hours it was done. I got up early thinking this would take 8-10 hours to smoke,

but I guess since the Lang has heat both on top & underneath they cook stuff a lot faster.

So it was all good, we had pastrami sammies for lunch & I think were having Reuben's for dinner.


Of course Judy made some rye bread.


Here's the star ready to be sliced.


It was very moist & tender. I cut some off each end to see if they were the same.


The slices were supple enough to bend double over your finger & pulled apart with just a little stretch.


And here's lunch. I added a couple of slices of Swiss and of course some dill pickles.


And here's dinner!


Thanks for looking Guys!!

Al
Absolutely beautiful Al. Fantastic.
 
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