I went to visit my brother for Canadian Thanksgiving and was able to get 2 nice briskets from Love's Meats in Vegreville. At last I was going to be able to do some of the brisket smokes I had been putting off. I am starting with Passing Wind Estates Pastrami.
I started by splitting the brisket into the point and flat. I like the pastrami from the point but it is a little fatty for my girth control. So, I will use the point for a burnt end meal with friends.
It is reasonably easy to separate the two pieces by slowly slicing through the flat layer separating them.
I trimmed the fat down to 1/4 inch thick on both pieces and set the point (the smaller pointed piece) aside.
I scored the surface of the flat to make it easier to carve against the grain later.
I weighed the trimmed flat at 2.3 kg (5 pounds). I put the flat in a stainless steel pot and covered it with water. I got the weight of the water and the brisket flat combined at 5.1 kg (11.25 pounds). I took the flat out of the water.
I mixed in the cure ingredients using the following amount of ingredients per kilogram of water and brisket combined:
30 ml kosher salt
3 grams prague powder #1
25 ml sugar
1 bay leaf
1 ½ ml garlic powder
1 ½ ml juniper berries
1 ½ ml black peppercorns
For my American friends who refuse to join the remaining world in the metric system, that works out to the following amounts per pound of water and brisket:
2 3/4 teaspoon kosher salt
0.048 ounces prague powder #1
2 1/4 teaspoon sugar
1/2 bay leaf
1/8 teaspoon garlic powder
1/8 teaspoon juniper berries
1/8 teaspoon black peppercorns
I mixed the ingredients into the water and then injected the brisket every couple of inches.
I put the meat back in the brine and weighed it down. I am using my formula for how long to brine the meat, the thickness in inches times 4 plus 2. My brisket was 2 inches thick so I will brine it for 10 days but will inject it again at 4 days. I find I get a better colour on my pastrami if I inject twice and still give it a full period in the brine.
I will see you on day 4 when I do the second injection.
Disco
I started by splitting the brisket into the point and flat. I like the pastrami from the point but it is a little fatty for my girth control. So, I will use the point for a burnt end meal with friends.
It is reasonably easy to separate the two pieces by slowly slicing through the flat layer separating them.
I trimmed the fat down to 1/4 inch thick on both pieces and set the point (the smaller pointed piece) aside.
I scored the surface of the flat to make it easier to carve against the grain later.
I weighed the trimmed flat at 2.3 kg (5 pounds). I put the flat in a stainless steel pot and covered it with water. I got the weight of the water and the brisket flat combined at 5.1 kg (11.25 pounds). I took the flat out of the water.
I mixed in the cure ingredients using the following amount of ingredients per kilogram of water and brisket combined:
30 ml kosher salt
3 grams prague powder #1
25 ml sugar
1 bay leaf
1 ½ ml garlic powder
1 ½ ml juniper berries
1 ½ ml black peppercorns
For my American friends who refuse to join the remaining world in the metric system, that works out to the following amounts per pound of water and brisket:
2 3/4 teaspoon kosher salt
0.048 ounces prague powder #1
2 1/4 teaspoon sugar
1/2 bay leaf
1/8 teaspoon garlic powder
1/8 teaspoon juniper berries
1/8 teaspoon black peppercorns
I mixed the ingredients into the water and then injected the brisket every couple of inches.
I put the meat back in the brine and weighed it down. I am using my formula for how long to brine the meat, the thickness in inches times 4 plus 2. My brisket was 2 inches thick so I will brine it for 10 days but will inject it again at 4 days. I find I get a better colour on my pastrami if I inject twice and still give it a full period in the brine.
I will see you on day 4 when I do the second injection.
Disco
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