Picked up some discounted corned beef around St. Patrick's Day and tried my first attempt at pastrami today. I used a 2.5 pound brisket and soaked it in water overnight to get some of the brine off. Before going on the smoker, I coated it with mustard and the spice packet that came with the meat. Put one chunk of hickory in my WSM and fired it up using the minion method. (Thank you Al for pointing out only a few briquettes in my chimney starter...I have had less white smoke to wait for when starting up.) I had a nice thin blue smoke for most of the cook (here's a picture...hard to see smoke).
The meat was ready at 192 IT in about five hours. I brought it inside and let it rest about half an hour.
After slicing it up, we made some sandwiches with Swiss cheese, mustard, and rye bread and a dill pickle on the side. I was happy with the end result, so was the wife and that's a good thing. I'll be keeping my eyes open for discounted corned beef from now on.
The meat was ready at 192 IT in about five hours. I brought it inside and let it rest about half an hour.
After slicing it up, we made some sandwiches with Swiss cheese, mustard, and rye bread and a dill pickle on the side. I was happy with the end result, so was the wife and that's a good thing. I'll be keeping my eyes open for discounted corned beef from now on.