Pastrami soak

[tbone2k]

well, you all have me convinced.. gonna try and pull some.. YEAH, gonna try it AGAIN. :)

and gonna try some pastrami.!!

 

[smoke freak]

Wow. Cant believe this thread is still alive after two weeks. Im still cornfused about how long to soak. Im just wonderin if I got one of the way too salty kind or not. If its not and I soak for 48 hours then it wont have enough flavor. The worst that could happen is that it tastes like smoked beef brisket stead of pastrami. How bad could that be? So stop thinkin it and start smokin it!

 

[wylep]

I just I just did my first a week ago, Soaked it for a little more that 24 hours, changing the water twice, put a rub on it that consisted of pepper, ground coriander seeds, onion and garlic powder and Montreal steal seasoning. I let that set for another 24 hours, then smoked it and the flavor was wonderful but there appeared to be a lot of fat in the brisket, which I don't mind but my wife does. Maybe some brands have less that others, not sure.

wylep

 

[camocook]

Which cut did you get?There is a flat cut, a point cut,and there's a whole brisket.I prefer the flat cut for my pastrami.Less fat and easier to trim.

 

[wylep]

Hello Camocook,
I did not look at the package for the type of cut but I am assuming that it was a flat cut. It weighed 5.3 lbs and was a flat square piece of meat. Do you trim the outside fat before you smoke it? There really wasn't that much fat on the outside of this when I prepared it, it was just after it had been in the fridge overnight and we went to slice it, the fat was very noticible. In some cuts I made, there was more fat than meat.

wylep

 

[walking dude]

wylep............they say you are supposed to cut the fat back to 1/4 inch........i don't bother anymore............just more juice to add to the meat later..........i smoke with a pan under the brisket to catch the juices.......yum...........but i also smoke fat cap down........doesn't wash off the rub as bad.........jm2cw

 

[bigwayne]

Found this on another site and I think it describes well why there are so many different opinions and experiences here:

TIP: The strength and flavor of the brine or corning liquid used on store-bought corned briskets vary greatly from brand to brand and pre-soaking in water is necessary to insure that the finished product is not too salty. When using an unfamiliar brand, play it safe and use longer soaking times of 36 to 48 hours.

 

[ron50]

Wayne:

Very good info thanks. You can also slice a thin strip of meat after 24 hours and fry it up. Taste it and you will know how salty it is. Mine was fine after 24 hours but as you point out, it can vary.