Beef - Corned Beef and Pastrami

[Walchit]

I need to get a garage fridge! Would love to make my own pastrami, yours looks really good.

 

[pops6927]

Just convince your wife you need a new fridge for your house, and 'store' the old one out in the garage as a beer cooler/extra freezer space/stocking up Easter eggs/making Jell-O shots/ etc.!

 

[pops6927]

Since making this post, I had two major heart attacks (the EMT's had to use the paddles on me 3 times to bring me back!) this past spring of 2019, and having to eliminate as much salt as possible from my diet, and I am diabetic, so sugars have to go too! Small sacrifice for living vs. passing! So, I am planning on eliminating any excess salts or sugars, going only with 2 heaping tablespoons (2 oz.) of pink salt (sodium nitrite and plain salt, 6.25% and 97.75% resp.) per 1 gallon of potable water, stirred, not heated (unnecessary, it will easily dissolve by itself), plus pickling spices, 1 tablespoon. Cure and inject for 14 days minimum, then smoke for pastrami, simmer for corned beef. Will it be the same? Oh, of course not! But, it will be healthier! And, at my age and condition, that is important, also!

 

[Jabiru]

@pops6927 . Great post, read all of it, thank you. I am sorry to hear of your health problems.

one thing I remember you telling me is always wash the meat out of vac pack before putting in the brine, it was a great tip and actually stopped my brines going ropy.

 

[Lyle sinden]

Since making this post, I had two major heart attacks (the EMT's had to use the paddles on me 3 times to bring me back!) this past spring of 2019, and having to eliminate as much salt as possible from my diet, and I am diabetic, so sugars have to go too! Small sacrifice for living vs. passing! So, I am planning on eliminating any excess salts or sugars, going only with 2 heaping tablespoons (2 oz.) of pink salt (sodium nitrite and plain salt, 6.25% and 97.75% resp.) per 1 gallon of potable water, stirred, not heated (unnecessary, it will easily dissolve by itself), plus pickling spices, 1 tablespoon. Cure and inject for 14 days minimum, then smoke for pastrami, simmer for corned beef. Will it be the same? Oh, of course not! But, it will be healthier! And, at my age and condition, that is important, also!

I’m a Knewby to brining pastrami, but years ago purchased a bag of now discontinued Morton’s smoke flavored sugar cure. My ? is could this be substituted for the curing salt even though it’s not recommended for brining and if so how much per gallon?

 

[daveomak]

I’m a Knewby to brining pastrami, but years ago purchased a bag of now discontinued Morton’s smoke flavored sugar cure. My ? is could this be substituted for the curing salt even though it’s not recommended for brining and if so how much per gallon?

No..... It can NOT be used as curing salt as it does not contain sodium nitrite.....

You would be best served if you purchased/used cure#1... Salt + Sodium Nitrite (6.25%) .. Use it at the rate of 1 tsp. per 5#'s of stuff... That gets you to ~150 Ppm nitrite....
If you have 5#'s of meat and 2 quarts of liquid, that's approx. 9#'s of stuff...