First time pastrami for weekend....any advice??

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lexoutlaw

Smoke Blower
Original poster
Mar 17, 2011
86
10
Lexington,KY
Ive been seein all these posts about pastrami the last few weeks. looks soooooo good, so think ill give it a shot this weekend. i plan on buying a store bought corned beef.....i dont really wanna take the time for curing, and corning and all that jazz....especially for first time.

im just looking for any advice ya might have for a first timer?? i plan on smoking with maple or cherry, i understand hickory isnt a good choice. and i know to soak the corned beef out of package for a good while. ill prob buy and soak tonight, smoke tomm.

any good rub ideas??

maple or cherry??

temps?? (plan on slicing thin), i assume foil around 160, remove round 180 and rest overnight in fridge.

im also gonna be doing a pork butt for a new idea i have (pulled pork eggrolls) ....wish i could do hickory for that, but im more excited about the strami.

looking forward to the advice, and plan on posting plenty of pics...of both items im doing.

thank yall
 
Yeah soak that bad boy for about 6 hours, changing the water periodically. I use the pickling spice & old bay rub. Take it to about 165. Then foil until 200-205. Let it rest. sometime overnight. Then most cut it cold AGAINST THE GRAIN & steam it. If you look on Sm home page under newsletter archive, Jeff has a whole tutorial on it. I don't know how to post the link here for you, so go check it out!
 
What realtorterry said....... we use the same recipe...Check out....the dude abides....also

 
Yeah soak that bad boy for about 6 hours, changing the water periodically. I use the pickling spice & old bay rub. Take it to about 165. Then foil until 200-205. Let it rest. sometime overnight. Then most cut it cold AGAINST THE GRAIN & steam it. If you look on Sm home page under newsletter archive, Jeff has a whole tutorial on it. I don't know how to post the link here for you, so go check it out!
Jeff's tutorial......

http://www.smoking-meat.com/february-2010-how-to-make-pastrami-smoked-corned-beef-brisket.html
 
 
I soak for a few days changing the water at least twice a day. First time we cooked one we didn't soak it enough and it was brutal! I don't use a lot of salt normally so take that for what it's worth.

The first few I did I just used Montreal Steak seasoning on it and they are deliscious. Last time I did one I followed Thirdeye's recipe - http://playingwithfireandsmoke.blogspot.com/1996/05/beef-pastrami.html  and again delicious!

We love to make pastrami hash besides rubens.

809b0cad_IMG_0461.jpg
 
Looks like they've got you covered. 
 

I like a fruit wood with mine, but that's just an opinion.  I use the same rub combo that Terry and Dave do. But you can use a wide variety of stuff.

When I cook mine, I do like they said above if I'm eating the same day.  If I'm going to refridgerate overnight then steam and slice the next day, then I'll only take it to 185 for a final internal temp.

Good luck and be sure to share some pics
 
I have done it a few times via Jeffs recipe and they have always turned out great.  Thinking of doing one tomorrow as I do taxes
 
hey all...well its underway. let me get some pics for ya.

the briskets are at about 140.....i used a pepper, garlic powder, and a little bit of old bay for the rub.

the shoulder, i used the usual suspects...brown sugar, lil cayenne, garlic powder, paprika, chili powder, s & p, and a sah of thyme.....and i have a mustard mixture of cider, mustard, cayenne, brown sugar for mopping.

here is the shoulder ready to go......

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and the CBB, after soaking most of night, water changed several times....rubbed down and ready to go

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All in smoker ready to go.....butt on bottom so it doesnt effect the strami.

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the strami at 130ish......lookin good

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and the butt at about 140. nice n shiney

1c9e6ae0_IMG_0295.jpg


thats where im at right now.....thanks for all the advice. i plan on foiling everything in the 160's...then cooking to proper temp. i usually cook my pork to around 180-190 for pulling. im pretty excited about the eggroll idea.

ill keep the pics coming
 
alright.....ready to foil. CBB is around 160-165.....decided to leave the butt outta the foil for now. i want a bit more of a bark.

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alright, well weekend went well. everything turned out as expected. strami is a peppery as it can be, and the eggrolls are gonna become a staple at my parties.

enjoy the view

BBQ Eggrolls:

here is the bbq pulled and ready to go......

1b4589ea_IMG_0298.jpg


you can buy the wraps in most supermarkets.....kroger is whats round here. look in the vegetarian section, in the cooler.

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stuffed with a little q, and a slaw mixture. make sure to leave enough room around the sides to fold the edges.

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Wrapped and ready to fry

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had the fryer at 350....let them fry about 2 minutes. they will float!! so i used the fry basket to hold them down, but dont press them, they will lose form.

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damn these were good.....i made a mustard sauce to dip them in that made them better. you can be pretty creative with these eggrolls.....

probably gonna whip these up for dinner tonight, there is a cubs game on so....perfect game food.

Pastrami:

here is one of the stramis ready to get sliced, i put both in the fridge to chill over night, and resisted the urge to taste. these turned out gorgeous on the inside.....

2b289bd6_IMG_0304.jpg


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Look at that gorgeous marbling.....

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sealed for the freezer and a little to enjoy through the week

7082f870_IMG_0307.jpg


and the finale.....sammi with horseradish mustard, provolone...kraut, which isnt a fav of mine, prob leave it off next time. but great sandwich...gonna be a good lunch week....

6805cee3_IMG_0310.jpg


thanks all for your help, lemme know what ya think. 

now i have a whole week to brainstorm for the weekend.
 
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