My Best Pastrami So Far...

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mneeley490

Master of the Pit
Original poster
OTBS Member
SMF Premier Member
Jun 23, 2011
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Everett, WA
I found a couple brisket flats recently for a good price, so decided to try pastrami again. It's been a while, and truthfully, the first couple that I did were good, but not outstanding.
I think I've broken that plane tonight.
This is about a 7-8 lb. flat. (The butcher of a butcher put a nice gash right across it!) I did a wet brine with the usual suspects, plus pastrami pickling spices for 10 days. Three quarters cup of kosher salt in the gallon of water was perfect.
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Then a coating of dijon mustard...
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And rubbed last night with Chef Jimmy J's "Better 'en NY Pastrami Rub". This may have made all the difference.
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This morning I got up at 5:30 and started up the GMG Daniel Boone to 240°, loaded with a water pan and pecan pellets, with a little leftover fruitwood from doing a turkey breast yesterday. I pulled at 7-1/2 hours when the IT was 201°, and a wood skewer penetrated easily.
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Wrapped tightly in restaurant-grade plastic wrap, and then again in foil, and let rest in a cooler for a few hours. (I'm told by wrapping it in plastic, it will then sort of steam itself. Seemed to work.)
Later, sliced and made into grilled Reubens, or I guess I should say, Rachels, as pastrami was used instead of corned beef. Once again, the stupid lighting in my kitchen fails to capture the deep pinkness of the meat. But you can see how juicy it is!
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Pull apart tender!
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A little swiss cheese, kraut, and thousand island, and voila!
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Beautiful! Glad the spice blend worked for you, I am really happy with the flavor too...JJ
 
Now that right there is some fine looking pastrami. Job Well Done.

Point for sure.
Chris
 
That is some gorgeous pastrami. I like that the slices are thicker than the usual deli pile.
I was hand slicing, so that was as thin as I could get them and have them stay in one piece.


That looks awesome! Making pastrami is on my bucket list!

What container do you use to keep the pastrami in during the brine process?
I used a 2 gallon ziplock bag. One gallon of brine, and the brisket fit perfectly. Kept it in the foil turkey pan though, in case of leaks.

Beautiful! Glad the spice blend worked for you, I am really happy with the flavor too...JJ
Chef, once again you have come thru with a great recipe! I'll be using this from now on.
 
Sorry, another double post. Crappy work computer.
 
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And rubbed last night with Chef Jimmy J's "Better 'en NY Pastrami Rub". This may have made all the difference.


Beautiful looking Pastrami! Is Chef Jommy’s Rub a commercial product or a homemade mix? If it’s a commercial mix could you post a link to it? If it’s a homemade mix could you post the ingredients and proportions please.
 
Here is what I use. Also the quick method I use when Corned Beef goes on sale in March...JJ

Killer Corned Beef Brine

1Gal Cold Water

1/2C Morton Kosher Salt (3/4C if DC)

1/4C Pickling Spice

1C Diced Onion

4 Cloves Garlic, chopped.

1Ea Carrot, diced

1Ea Rib Celery, diced

1T Fresh Thyme Leaves (1tsp Dry)

2T Brown Sugar

1T Cure #1

Toast the Pickling Spices in a dry 2 Qt Pot over medium heat until fragrant.

Add 1Qt of the Water and the remaining EXCEPT the Cure #1.

Bring to a Boil and simmer 5 minutes.

Add this " Tea " to the remaining 3QT Cold Water in a food safe container and stir in the 1T Cure #1.

Measure the thickness of the meat at the thickest point.

Brine One Day for each 1/2 inch of thickness of the thickest part.

Soak completely submerged, weight down with a bag of water.

Everything may fit in a Ziplock 2 Gallon Bag if you don't have a Food Safe Container.

Place Bag in another container or roasting pan in case of leaks.

Quick Corned Beef to Pastrami

Most Grocery Stores sell Corned Beef Brisket but Flat and Point portions. The Flats are usually trimmed very lean and the Points are quite a bit more fatty but MUCH more flavorful and tender! These cuts can be made into Pastrami in just a few hours of smoking and make great sandwiches, especially Rubens. Purchase either cut and soak in fresh water for one to two hours to remove some of the salt. Apply a thin coat of Yellow Mustard then generously apply the Pastrami Rub. You can rest over night or go directly into the smoker. Smoke at 250 to 275°F to an Internal Temp (IT) of 190°F or until a Toothpick slides into the meat easily. This can take 6+ hours depending on cut. To speed the process up you can Smoke the meat for 4 hours then Steam the meat until it is tender. If you wish you can Smoke and Refrigerate the meat one day and then steam it tender up to 5 days later.

Better 'en NY Pastrami Rub

2T Turbinado Sugar

2T Black Peppercorns

1T Coriander Seed

1T Dill Seed

1T Dry Minced Onion

1T Dry Minced Garlic

1tsp Allspice Berries

1tsp Mustard Seed

1tsp Dry Thyme Leaves

3 Bay Leaves, crumbled

1tsp Juniper Berries

All Spices are Whole and were toasted in a dry pan over Medium heat until fragrant.

Let the Spices cool then Grind in a cheapo Coffee Grinder until slightly less than Coarse. The Garlic and Onion do not need to be toasted. If grinding do so only slightly as the Minced size is pretty close to perfect for Pastrami.

This was some some seriously Good Eats...Enjoy...JJ
 
Has anyone made pastrami with another cut of meat? Maybe top round? I used a whole brisket and it is really good, but the slices are only about an inch and a half wide. I would like to have a cut of beef that will give me bigger slices.
Any suggestions?
 
Damn dude! I have not been a fan of store-bought pastrami, but I would definitely give yours a try. Like!
Yeah, like store bought bacon, homemade is so much better!

Has anyone made pastrami with another cut of meat? Maybe top round? I used a whole brisket and it is really good, but the slices are only about an inch and a half wide. I would like to have a cut of beef that will give me bigger slices.
Any suggestions?
There is a guy near me that has a shop and only sells pastrami sandwiches. He's perfected them, though; they're thin cut beef and fantastic; he really piles it on, too. I'm not sure exactly what cut he uses, but it might be brisket points only, or some other thicker cut with striations of fat running through it.
 
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Beautiful looking Pastrami! Is Chef Jommy’s Rub a commercial product or a homemade mix? If it’s a commercial mix could you post a link to it? If it’s a homemade mix could you post the ingredients and proportions please.
I definitely recommend Chef Jimmy J's rub above. Thanks for reposting it, chef!
 
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Pastrami from the top or eye round is all you can get from most grocery stores. Mostly for reasons you want to do it, bigger slices. With the popularity of brisket, the cuts from the round are cheaper and leaner too. Only difference with making pastrami round is, you will want to inject the brine to save from having to soak 4+ weeks. Way too much time for something bad to happen to the meat.
The first pastrami I ever had, and the best, came from a small Jewish Deli in Endicott NY. It was a Kosher Deli so any cut has to come from the front half of the beef animal. This was made from the Plate. The meat over the front ribs and just behind the brisket. Similar to the front half of belly bacon. This Plate Pastrami was 50/50 fat and lean with a thick coating of spices and heavily smoked. It was Magical!...JJ
 
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