Pastrami from corned beef on the Smokin-It #3

[dert]

Just getting started...*fully cooked* commercial corned beef.

Thawing today:





180 ounces... 11.25 pounds.

 

[kathrynn]

what spices did you use for yours?  Love doing pastrami from Corned Beef briskets

Kat

 

[dert]

No idea what was used... probably the usual pickling spices...

This was commercially made, I'm just making it better! I'll hit it with cracked black pepper and smoke it tomorrow.

 

[kathrynn]

did you soak some of the salt out?  If not...may be a bit salty for you....just my 2 cents.

Kat

 

[dert]

Still frozen solid, thawing today. I may soak for a while to get some salt out...

 

[hambone1950]

I did a similar experiment and it was wicked salty. I would recommend giving it a good soak.
Mine was a Nathan's from the supermarket , but still....

 

[mneeley490]

I have done the same thing, and for pastrami you will want to soak out as much salt as possible.

 

[cekkk]

I'm pretty new at this but want to do this.  About how long would you suggest soaking it?  Would I use plain water, or something else?  Thanks.

 

[mneeley490]

For a brisket that size, I'd soak for at least 3 hours in cold water, changing the water every 1/2 hour or so.

 

[cekkk]

Thanks for that answer.  I'll be looking for a smaller brisket so I'll reduce that time.

 

[smoke and choke]

I have done this with the standard corned beef from the store. I remove it from the bag and rinse it off, pat dry and rub on spices. 1 tble. spoon Pepper corn and 1 tble. spoon coriander seeds. Toast spice in a dry pan until it becomes aromatic. Grind or crush the spice and rub on beef. Wrap tightly and refrigerate over night. Smoke for 2hrs. then wrap in foil with 1/2 cup water and put in oven or smoker for 2 to 4 hrs. Remove from heat. Now the hard part. let cool and re wrap in foil and slip into a zip lock bag over night. Slice when cold and reheat for sandwich. You could slice it with out the over night set but the meat will want to fall apart and not slice well, also the flavor is so much better after the wait.

  Good Luck and keep the fires burning.

 

[gringodave]

I've done this several times - definitely SOAK IT. The 3 hour soak changing water every half is great advice. Smoke and Choke's method looks great too!!!

 

[dert]

Soaked for a couple of hours...time to rub:













Good bit of oak and hickory...



All set at 225f in at 11:00.

 

[dert]

2.5 hours in, looking good and moist!



Not sure how long I'll have to cook this as it was previously fully cooked, I'll probably take it to about 195 or so.

Currently at 130°F internal temperature...

 

[stank56]

Funny the topic came up, I just put 2/3 of a brisket in a curing solution to make some pastrami myself. Two days before it's time to rub it and smoke it.

 

[dert]

Off at 6:30, tender and moist:



8.25 pounds, lost 3 pounds due to trimming and cooking.



Couldn't wait to sample...

 

[cekkk]

Looking at this thread this morning got me to looking up some things about corned beef and pastrami.  I ran across a discussion on "Chow" of how pastrami really got popular.  Al Langer of Langer's Deli in L.A. pushed it because it was cheaper than corned beef.  Maybe his used the cheaper naval cut. 

But that prompted a response from a fellow who said this. "I don't get it - why is pastrami less costly? I make both, and the wood used for smoking is not free. I braise both - in a covered half-pan, with an inch of water. The corned beef is fully cooked this way (about 4-5 hours in a 250F oven) while the pastrami only needs about 2 hours - but then, it's already been cooking in the smoker for 6-8 hours before braising."

So now I'm wondering, have you ever braised the pastrami after smoking?  I'm about to head into town and plan on coming home with a corned beef and some ribs, and it might be worthwhile to braise the brisket after the smoke. 

 

[kathrynn]

How did it taste....the q-views look great!

Kat

 

[disco]

Interesting thread and I love you qview. Please post if you do try it braised.

Disco

 

[dls1]

 
Looking at this thread this morning got me to looking up some things about corned beef and pastrami.  I ran across a discussion on "Chow" of how pastrami really got popular.  Al Langer of Langer's Deli in L.A. pushed it because it was cheaper than corned beef.  Maybe his used the cheaper naval cut. 

Langer's uses navel for their pastrami, and to the best of my knowledge, that's all they've ever used for nearly 70 years. Navel has always been the choice for pastrami made by the traditional Jewish delis, and cost, at least originally, was the driving factor. When the Romanian Jews migrated to New York City in the late 1800s they wanted to duplicate the pastrami (pastrama) they previously made in their home country which was typically prepared using goose breasts. With the breasts in short supply, and cost prohibitive, they switched to beef, and specifically, navel.

But that prompted a response from a fellow who said this. "I don't get it - why is pastrami less costly? I make both, and the wood used for smoking is not free. I braise both - in a covered half-pan, with an inch of water. The corned beef is fully cooked this way (about 4-5 hours in a 250F oven) while the pastrami only needs about 2 hours - but then, it's already been cooking in the smoker for 6-8 hours before braising."

So now I'm wondering, have you ever braised the pastrami after smoking?  I'm about to head into town and plan on coming home with a corned beef and some ribs, and it might be worthwhile to braise the brisket after the smoke. 

I've made a lot of pastrami from scratch over many years, and have never braised it, nor have I ever seen a recipe for doing so. That said, I've always steamed it when finishing, another common practice of the traditional Jewish delis. To me it's one of the 3 essential steps in preparing pastrami - curing (corning), smoking, and steaming.