I may regret this but having a go at pastrami for the first time ever and thought it a good idea to document the process here. Thanks that those who answered my beginner questions on curing salts, it got the brain matter working and encouraged a bit of research on the numbers, percentages, and processes. It took me a while but I worked out where my confusion lay - the differences in amounts of curing salt in recipes differed wildly - mainly because I was comparing wet and dry recipes which obviously had different volumes to allow for the water in the bucket! Makes perfect sense once the penny drops!
Previously to this I have smoked a lot of briskets since discovering them a number of years ago now. When I started they were not all that popular in Australia other than to those in the know. When I was in the butcher shop (nearly 20 years ago) the vast majority of briskets ended up either diced or ground with the odd one rolled. Now I believe it is the opposite - my favourite butcher always carries them and they sell well whole or halved, and the previous butcher I went to (now closed) often ran out. I not only use them for smoking but also slow cooking in winter - Beef Burgundy (aka bœuf bourguignon) does very well with a brisket! I have a small mincer on the kitchen aid so the bits and pieces don't go to waste. Prior to that our four legged friend loved it when I prepared brisket!
Process so far: I had a 1.1kg flat in the freezer and the good lady suggested I use that rather than risk a full brisket. Smart lady that one. Thursday was my day off this week so I pulled it out that evening and got the brine ready last night (Friday night). Recipe below taken from one of those online calculators:
Beef Brisket 1.1kg
Water 3L
*Curing Salt 22.47g
Salt 84.44g
Sugar 42.5g
*Curing Salt I bought online before I realised 6.25% was the norm, this one is 2.95% - the online calculator I found allowed this variable to be adjusted (nice).
I boiled the water first and dissolved the salts and sugar in there - whilst it was cooling down I scrubbed the container clean and rinsed it well - that did not take long and the water was still hot so I spent the next six hours drinking ice cold beer, playing computer games and enjoying the cool change. It has been a hot summer here with 40+ days (that's 100+ deg F). I added a few spices because there's a lot in the cupboard and I wanted to use some up (Cinnamon, mustard seeds, coriander seeds and cloves from memory) - will make a rub closer to next weekend or use my current BBQ rub that I have in there (S&P, Paprika, onion/garlic powder, with and without sugar).
The plan is to brine it until next weekend and smoke it then. I use a Traeger pellet smoker which has served us well for close to ten years I think.
Pic attached because even though I am a photography nut, I've never photographed food - maybe this will change with these projects!
If I have missed something glaringlyh obvious feel free to yell out, apologies for the essay!
Stay well and have an awesome weekend!
Previously to this I have smoked a lot of briskets since discovering them a number of years ago now. When I started they were not all that popular in Australia other than to those in the know. When I was in the butcher shop (nearly 20 years ago) the vast majority of briskets ended up either diced or ground with the odd one rolled. Now I believe it is the opposite - my favourite butcher always carries them and they sell well whole or halved, and the previous butcher I went to (now closed) often ran out. I not only use them for smoking but also slow cooking in winter - Beef Burgundy (aka bœuf bourguignon) does very well with a brisket! I have a small mincer on the kitchen aid so the bits and pieces don't go to waste. Prior to that our four legged friend loved it when I prepared brisket!
Process so far: I had a 1.1kg flat in the freezer and the good lady suggested I use that rather than risk a full brisket. Smart lady that one. Thursday was my day off this week so I pulled it out that evening and got the brine ready last night (Friday night). Recipe below taken from one of those online calculators:
Beef Brisket 1.1kg
Water 3L
*Curing Salt 22.47g
Salt 84.44g
Sugar 42.5g
*Curing Salt I bought online before I realised 6.25% was the norm, this one is 2.95% - the online calculator I found allowed this variable to be adjusted (nice).
I boiled the water first and dissolved the salts and sugar in there - whilst it was cooling down I scrubbed the container clean and rinsed it well - that did not take long and the water was still hot so I spent the next six hours drinking ice cold beer, playing computer games and enjoying the cool change. It has been a hot summer here with 40+ days (that's 100+ deg F). I added a few spices because there's a lot in the cupboard and I wanted to use some up (Cinnamon, mustard seeds, coriander seeds and cloves from memory) - will make a rub closer to next weekend or use my current BBQ rub that I have in there (S&P, Paprika, onion/garlic powder, with and without sugar).
The plan is to brine it until next weekend and smoke it then. I use a Traeger pellet smoker which has served us well for close to ten years I think.
Pic attached because even though I am a photography nut, I've never photographed food - maybe this will change with these projects!
If I have missed something glaringlyh obvious feel free to yell out, apologies for the essay!
Stay well and have an awesome weekend!