Question on brining a brisket flat for pastrami.

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little smokey

Smoking Fanatic
Original poster
Aug 4, 2011
337
28
Omaha
The recipe I'm going with says brine 5 days, can you over brine and if not does it effect the flavor/saltiness?
 
If you have measured your salt and cure properly, the meat should not come out too salty.

What brining method are you using?

Dry brine
Immersion brine
Injection/pick-up brine

How did you calculate your salt and cure amounts for your brine?

I just did a pastrami from a brisket flat a few weeks ago. I used the dry brining method. Next time, I am going to use the injection/pick-up method.
 
Recipe I am using is from the book "The artisan jewish deli" for a four lb brisket flat. Immersion brine. Gonig to remove fat down to a 1/4 " and I should be right below 4lbs. I have made plenty of pastramis using corned beef but trying my own from scratch. This recipe has some great reviews from quite a few people so giving it a try.
 
Recipe I am using is from the book "The artisan jewish deli" for a four lb brisket flat. Immersion brine. Gonig to remove fat down to a 1/4 " and I should be right below 4lbs. I have made plenty of pastramis using corned beef but trying my own from scratch. This recipe has some great reviews from quite a few people so giving it a try.


For a 4 lb flat, how much water does your brine recipe call for?
 
six quarts and 1/4 cup of Pink salt.

That comes in line pretty close to my calculations for your cure #1 amount. I calculated for 4 liters of water.

I would suggest that you convert your measurements to weight.

A 1/4c of kosher salt will weigh less than a 1/4c of fine ground salt.

PPM calculations use weight and not volume. You will get more consistent results by measuring your ingredients by weight.

I would also suggest that you use metric measurements for your calculations.

You can much more easily calculate PPM using metric values.

(i.e. PPM = mg/kg) 156 mg NaNO2 in 1 liter of water is 156 PPM. 1 liter of water weighs 1 kg.

Can't get much easier than that.
 
Not toxic and not a problem, but that is twice the amount of Cure needed for that amount of meat and water. There is no reason you can't go long as long as the salt is not over 1 Cup Kosher Salt. Big Jewish Deli's go 30 days on their packers...JJ
 
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This may help you understand the science behind the calculations.
 

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The recipe I'm going with says brine 5 days, can you over brine and if not does it effect the flavor/saltiness?
I had mine in a brine for 14 days.
 

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I came up with a spot-on "Katz" pastrami recipe after several tries for over a year. As a new member I'll post the recipe soon. The 15+ lb. brisket brines for 3 weeks (in a "Brining Bucket"), followed by a 24 hour sous-vide @150º, then a 4 hour smoke, slice serve & freeze. Best & most tender pastrami ever, just ask my critical wife : )
 
"I came up with a spot-on "Katz" pastrami recipe after several tries for over a year. As a new member I'll post the recipe soon. The 15+ lb. brisket brines for 3 weeks (in a "Brining Bucket"), followed by a 24 hour sous-vide @150º, then a 4 hour smoke, slice serve & freeze. Best & most tender pastrami ever, just ask my critical wife : )"

I have done several briskets and would like to try this method on the 9lb brisket I just bought. Can you post the recipe please.
 
Here is my tried & true Katz knock-off. I researched as to Katz's process:
KATZ DELI, NYC:
1) First, we pickle the meat for 3 weeks in our secret brine solution
2) Then we apply a spice blend to the outside of the meat (aka. "the rub")
3) The meat is then slow-smoked for 3 days at a low, even temperature
4) Followed by boiling in our kitchen for 3 hours
5) And then steamed behind our carving counter
6) Finally, the pastrami is carved by hand and served.


I first tried this in an oven & smoker and those attempts were excellent, but then I tried sous-vide and it was far better. My process & recipe are on the attached PDF, e-mail me if I was confusing or if you have any questions, [email protected]. ENJOY!!!
 

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Thanks for the brine recipe, it will be for my next batch, already started this one.
Some have smoked, then SV...
Do you find a difference in the sequence?
 
Thanks for the brine recipe, it will be for my next batch, already started this one.
Some have smoked, then SV...
Do you find a difference in the sequence?
Some say this or that, but think about it, if you smoke first some of the smoke flavor will be cooked-out or diluted with the juices when sous-vided or roasted. I have not smoked before sous-vide, but it would probably turn out fine. My go to for sous-vide tips is "Sous Vide Everything" on You Tube, and they did this very taste comparison with ribs at this link: <>
 
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