Smoked brisket today, pastrami on Friday!

[andrew lb]

So I got a sweet deal on a 16lb whole brisket from Smart & Final (yea... I live in Kalifornia where I’m surprised they havent banned charcoal yet) and decided to give it a trim and prepare it two ways. Today I smoked the point cut in my UDS starting at 8am, forgetting to tack 4 hours onto the time estimate to ensure it had time to finish cooking in time for dinner. Ended up having grilled salmon since the temp was still hanging out at 165’f at 6pm even though the smoker had been locked on 260’f all day, courtesy of a PID controlled blower controller I made a few years ago. the temp then jumped to 190’f by 7pm and after taking the following photos, it’s now wrapped up in foil in a cooler to finish things off. guess it’s gonna be lunch tomorrow.

ive smoked a bunch of briskets over the years but never made Pastrami. im Following a recipe from a book I have titled ‘charcuterie’ by michael ruhlman and Brian polcyn. It’s brining in the fridge and the only thing I’m uncertain is the conflicting information on whether it’s hot or cold smoked. and which is the best wood to use. the general consensus is maple from what I’ve seen. Thoughts and opinions.

 

[smokerjim]

i'm not a pro at these but as far as wood i don't think it much matters, when i use my offset i use what ever i have laying around and really cant tell the difference in taste. as far as smoking i would run smoker 250-275 until done.

 

[SmokinAl]

Smoke it just like you would a brisket. I would cure it for at least 2 weeks, before smoking it. There are a lot of pastrami spice recipes, chef jimmyj has a real good one. We just prefer to use CBP.
Al

 

[chef jimmyj]

Thanks Al, and I agree. 2 weeks and Hot Smoke, 225 to 275°F. You can smoke until the meat is probe tender or put the desired number of smoke hours on the meat, and Steam it tender. Here is a popular Pastrami Rub...

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

 

[andrew lb]

It's now been 7 days of curing and Its now on the smoker. Since the only maple i could find around here was in the hardwood lumber section of the big box store, i ended up going with Apple. It's been on for 4 hours now. I should probably go check on it. Ever since i built that PID setup, i have gotten lazy on checking temps. lol.

 

[andrew lb]

Mmmm.... it turned out soooooooo good. I smoked it till 170 and since it was late in the evening, finished it off in the oven today till 210'f on a rack in a baking pan with beef stock in the pan covered in foil. here is a pic.

 

[smokerjim]

looks excelant! nice job