Pastrami and sausage debachel

[Bigbirdoffroad]

Don't you just hate days like this!!!!! I started off with a corned beef I bought last week. I soaked it for 48 hours in the fridge with a water change half way. I dry rubbed it, plastic wraped it and set in the fridge for another 24 hours. Fired up the smoker and did 1 hour with Jim Beam, 3 hours with apple and 4 more hours with no smoke till the IT was 170. Foil, towel and microwave for 2 more hours and then on to the slicer. Looked awsome, smelled awsome........So damn SALYT, I cant even eat it!!!!

Now for the sausage, I set my casings in warm water to soak while I went to Wallyworld to get some pork and dry milk. Got home, mixed up my spices, cubed up 10 lbs of pork and put into the freezer to chill. Had some time to spare so I racked off 2 batches of homemade Wine. Now on to the pork. I set up my new Cabelas meat grinder and started to grind. Got about 2 ounces thru the grinder and it fell appart. The front was machined wrong so you cant get it tight to hold in the blade and auger. Had to throw out the casings and freeze the pork till I can get my grinder replaced.

Man I HATE days like that.

[KyNola]

Sorry to hear about your grinder.

What made your pastrami so salty?  The corned beef briskets that I buy for making pastrami, I only rinse them.  I have never found it necessary to soak them before.  What was in your pastrami dry rub? I have always used Habs's recipe for his pastrami(can be found on the recipe website www.susanminor.org)and it has come out perfectly.  I have a commercial pastrami rub I am going to try very soon but it will have to do something special to be better than Habs's.

[Bigbirdoffroad]

I used my rib rub with some extra black pepper. I must have gotten an over salted corned beef. It's not the first Corned Beef brisket I've had that was too salty.

[KyNola]

I'm betting your rib rub has salt in it.  I'll bet that is your problem.  Try this recipe combination as your pastrami dry rub.  It is taken directly from Habs's post on the recipe website.  Note there is no salt in it.
3TBS coriander seed(4 if you don't have white peppercorns)
2TBS black peppercorns
2TBS yellow mstard seed
1TBS white peppercorns
2TBS granulated garlic

Combine first 4 ingredients and grind coarsely.  Then add the granulated garlic and remix.  Apply to the brisket, wrap in plastic wrap and into the frig.  I leave it for 2 days then smoke as your mormally would.  I only go to an IT of around 155-160.

[Bigbirdoffroad]

Yeah there's salt in my rib rub but it never made anything else I've used it on taste so salty. I remember last fall I got a corned beef brisket that I cooked in my Crock Pot in water, it was so salty I just threw it in the trash.

I think I'll boil the pastrami to get some salt out of it, chop it up wit some potatoes and make pastrami hash.

[squirtthecat]

I think I'll boil the pastrami to get some salt out of it, chop it up wit some potatoes and make pastrami hash.

Now you're talking!
We love to eat our mishaps..

[Habanero Smoker]

One other thing. You could have saved your casings. Just drain them well, blot dry with paper towels, place them back with the other casings, and cover with salt.

[Bigbirdoffroad]

One other thing. You could have saved your casings. Just drain them well, blot dry with paper towels, place them back with the other casings, and cover with salt.

At that piont, I was so mad, I wanted to throw the grinder out the kitchen sink window. For the $5 it cost me for casings, I was not going to sweat it. Besides, I don't know when I'll have my "new" grinder. I'm thinking about buying a Kitchen Aid mixer and getting the grinder attachment. At least that way I can get multi uses out of it. I'd like to have the juicer attachment so I can make homemade fruit wine without a press. ;D