Wanna make a pastrami .... CB or Brisket??

[tbone124]

Got some uncle Louie's pastrami rub today in the mail and wanted to make a pastrami... I've tried making one using corn beef and a home made rub it was a little salty but not bad.... My question should I dry cure a brisket or take the corn beef shortcut??

[squirtthecat]

Try it both ways!   

[beefmann]

pastrami takes 7 days to dry cure based on my  experience, though quite good,,, go for  either  both would be good

[tbone124]

So with the dry cure should I coat it with mustard or oil or just cover in rub?   Is there such a thing as too much rub?

[BBQIT]

I'm not sure what's in the dry rub you purchased, but if it doesn't have "cure #1" in it, then it's probably just a seasoning rub and you won't be able to dry cure using it.  If you want to dry cure, you'll need to do it using "cure #1" (or a substitute such as Morton's Tender Quick) and then after the brisket has been cured, you'll put the dry rub on it and smoke it.  HabenaroSmoker has a great pastrami recipe on "Susanminor.org" with directions for curing a brisket, but unfortunately, for some reason the website appears to be down.  Hopefully HabenaroSmoker will reply to you with the recipe.

[KyNola]

Hey Tbone, I use Uncle Louie's often and love it.  I use a corned beef brisket simply because I'm lazy.  Rinse the CB and apply the Uncle Louie's directly to the CB(no mustard or glue), wrap in plastic wrap and into the frig for 2-3 days.  When ready to smoke, apply smoke and cook to an internal temp of your liking.  Bring the CB in and let it cool down on the counter while tented in foil.  Wrap in plastic wrap and then foil and into the frig for at least a day, two is better.  Out of the frig and thin slice against the grain.

You can always "corn" a raw brisket with a curing brine and then follow the steps above but I'm just too lazy.

[Habanero Smoker]

You will often see members state once you make your own bacon you will never go back to the commercial kind. Well I'm that way with corned beef. Home cured corned beef is a lot better then the commercial stuff you get out there.

When I cure I generally will only cure the flats, occasionally the point, but if I have a whole brisket I will separate it first, then cure. Also separating them you can cut the curing time down to 4 days.

Here is a link my Beef Pastrami recipe. If you got Uncle Louie's rub, skip the section on the Dry Rub. Since posting that recipe, I have refined the recipe's cure amount to using 1 tablespoon of Morton's Tender Quick (TQ) per pound of meat for a more consistent taste, and I turn about every 24 hours. In addition, after removing the cure I let it rest at least 12 - 24 hours to allow the cure to equally distribute throughout the meat.

Beef Pastrami

If you don't have TQ you can make and substitute the Basic Dry Cure. If you don't need to make a whole batch this recipe can be easily halved or quartered.

Basic Dry Cure:
1 pound/450 grams pickling salt
8 ounces/225 grams granulated sugar
2.5 ounces/68 grams pink salt (InstaCure #1; or DQ Powder; or Prague Powder #1; or Cure #1; or TCM)
Makes about 3 1/2 cups

Directions:

Combine all ingredients and mix well. It is important to mix this thoroughly to ensure that the pink salt and other ingredients are equally distributed.
I used a stand mixer with a paddle attachment (do not use the whisk). I mixed the ingredients at speed #2 for two minutes. Scraped the sides and mixed for two more minutes.

Store in an air tight container away from sunlight, and it will last indefinitely.
If hard lumps form during storage discard and make a new batch. If the lumps fall apart easily with a little pressure the cure is still good to use.

To use the Basic Cure Mix as part of your favorite cured recipes, use 1 tablespoon per pound of meat, then you can add your additional seasonings such as additional sugar, garlic, onions and/or herbs (do not add additional salt).

[beefmann]

the cure i use is

1/2 tbsp / lb Morton tender quick
1/2 tbsp / lb brown sugar
1/2 tbsp /lb paprika
1 tsp / lb onion powder
1 tsp /lb garlic powder
1 tsp/ lb black pepper

trim fat to 1/4 inch or less apply  1/2 cure , placing in fridge turning every  12 hours or so, after 48 hours apply rest of cure and continuing turning every 12 hours,,, at the end of the 7 th day of curing  apply this rub

4 tbsp black pepper
4 tbsp ground mustard
2 tbsp paprika
1 tbsp granulated garlic
1 tsp ground ginger
4 tbsp brown sugar ( if you  like it  a bit  sweetier )
apply the rub 12 hours before the smoke / cook start  time, cook till 190 F it.. box temp at 225

[sjmcdowall]

the cure i use is

1/2 tbsp / lb Morton tender quick
1/2 tbsp / lb brown sugar
1/2 tbsp /lb paprika
1 tsp / lb onion powder
1 tsp /lb garlic powder
1 tsp/ lb black pepper

trim fat to 1/4 inch or less apply  1/2 cure , placing in fridge turning every  12 hours or so, after 48 hours apply rest of cure and continuing turning every 12 hours,,, at the end of the 7 th day of curing  apply this rub

4 tbsp black pepper
4 tbsp ground mustard
2 tbsp paprika
1 tbsp granulated garlic
1 tsp ground ginger
4

Looks like the recipe was chopped off -- but having just made 14 lbs of Pastrami (and was prompty devoured by friends and relatives) -- I do suggest the technique more toward Habenero Smokers in that

1 -- Turning (called overhauling) the briskets is needed every day (once per day)
2 -- Washing and letting the briskets soak for an hour (change water) and then letting sit in the fridge for 12 hours or so to even out salt
3 -- The final spice rub can obvisouly be of anyone's choice -- but I have never seen any Pastrami w/o having corriander seeds .. sometimes as much as 2 : 1 ratio to cracker pepper .. 1:1 minimum IMHO

Again, follow Hab's general technique (no more than 2-3 hours of smoke IMHO and don't use Mesquite or Hickory if you want a traditional non-Texas taste.. I think Pecan / Maple do wonders ... )

If you leave the rub on more than a few hours it may become "wet" -- in that case I think a good technique is to put it in the smoker and turn the heat on to 120 or so for an hour (to preheat) and dry out the brisket .. and durng the last 40 minutes you can turn on the smoker unit to preheat it (just don't advance the pucks) -- and you can even "cool" smoke the brisket for an hour or so and then turn the heat up to 225 or so to finish.  I find a good finishing temp. is 150-160 IT. 

Have at -- it was awesome!  And if you like Pastrami try Montreal Smoked Meat -- it's similar (but always made with the point/1st cut and not the flat) .  You can also try Pastrami with a cut called the "Plate" -- it comes after the point on the cow .. so  Flat -> Point -> Plate  ... Many traditional Pastrami makers of awesomeness use the Plate (also sometimes called a Navel cut) ... it's more marbled and therefore even more tender .. (but of course fattier) ...

Onwards!

[KyNola]

Well then, I guess my Rub gets wet because my Uncle Louie's Rub stays on the corned beef for at least 2 days in the frig wrapped in plastic wrap.  Before it goes into the smoker, I brush/scrape as much of the Rub off as I can because the corned beef is intensely seasoned from hanging out in the frig for 2 days and it no longer needs the Rub.

I also smoke it with hickory because that's what us folks in Kentucky do.  Mesquite is a Texas flavor.  Hickory is more of a Southern choice.  Feel free to smoke with the wood of your choice.

[Habanero Smoker]

Here is a link to my recipe on the recipe site; yes!! the recipe site is up and running; at least for now.  ;D

Beef Pastrami

[NePaSmoKer]

More rocket science stuff  :o

Anyone who has done any processing and uses a rub know that the applied rub will draw liquids from the meat thus making the rub moist and mix with the liquids from the meat.

Easy peasy folks this aint Lockheed Martin