First Pastrami

ArnieM · December 10, 2009, 11:59:27 AM

I got this hunk of brisket flat and wanted to do corned beef. Many helpful people provided recipes but I didn't have all of the ingredients at hand and an internet order would have taken too long. So, that's the next one. This one will be Pastrami. Many thanks to Hawkeye who forced some MTQ on me ;D

I used Habs dry rub Pastrami recipe from the recipe site. Sure smells good. Even with the 'updated' portions, I still had plenty of rub left over.

This is what was called "very well trimmed" Angus brisket. Not much fat cap left and it looks pretty lean.

Did my best to sprinkle, rub, slap and pound in the dry rub.

Vac packed up and into the fridge. Now, like all good things smoked and cured, comes the waiting >:(

I'll follow up on this when the time comes.

FLBentRider · December 10, 2009, 12:10:14 PM

Arnie,

You are curing and then rub / smoke ?

I was under the impression that you will be making corned beef up to the point (in Habs recipe) that you do the second rub and smoke.

The first rub has cure/MTQ in it, right ?

That brisket looks pretty thick, if you are following Habs recipe you might want to give the cure a couple of extra days. I did one that was thick like that and ended up with an uncured stripe in the middle. It didn't affect the taste that I could tell, it was a cosmetic issue with the finished pastrami.

OU812 · December 10, 2009, 12:42:21 PM

Looks to me if you give that baby the cure time it needs, rinse and stop there you have corned beef. Its step 2 and the smoke that makes it Pastrami.

KyNola · December 10, 2009, 01:10:33 PM

I'm with OU812's thinking. After you cure that, you got corned beef. Use the next dry rub in Hab's recipe, smoke it and you got pastrami.

KyNola

Habanero Smoker · December 10, 2009, 02:25:08 PM

At this point you can go either way.

It does look thick, but camera angles can sometimes be deceptive. How thick is it at the thickest point?

ArnieM · December 10, 2009, 02:56:19 PM

Thanks for all of the input guys. I'm a novice at this curing stuff. I wanted to get it going yesterday but I was out of Coriander and we were pretty much snowed in.

Habs, it's about 1.5 inches thick. It's only 3.6 pounds. I figured on 6-8 days curing. Comments and suggestions are certainly (more than) welcome here.

I thought you're supposed to use juniper berries for corned beef. They go well in vodka to make gin ;D

This is an experiment for me. We'll see how it comes out, one way or the other.

Once again, I appreciate all of your help.

HawkeyeSmokes · December 10, 2009, 06:55:57 PM

So when does Arnie's Smoke House and Deli open?

I would like to attend the grand opening. ;D

classicrockgriller · December 10, 2009, 07:12:34 PM

I'll be in line for the Grand opening too.

Gonna keep a silent eye on this thread.

Habanero Smoker · December 11, 2009, 02:05:38 AM

Quote from: ArnieM on December 10, 2009, 02:56:19 PM
Thanks for all of the input guys. I'm a novice at this curing stuff. I wanted to get it going yesterday but I was out of Coriander and we were pretty much snowed in.

Habs, it's about 1.5 inches thick. It's only 3.6 pounds. I figured on 6-8 days curing. Comments and suggestions are certainly (more than) welcome here.

I thought you're supposed to use juniper berries for corned beef. They go well in vodka to make gin ;D

This is an experiment for me. We'll see how it comes out, one way or the other.

Once again, I appreciate all of your help.

Four days should be fine. It's not going to hurt to add an extra day. Juniper berries can be an ingredient, but I've come across a lot of corned beef recipes that do not call for juniper berries. If you have gin you could have used that as a substitute; by making a paste of the cure.

ArnieM · December 19, 2009, 07:08:10 AM

OK, my Pastrami ended up as Corned Beef. It wasn't perfect.

It cured for five days in a vac bag in the fridge. I did the rinse and two half hour soaks in cold water. Then vac'ed again until I was ready to use it, which was last night. Did another half hour soak. I don't like it salty.

Anyway, it looks like it wasn't totally cured. It looks like the nitrite didn't make it all the way through. See the (out of focus) pic below. I don't think I could have used any more rub so I'm guessing it should have cured longer. Any comments?

It sure did taste good though. :D If any one is interested I'll post the recipe I used.

Mulla · December 19, 2009, 11:08:48 AM

Still looks pretty good even with the uncured area in the center and it really only matters how it tastes anyway. I put my first pastrami in on Thursday using Habs wet brine method. I took the point off and I think I trimmed it down to about 6lbs. Using the point for chili tonight.

As a side note, has anyone experimented with any Wagyu brisket for pastrami or any other recipe? They were on special for $5.99lb and was wondering if it was worth it considering I got the packer at $1.89lb. Maybe the next Pastrami I do, I will pickup a Choice packer and trimmed Wagyu and do a side by side blind taste test.

--Mulla

Habanero Smoker · December 19, 2009, 01:30:21 PM

I'm surprised it didn't cure all the way through, being it was only 1.5 inches thick. I've never tried vacuuming to cure, and four days would have been enough curing without a vacuum. What I have read is that it is best to release the vacuum, and vacuum again a few times during the curing stage.

That is a lot of soaking. What was the flavor like?

ArnieM · December 19, 2009, 04:09:28 PM

Quote from: Habanero Smoker on December 19, 2009, 01:30:21 PM
I'm surprised it didn't cure all the way through, being it was only 1.5 inches thick. I've never tried vacuuming to cure, and four days would have been enough curing without a vacuum. What I have read is that it is best to release the vacuum, and vacuum again a few times during the curing stage.

That is a lot of soaking. What was the flavor like?

First, the flavor. It was generally considered outstanding by my wife, myself and her friend, who is part owner of a restaurant here in town and is a huge fan of corned beef. The general recipe was meat in the pot, two quarts of water, two TBSP McCormick's pickling spice, onion, garlic, baby red potatoes and carrots. Did a slow cook in the oven (average about 240) for about five hours. Then added the cabbage for half an hour. Pulled the beef, dried it off and glazed it with brown sugar, honey and molasses. Into a 350 oven for a half hour while the other 'stuff' simmered on the stove top for the same time.

It was interesting when I first sliced it. I got crumbs and strands. I guess the cut still left part of the deckle on there. About an inch in, I started getting nice slices.

For the next one, and there WILL be a next one, I'll try the cure without the vac.

It's a lot of fun experimenting with this stuff. ;D ;D

classicrockgriller · December 19, 2009, 04:45:14 PM

Arnie I know nothing about the process but the finish product looks damn good.

ArnieM · December 19, 2009, 07:59:27 PM

Quote from: classicrockgriller on December 19, 2009, 04:45:14 PM
Arnie I know nothing about the process but the finish product looks damn good.

I knew nothing about the process. I guess I know a bit more now. This experience goes into my log and I hope to improve on it next time.

Just had a half sandwich - a slice of seeded toasted rye, buttered, with a heated up slice of the corned beef and some cabbage on it. El Yummo ;D ;D