Pastrami

[user 14220]

Bought a 4 pound corned beef on sale last week so thought I would try something different. First thing I did was to soak it in water for 24 hours to remove some of the cure (salt). Changed the water twice. Prepared a rub of the following:
4 tablespoons fresh coarsely ground black pepper
2 tablespoons coriander powder
1 tablespoon brown sugar
1 tablespoon paprika
2 teaspoons garlic powder
2 teaspoons onion powder
1 teaspoon mustard powder

Applied the rub and allowed the meat to sit uncovered in the fridge for 24 hours. Fired up the smoker with 5 ounces of hickory at 250F. 5 hours in the internal temp was 150 and meat was still super tough. Wrapped it loosely in foil and put back in smoker. At 9 hours the temp hit 205. I was shooting for 190 so my fault for not checking it sooner. Meat was almost falling apart tender. Sliced it up and we had Reubens for supper. The meat was better than anything we ever had in a deli. Pepper bite was there, if you are not that big of a fan you might back off on the amount. Next time I will add 12 hours to the pre soak period to remove some more salt. It tasted a little salty when warm but not when it was cold.
Give it a try, you will be pleased.

 

[DaveB]

Killing me. Looks hyper good.

 

[BamaProud]

Looks delicious

 

[Hawk]

Nice....... :tu:
Nothing better than pastrami on pumpernickel with spicy mustard.

 

[GMB54]

I call it a Raquel because its smokin hot

 

['borohunter]

That looks awesome and probably tastes even better...

 

[Matador]

Wow! That looks good. That's a recipe to keep.

 

[TAFKAP]

I would suggest brining your own so you won't have to soak out the cure from a commercial package of corned beef. Looks like an awesome pastrami. I'm gonna make some this week with some of my corned venison.

From what I've seen in the Jewish delis, they'll smoke a brisket for a few hours for flavor, but the cooking is done by steaming. That's how they get theirs tender.

Looks awesome!

 

[GMB54]

I get Ginsbergs when they got them at a good price. Fresh Thyme market corned beef is even lower sodium but not trimmed as nice. I do make all my kraut and even the Russian dressing if im using it. Before making the sammie the meat gets steam grilled first anyway. Its only on the smoker as low as it will go for maybe 3 hours. Then finished in the oven covered and some water added to the pan. Let cool over night before slicing.

 

[mike243]

Looks great,son smoked a corned beef and didn't soak it, was so salty I couldn't eat it so lesson learned

 

[GMB54]

If you have a Fresh Thyme market nearby look at their corned beef. Its less than half the sodium of the Ginsberg. Nitrate free though so it wont end up as red. I think the last one i got was a point cut for around $4/lb.