Simple And Smoky Homemade Pastrami Recipes

HOMEMADE SMOKED PASTRAMI RECIPE

Steps:

• Rinse the brisket under cold running water and pat dry with paper towels. Trim all but 1/4 inch of the fat cap off. Remove any stringy silver skin from the flesh side.
• In a pot over medium-high, place 4 cups of the water, the salt, and the sugar. Bring to a boil and stir to dissolve the salt and sugar. Allow this to cool. In a large container with a lid place the salted water, remaining water, onion, garlic, peppercorns, bay leaves, and pink salt. Submerge the brisket in the brine. Cover and refrigerate for 6 days, turning once a day for even brining.
• The morning of day 6 remove the brisket from the brine. Discard the brine. Rinse the brisket very well under cold running water to remove much of the salt. Pat the meat dry with paper towels. Place the brisket on a sheet tray and set aside to come to room temperature.
• In a medium bowl, whisk together all of the dry rub ingredients. Coat the entire brisket with the rub and press it into the meat with your hands.
• Fill the bowl of your smoker halfway with water. Add wood chips to the side tray. Preheat the smoker to 225°F with the top vent open.
• Place the brisket, fat side up, on a rack inside the smoker. Smoke the brisket until a dark crust forms and the internal temperature reads between 175°F and 185°F, approximately 6 to 7 hours. Replenish the wood chips and water approximately every 60 minutes.
• Wrap the brisket in aluminum foil or 2 layers of butcher's paper and continue to smoke to an internal temperature of 190°F to 195°F, approximately 1 to 2 more hours. Check with a reliable digital meat thermometer or the probe thermometer that is attached to your smoker.
• Transfer the cooked and covered pastrami to a cutting board and allow to rest for 1 to 2 hours. Slice thinly against the grain. Serve with cole slaw and pickles or make into a pastrami melt sandwich. (Recipe follows).

EASY HOMEMADE PASTRAMI

Steps:

• Mix garlic and vegetable oil in a small bowl. Set aside for 1 hour.
• Preheat oven to 225 degrees F (110 degrees C).
• Combine black pepper, paprika, coriander, dry mustard, white pepper, and cayenne pepper in a large bowl. Set aside.
• Cover a baking sheet with a large sheet of heavy-duty aluminum foil. Coat aluminum foil with prepared garlic oil. Lay corned beef brisket on foil and brush with remaining garlic oil.
• Cover all sides of corned beef brisket completely with pepper mixture, reserving 1 to 2 tablespoons.
• With fat side of corned beef brisket up, wrap in the sheet of aluminum foil. Place wrapped corned beef on another sheet of aluminum foil with the seam and fat side down. Place double-wrapped corned beef on a third sheet of aluminum foil (seam down), and wrap again.
• Bake in the preheated oven for 6 hours.
• Remove pastrami from the oven and let cool to room temperature, about 3 hours.
• With pastrami still wrapped in aluminum foil, place in a freezer bag or other plastic bag and refrigerate for 8 to 10 hours.
• Preheat the oven's broiler and set the oven rack about 6 inches from the heat source.
• Line a baking sheet with aluminum foil.
• Remove pastrami from refrigerator, unwrap, and place on the prepared baking sheet. Sprinkle top with 1 to 2 tablespoons of remaining pepper mixture.
• Place pastrami in the oven, 6 to 8 inches below broiler heat. Broil briefly to brown surface, about 3 to 4 minutes. Remove pastrami from the oven and slice thinly, about 1/8-inch slices.
• Heat a large skillet over low heat.
• Heat pastrami slices in the skillet with a few drops of water until fat begins to turn from white to translucent, about 5 minutes.

SIMPLE AND SMOKY HOMEMADE PASTRAMI RECIPE

Steps:

• Prep the corned beef. Buy or make corned beef. For pastrami, the flat section of the brisket is favored by many because it makes nice even slices for sandwiches, but I prefer the point section of the brisket because it is fattier, richer, and more tender. It can also be made from flank steak, or leaner cuts, or even from boneless short plate (rib meat). Remove all of the fat cap and if there is any filmy membrane on the other side, remove it all.
• Desalinate. Put the corned beef in a pot slightly larger than the meat and cover it with cold water in the fridge for at least 8 hours. Change the water at least once. This removes excess salt. Trust me, you need to do this or you will be gulping water all night after your meal.
• Rub. Make the rub. Rinse the meat, and while it is damp, apply the rub liberally and press it into the surface to help it adhere.
• Fire up. Set up your grill in 2 zones for smoking or set up your smoker. Preheat to 225°F. Pick your wood. I don't think it makes a huge difference with all the other flavors banging around in there. My best batch was with cherry wood.
• Cook. Place the meat on the smoker or on the indirect heat side of the grill. You only need to smoke it with indirect heat until it reaches the stall at about 160°F and the crust is brown. Then wrap it tightly in foil and roast it up to 203°F. This is called the Texas Crutch and it does wonders. It significantly reduces cooking time and makes the end product much more tender and juicy.
• Slicing. Slicing is crucial to maximize tenderness. Look at the meat and notice which way the grain is running. Cut it by hand in thin slices, about 1/8" thick, perpendicular to the grain. If you cut parallel to the grain it will be much chewier. Don't try to slice it with a machine. It will just fall apart.
• Serve. I serve the homemade smoked pastrami on fresh untoasted rye bread. A good brown mustard on both slices is all it needs. If you want, you can make a Rockin' Pastrami Reuben with sauerkraut, melted swiss, and thousand island or Russian dressing, or beter still, my famous Burger Glop. Reubens were originally made with corned beef, but there's no rule that you can't make one from pastrami. In fact, I prefer it.Leftovers freeze well and they can be reheated in the microwave or steamed. They can also be made into a killer hash. Ess, bench, sei a mensch!