Deejay’s
NY Deli Style
Pastrami
Don’t you just love a good juicy pastrami sandwich on dark rye
bread with a big ole slice of your favorite cheese? I do to but it is kind of
pricey to eat all the time
… unless you make it yourself!
Most people think pastrami is a Jewish deli meat but it was first made
by the Romans somewhere around 500 BC. They loved the stuff and started making
it on their own. Because there was no refrigeration smoking the meat made it
last a little longer.
There are four steps to making great homemade pastrami – Trimming, the
brining, rubbing
and the smoke. It really simple I often wonder why it’s so expensive.
There are 3 totally different types of meat options using these same
processing steps. Corned Beef (steps 1
and 2), Beef Bacon (steps 1, 2 and 4) and Pastrami (steps 1,2,3 and 4). It’s all a mater of when you stop in the
instructions!
Step One
Start with a fresh brisket or lean bef roast.
I used to get big cryo-packed briskets for a great
price but these days they have pretty much disappeared up here so I have
switches to a good size, lean cut of beef.Same
instructions though except you can skip the section on trimming. This one
started out at 11 pounds before trimming.
I also like my pastrami lean. Not much fat so I trim them a little
closer than most people do.
Then I separate the flat from the point. Again this isn’t necessary if
you don’t mind a layer of fat in the middle of your sandwich but I can’t stand
fat!
You can actually see were the two pieces of meat come together - right
where that huge solid piece of fat is! If you grab it really tight and pull it
will almost separate it self. You just need to tap a scarp knife where the pieces are pulling apart. Let the meat
hang and keep slicing at the two pieces as it falls away until they are
completely separated.
That big piece of fat goes all the way though the meat so as long as you stay between the fat you won’t make a
mistake separating them and waste any meat.
Now you can decide if you want to turn both pieces into
pastrami or save the point for smoking (it makes the best burn ends).
Making the brine
The brine uses the more types of spices than the rub
believe it or not.
1 gallon cold water
1 cup kosher salt
Prague powder #1 (by meat weight)
3 oz white sugar
6 bay leaves (crumbled)
2 teaspoons garlic powder
2 teaspoons juniper berries (crushed)*
2 teaspoons black peppercorns
*Prague powder #1(by meat weight * NOTE: this is what gives meat that pinkish color
and prevents bacterial build up while smoking for long periods at low
temperatures. If you plan to smoke you should use it!)
** If you don’t have or don’t wish to use nitrates you can use
½ ounce of cream of tartar per ½ gallon of brine to help maintain that pinkish
color in brined meats.
Juniper Berries are optional but I think it gives it a
nice flavor and that’s what makes it Italian! Juniper berries were originally
used by the Romans as pepper.
A good source for juniper berries and a good course
Butchers Ground Pepper is Con Yeager Spice Company. I buy most of my spices from them
in 1/2 gallon containers. I saves me a fortune not
having to buy by all those tiny $1 bottles and the freshness is wonderful!
Mix the spices together in a pint or so of hot water to
dissolve it well then add the rest of the water, mix well then add the meat.
Pump/inject meat with brine every few inches up to about
10% of it dry meats weight and refrigerate in the brine for 5 to 7 days.
This is a good time to use vacuum sealer if you have one, if not just
put a heavy plate on top of plastic wrap to keep the meat fully submerged
during the brining process and keep air from hitting the meat.
After 7 days in the brine remove the meat and rinse in clear cold water
to remove excess salt. Do this for about 20 minutes or it will be VERY salty.
DO not forget this step. Any time your brine food it MUST be rinsed in clear
clean water, beef, pork, chicken or cheese it doesn’t matter rinse after a brine !
If you wanted to skip the first two steps or can’t find a nice fresh
brisket you could buy a corned beef brisket from the grocery store trim off
some of the fat and go to step three.
What Do I Get When I Brine A Brisket?
Corned Beef ! That’s right Corned Beef ! You can stop here and eat it as Corned beef
or
Smoke that corned beef and it becomes Beef Bacon
or
Continue on to make Pastrami.
Step Three
The Rub
1/3 cup Butchers Ground Course Black Pepper
* 1/3 cup juniper berries (crushed)
1/4 cup coriander
· again Juniper berries are optional but I
think it adds a wonderful flavor.
A Note about pepper. Do Not use
regular ground pepper form the market!
Regular and butcher ground are worlds apart! Here’s a few photos
to make this distinction clear:
Regular Grind Course Butcher Ground Regular Grind Course Butcher Ground
You can see how one using the wrong ground pepper will be
a big mistake! 1 teaspoon of course ground pepper is equal to about 3 teaspoons
of regular ground pepper! That’s hot!
Mix these spices together and rub it into every nook and
cranny of the meat. Pack it on there, wrap it up tight in several layers
plastic wrap and set it in refrigerator for 2 or 3 days. If you have a vacuum sealer that will work
well here also.
Smoking
We’re almost there!
I can almost taste it! Bring your
smoker up to about 200o F and
once stable add the meat and slowly smoke the meat between 200o F to 225 o F with hickory, apple or your
favorite wood. Spray every hour or so with apple juice or 50-50 mix of apple
juice and white wine or apple juice and unflavored brandy. It should take about
1.5 hours per pound – but temperature is the key!
You only need apply smoke for about 3 hours so after that
you can just use heat (no wood chips) or transfer it to your oven for
convenience. I prefer to add some smoke slowly the whole time it cooks, but I
don’t’ find a huge difference. Once the
meat gets up to about 160 o F you may double wrap it in foil and
continue cooking until the internal temperature reaches 180o F, then
remove it from the smoker and cool.
If you don’t have a smoker you could add liquid smoke to
the brine according to the manufacturers instructions and bake at 200 o
F with a bowl of hot water in the bottom of the oven.
Let meat cool and refrigerate it over night. Don’t
attempt to eat it right out of the smoker it won’t taste right. Keep it cold
over night to let the flavors meld and the meat stiffen - then slice it nice
and thin. Save all the juices from the foil and add it to the bag when you’ve
finished slicing the meat. I tend to package mine in one pound packages so I
can pull it out of the freezer and make a sandwich anytime I want to or throw
it in my lunch box and take it to work.
I like to fry or broil mine a bit before making a sandwich, but you can
throw in a microwave to heat at work if that’s your only option. Enjoy!
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