Make Your Own Pastrami
Posted: Sat Mar 21, 2009 7:02 pm
Make Your Own Pastrami
After eating my fill of corned beef this week, it's rather ironic that it made me think that I should make some pastrami. Pastrami, as you may know, differs from corned beef in a couple of ways. The seasonings are different, and rather than being boiled, steamed, baked, or braised, pastrami is traditionally smoke cooked. It's not as difficult as you might think. If you have a barbecue pit, smoker, or even a charcoal grill with adjustable venting on the cover and bottom, you can make your own pastrami.
Before we get to the technique, there are a few considerations, and some items you will want to have on hand.
First, the curing process is going to take 3-4 days. Second, you're going to need a container, such as an oblong Pyrex baking dish or a small roasting pan, along with enough space in your refrigerator to house it for the duration of the cure. Also handy would be a 2-gallon Zip-Lock bag. Besides charcoal for the cooking, you'll need some smokewood, pecan being the preferred choice in this instance. Hickory is ubiquitous, however, and will do fine if that's all you can find. On cook day, plan for a session that will take 4 to 5 hours of actual cook time, plus time for charcoal prep, and resting the meat for an hour or two.
What you do not want is a super-trimmed flat like you typically see in supermarkets, where the fat has been removed down to a bare minimum. Instead, you'll want to get what's called an "untrimmed brisket flat in cryovac". Cryovac is that vacuum sealed bag in which you see many types of meat offered, primarily at warehouse clubs. Sam's normally sells both USDA Choice flats and USDA Select whole, or "packer" briskets. The flat is simply a whole brisket with the muscle known as "the point" removed. Try to find one between 5 and 7 pounds that has a fairly even thickness to it. I try to go with one on the larger end, as there is some shrink during cooking. Don't be tempted to try to use a packer, as the extra thickness of the point will not allow the cure to penetrate evenly and sufficiently.
Before anything else, however, you're going to need a meat cure product called Morton Tender Quick. It contains sodium nitrite, sodium nitrate, salt, sugar, and propylene glycol. It's the sodium nitrate that gives cured meats that reddish pink color. Tender Quick used to be readily available locally at Super WalMarts. They appear to no longer carry it. One place I know for sure has it is Hong Kong Market on the Westbank. If you know somewhere else on the Eastbank, please let me know. Not that I mind going to HKM.
Preparing the meat
Remove the flat from the cryovac bag and inspect for freshness. Rinse under cool water and pat dry. One side will have a layer of white fat on it. Trim down thicker parts so there is an overall layer of fat about 1/8 to 1/4". 1/8" is better as it will help insure a complete cure. The bottom side will likely have a thin membrane on it. If you want to mess with removing it, fine, but it's really not necessary. To further help insure an even and complete cure, I like to score the fat down to the meat at 1/2" intervals. Doing this "with the grain" (flip the meat over to determine the direction of the grain) I find helps facilitate slicing "across-the-grain" later.
Making the cure
For an average size untrimmed brisket flat:
1/4 cup Morton Tender Quick
1/4 cup freshly ground black pepper
1/4 cup brown sugar
2 T. granulated garlic
2 T. ground coriander
It's a real pain to grind up 1/4 cup of pepper with a pepper grinder, so I use a dedicated coffee grinder for spices to make it fast and easy. Also, it's better to coarsely grind your own coriander seeds, but storebought ground is fine. Mix all ingredients together well.
Pour half on one side of the meat, rub it out evenly, and repeat on the other. Use it all, even if it looks like too much.
Place the meat in a 2-gallon ZipLock, squeezing out most of the excess air before sealing. Lay the meat in the bag flat in the dish or pan. If you don't have the big bags, use the non-reactive Pyrex dish, and cover it with plastic wrap. Let cure in the refrigerator 3-4 days. Smaller ones I start on Thursdays for Sunday cooks; larger ones on Wednesdays. Flip the bag over a couple times a day for the duration of the cure.
Next, the cooking process...
After eating my fill of corned beef this week, it's rather ironic that it made me think that I should make some pastrami. Pastrami, as you may know, differs from corned beef in a couple of ways. The seasonings are different, and rather than being boiled, steamed, baked, or braised, pastrami is traditionally smoke cooked. It's not as difficult as you might think. If you have a barbecue pit, smoker, or even a charcoal grill with adjustable venting on the cover and bottom, you can make your own pastrami.
Before we get to the technique, there are a few considerations, and some items you will want to have on hand.
First, the curing process is going to take 3-4 days. Second, you're going to need a container, such as an oblong Pyrex baking dish or a small roasting pan, along with enough space in your refrigerator to house it for the duration of the cure. Also handy would be a 2-gallon Zip-Lock bag. Besides charcoal for the cooking, you'll need some smokewood, pecan being the preferred choice in this instance. Hickory is ubiquitous, however, and will do fine if that's all you can find. On cook day, plan for a session that will take 4 to 5 hours of actual cook time, plus time for charcoal prep, and resting the meat for an hour or two.
What you do not want is a super-trimmed flat like you typically see in supermarkets, where the fat has been removed down to a bare minimum. Instead, you'll want to get what's called an "untrimmed brisket flat in cryovac". Cryovac is that vacuum sealed bag in which you see many types of meat offered, primarily at warehouse clubs. Sam's normally sells both USDA Choice flats and USDA Select whole, or "packer" briskets. The flat is simply a whole brisket with the muscle known as "the point" removed. Try to find one between 5 and 7 pounds that has a fairly even thickness to it. I try to go with one on the larger end, as there is some shrink during cooking. Don't be tempted to try to use a packer, as the extra thickness of the point will not allow the cure to penetrate evenly and sufficiently.
Before anything else, however, you're going to need a meat cure product called Morton Tender Quick. It contains sodium nitrite, sodium nitrate, salt, sugar, and propylene glycol. It's the sodium nitrate that gives cured meats that reddish pink color. Tender Quick used to be readily available locally at Super WalMarts. They appear to no longer carry it. One place I know for sure has it is Hong Kong Market on the Westbank. If you know somewhere else on the Eastbank, please let me know. Not that I mind going to HKM.
Preparing the meat
Remove the flat from the cryovac bag and inspect for freshness. Rinse under cool water and pat dry. One side will have a layer of white fat on it. Trim down thicker parts so there is an overall layer of fat about 1/8 to 1/4". 1/8" is better as it will help insure a complete cure. The bottom side will likely have a thin membrane on it. If you want to mess with removing it, fine, but it's really not necessary. To further help insure an even and complete cure, I like to score the fat down to the meat at 1/2" intervals. Doing this "with the grain" (flip the meat over to determine the direction of the grain) I find helps facilitate slicing "across-the-grain" later.
Making the cure
For an average size untrimmed brisket flat:
1/4 cup Morton Tender Quick
1/4 cup freshly ground black pepper
1/4 cup brown sugar
2 T. granulated garlic
2 T. ground coriander
It's a real pain to grind up 1/4 cup of pepper with a pepper grinder, so I use a dedicated coffee grinder for spices to make it fast and easy. Also, it's better to coarsely grind your own coriander seeds, but storebought ground is fine. Mix all ingredients together well.
Pour half on one side of the meat, rub it out evenly, and repeat on the other. Use it all, even if it looks like too much.
Place the meat in a 2-gallon ZipLock, squeezing out most of the excess air before sealing. Lay the meat in the bag flat in the dish or pan. If you don't have the big bags, use the non-reactive Pyrex dish, and cover it with plastic wrap. Let cure in the refrigerator 3-4 days. Smaller ones I start on Thursdays for Sunday cooks; larger ones on Wednesdays. Flip the bag over a couple times a day for the duration of the cure.
Next, the cooking process...