Homemade Pastrami
You’ll need a slow-cooking barbecue smoker to make this pastrami. Use apple wood, cherry wood, or another subtle wood to bring out the flavor in the meat. Homemade pastrami keeps for five to six days as opposed to commercial pastrami, which uses preservatives to extend its shelf life. Extra rub will keep for four to five days in the refrigerator. Besides pastrami sandwiches, you can make pastrami and eggs, or pastrami hash, in which case you just substitute pastrami for the corned beef (see page 183). Be sure to start this well in advance since the meat must marinate overnight.
Recipe information
Yield
serves 12
Ingredients
For the Rub
For the Pastrami
Preparation
Step 1
Make the rub: Using a spice grinder, grind the salt, paprika, coriander seeds, peppercorns, mustard seeds, and juniper berries. Pour into a small bowl, and add the brown sugar and garlic; set aside.
Step 2
Make the pastrami: Remove the brisket from the brine. Rinse it well under cold running water for 1minute. Place it in a large stainless steel bowl filled with cold water and soak it for 30 minutes, changing the water every10 minutes.Remove the meat from the water and pat it dry with paper towels.
Step 3
Using 2 tablespoons of rub per pound of meat, rub the brisket very well. Wrap the brisket in plastic wrap, refrigerate, and allow it to marinate for at least 8 hours or overnight.
Step 4
In a slow-cooking barbecue smoker (you need to keep the temperature controlled the entire time), start a fire using your choice of fuels—charcoal, wood, or a combination of the two. Bring the smoker temperature up to 275°F. Before putting the pastrami in, add fresh wood so there is plenty of smoke. Immediately add the pastrami. Let the temperature fall to 250°F, but keep adding fuel as needed to maintain 250°F. Smoke the pastrami until the internal temperature reaches 180°F, approximately 1 hour per pound.
Step 5
Remove the pastrami from the smoker. Let it sit for 10 minutes before slicing.
