So things are weird right now. There is a lot on everyone’s mind. Time to talk about something fun.

Pastrami. While it is one of my favorite meats, there is a world of difference between good pastrami, and mediocre pastrami. Good pastrami is like eating slices of heaven. There are very few things I enjoy more than a pastrami sandwich. Tasty, juicy, flavored just right. Some good bread (I don’t like rye that much) I prefer Ezekiel sprouted grain bread, lightly toasted, Mayo, horseradish, some alfalfa and clover sprouts, butter lettuce and some sweet/hot pickles. That’s my go to with pastrami. It has to be sliced super thin, but not so thin it becomes mush.
I understand that this is a blasphemy sandwich, but damn, it sure is tasty.

I do pretty well in the kitchen, the foods I cook are always pretty tasty, and everyone else thinks they’re amazing. I understand basic chemistry and I very much understand food chemistry and what causes foodborne illness.

Prague #1. This is essential. I wouldn’t consider making pastrami without this. Many call this pink salt, but it’s not the Himalayan pink salt. This is regular salt with 6.25% sodium nitrate. This is critical to use as it kills bacteria such as botulism, e-coli, and salmonella. Specifically it is used to kill botulism, but the death of the others is just a nice side effect.

***Using the correct amount is pretty critical. I would suggest you do your own research and decide on the correct amount for your recipe.

Also, here’s a fun science fact. Pastrami isn’t pink in the middle because it’s rare. Pastrami is brisket, which needs to cook to 190°-200° to break down the connective tissues and make it tender. If you don’t cook it to those temps, it’ll be chewy and tough.
The pink color doesn’t come from the dye in Prague #1. The dye is only in there so you don’t mistakenly salt your dinner with it and make yourself very ill.
No, the pink color comes from the nitrite reacting with the myoglobin and hemoglobin present in the trapped red blood cells, eventually producing nitric oxide myoglobin.

Special shout out to my brother Stewart. He guides me through some culinary adventures. Best friend of 40 years, and a true culinary genius. Thank you brother, you are my culinary mentor.

So I stopped at Costco and picked up a small brisket. My brine is as follows:
9qt water
15oz kosher salt
3oz Prague #1
1 1/2 c sugar
1 c brown sugar packed
1/2 - 3/4 c honey
The rest I did approx measurements
Allspice whole 1 tbsp
Cloves whole 1-2 tbsp
Black mustard seed 1 tbsp
Yellow mustard seed 1 tbsp
Rainbow peppercorns 2 tbsp
Black peppercorns 2 tbsp
Coriander seed whole 2 tbsp
5 large bay leafs
4 Pequin chiles

I heated half the water with the salts and sugars and spices. Brought to a boil to make sure everything dissolved. The other half of the water I measured the container with ice and then filled the gaps with water. That way the brine was instantly cooled. Placed in the fridge to chill.

At that point I broke down the brisket. This is pretty easy to do, but since my hands were a mess, I didn’t take pics. The whole brisket is two muscles. Take your thumb and push it between the muscles. You can start to separate the muscles with your thumb. This should give you a clean line that you can see. Now take a very sharp knife and start to cut the connective tissues. Go slow, and just cut a little at a time. You only want to cut sinue and fat. If you’re seeing red meat, you lost your line. Keep at it and you’ll end up with two nice pieces of meat.

The top muscle has a large and beautiful section that I cut off at an angle so that all the pieces stayed relatively equal in thickness.

Place the meat in the brine and let it soak for six days. I used some heavy bowls to hold down the meat so it didn’t float. I flipped it daily and repositioned it so that it was always getting a new side to the brine.

Now six days has passed and out of the brine she is. I dried it off with some paper towels and discarded the spices stuck to it.

Seasoning:
2 parts ground coriander
1 part coarse black pepper

I have coated the brisket with a generous amount of seasoning and will let it rest and warm while sitting on the kitchen counter for two hours.

I’ll set the smoker to 180° and smoke it for about 5 hours. From there I’ll transfer to a roasting Pan with some water, onions and celery, wrap it super tight and and braise until the internal temp reaches 195°. It’ll rest for two hours after that before I slice it.

Here are pictures from the start until now. I’ll post more pics as it cooks throughout the day. It will be going on the smoker as soon as I’m done typing this post.












Day Three of Brining






This morning

This message has been edited. Last edited by: Beancooker,

I'm salivating just reading your post!

That sounds great! Good pastrami is one thing we can't get in our area. The delis only seem to have pastrami round not brisket, so we don't even bother anymore. I may have to try and make some for myself too.

Looks like it's going to be pretty darned tasty!

And three hours of smoking. God this smells delicious. I wish we had smello-posting. I wish I could share the smells with you guys.

Side note, while it was smoking, I drove to every store that sells pots and pans in Cottonwood AZ. I was hoping by some miracle I would find a good Dutch oven. I did not. I found some Lodge, but they were small. So yeah, the three stores that sell these items: Walmart, Fry’s grocery, and Ace Hardware.
I never thought I would say this, but I want a Home goods, Bed Bath Beyond, Marshall’s (they have good deals on La Creuset cookware).

So now it will braise. There an onion, celery, and some thyme sprigs. The French training is hard to break, even when making Jewish meat.

It is sealed tight in its sarcophagus. I use Saran Wrap to keep the moisture in. It’s only set to 275° convection, so the plastics won’t melt. If you’re going to get all hippie on me and tell me that baking plastic, yada yada yada, don’t bother. I smoked cigs for 27 years. I’m not worried. And I quit smoking.

So this is on its way to becoming something.

Here are some pics for your enjoyment.

This is the good news I was looking for. Can't wait to make my own!

So the pastrami is done..

I made some Brussel sprouts too. Olive oil, balsamic, maple syrup, salt pepper, roasted.

Now, the pastrami. Holy shit. I’m in disbelief. I should have payots and a hat. Spinning a dreidel. (No offense to our Jewish members, trying to be funny).

This is the best pastrami I have ever had. Now I haven’t been to Katz’s deli, but I am a pastrami connoisseur. I don’t say my shit is better because I have cooked it. I’m hyper-critical of my cooking. Like super-hyper-critical. I fucking outdid myself tenfold what I thought I was capable of. This has to go down as one of the top three meals I have cooked in my house, ever. I’m still in disbelief at how good this is. Fucking hell mate. Amazing.

Here are some pics of the gloriousness.

Fucking brussel sprouts. Who cares about those...

Oh my God. That looks amazing. Pastrami is my favorite deli meat and that is the best looking I have ever seen.

quote:

Originally posted by ArtieS:
Oh my God. That looks amazing. Pastrami is my favorite deli meat and that is the best looking I have ever seen.

Artie, I really wish we had smello-post or tasteo-post. I wish I could share this as it’s pretty damned amazing.

Funny thing is, it was one of the easiest cooks I have done. I’ve made brisket 100 times. Never close to this.

I hope this inspires others to take a chance. I’m no genius. Just a guy who makes food. You all can do it too, as long as you can follow directions.

Again, Artie, thank you for the compliment. If I’m ever in your area, we will be making some pastrami.

That looks amazing.

Why do you have to live so far??????? That looks AMAZING. It's been a long time since I've had a Rachel sandwich and long overdue.

Jimmy, you and the new bride need to fly out this way. I’ll take a week off. I’ll cook. Off roading a plenty and seeing more cool shit than most tourists do.

You have my email. Let me know when the ship driving gives you a break.

Hell yah I'm going to try that. I've got a Smoker.

Looks awesome.

quote:

Originally posted by ArtieS:
Hell yah I'm going to try that. I've got a Smoker.

Email address is in my profile. I’ll answer any questions you may have.

This message has been edited. Last edited by: Beancooker,

Thank you. I'll be in touch. I imagine DrDan will be so as well.

We don't allow pornography here sir

nice pics but i think you are a little Light on the Protection for those Sandwich's

I was thinking the same thing. Otherwise, excellent.

Looks great Beancooker!
And glad to see that no one has posted “needs more bacon” yet.