Pastrami (BAM!)


 
Brian M.

Brian M.

TVWBB Fan
Did a Pastrami with Meathead's recipe with a couple of changes.

1. Purchased two CB brisket flats from Sams and soaked them for 49 hours with a couple of water changes.

2 removed them from water, put on rub and let them sit in fridge with a rock weight on them for 4 days (don't ask me about the rock weight, I read it somewhere so did it :))

3. Removed them from fridge, placed them in smoker at 220 with cherry wood and 13 plus hours later they hit 203. I had to cheat at this point and take a taste. Here's what they looked like.

x174.jpg
[/IMG]

4 After cooling back into fridge (with weights) and left them for 3 days.

5. Next step is to steam them for a couple of hours. I took a shortcut and put them into my pressure cooker for 30 minutes and they came out perfect.

as8c.jpg
[/IMG]

6. Slice
95f5.jpg
[/IMG]

7. Plate with rye bread, kosher pickle and a smoked pickled egg I made last week with a little sriracha sauce. A piece of watermelon for cool.

nczh.jpg
[/IMG]

We made 4 sandwiches at home (grandkids had grilled cheese ;);)) and I packaged one up and ran it over to a friend of mine in the hospital. There is not much left and it was a big hit.

The guy in the hospital called last night and said "I have not tasted pastrami like that since I left NYC and it is the best meal I have had in the hospital" :))

Not really hard to make. I suggest you give it a try.

Thanks for looking.
 
Last edited:
Tim McCann said:
Man that looks good. One question though, after smoking what was the need to pressure cook?
Click to expand...

Hey Tim,

If you check Meathead's recipe for pastrami it will explain that it is done to tenderize. Most places in NYC steam their pastrami and when you leave the city and go west they don't steam. I just love the soft, tender warm taste of this method. Steaming is one of those never ending arguments and I just happen to fall on the side of steaming. When I do corned beef I use the pressure cooker for one hour and it makes it fork tender. Never fails.

I thank everyone for their kind comments, but would also like to say I do not have one original step in this cook. The work and the testing was all done by Meathead and others and I just took what I felt was the best of em all and followed the directions. I must also say that I have had pastrami at Katz's in NYC and this cook was right up there. Not saying it was better than Katz's, but when you are 450 miles from NYC and not paying $16.75 for a sandwich that has some taste factor to it.

Many recipies call for smoking to 165 and very few said 203, but I liked Meathead's reason for the 203 so did it that way.

Happy Cooking All!
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

 

Back
Top