I recently found whole briskets on sale at Walmart for a great price, so I decided to make pastrami with one of them. It was just over 10.5 lbs at the start. I brine cured it with the following:
1 gallon water
3% (by meat and brine weight) kosher salt
2% white sugar
2.25 tsp Prague Powder
4 T pickling spice
10 cloves garlic
A handful of whole peppercorns
I neglected to take a picture of it brining, but I cut the brisket in half without bothering to separate the point from the flat - just a cut across the width of it, halfway down the length. I also intentionally did not trim any of the external fat at all. Injected it thoroughly with curing brine, then put it into 2.5 gallon ziploc bag in a large stock pot. Poured the rest of the brine in and sealed it. I put a couple of folded dish towels in the stock pot to reduce the space and force the liquid high enough to keep the meat submerged. I left it in the brine for six days, then removed it, rinsed it thoroughly, and left it in the fridge uncovered for about 15 hours. Here it is at the end of that time:
Next step was to rub it with a mixture of 3 T cracked peppercorns, 3 T ground coriander, and 1 T ground mustard. About half of the rub fell off while handling it, but I anticipated that and made a little more than I was expecting to actually use.
A quick peek after about two hours on the smoker at 225, with two chunks of pecan wood (don't judge me on my less than sparkling grates....):
After 7 hours, it was reading 185 degrees throughout both pieces. I removed and immediately wrapped the pieces individually in a double layer of heavy duty foil, and put them into a cooler for two hours. Here's a slice from the flatter section:
And a slice from the point section:
Finally, the midnight snack for both me and the missus (on marbled rye with kraut, thousand island and swiss cheese):
Overall, the taste is VERY good. My pictures don't really do it justice, but the color is the perfect dark pink of pastrami. The level of seasoning is good, so I'm glad half of the rub didn't adhere to it - any more and the kids wouldn't touch it ("too spicy Dad!"). I thought the saltiness was just right, and if I had soaked it at all after brining (like some recipes/sites recommend) I don't think it would have been salty enough. However, my ratio of salt was quite a bit less than several of the recipes I saw recommend. The slices from the very thin end of the flat were a little tougher than I expected, but it was also hard to slice them very thin with a knife (1/4" thick in my sandwiches). It is in the refrigerator now and will go through the slicer tomorrow, the tougher end should be just fine if sliced thinly.
I very highly recommend getting yourself some pink salt and a cheap brisket to give this a try. You will not be disappointed!
1 gallon water
3% (by meat and brine weight) kosher salt
2% white sugar
2.25 tsp Prague Powder
4 T pickling spice
10 cloves garlic
A handful of whole peppercorns
I neglected to take a picture of it brining, but I cut the brisket in half without bothering to separate the point from the flat - just a cut across the width of it, halfway down the length. I also intentionally did not trim any of the external fat at all. Injected it thoroughly with curing brine, then put it into 2.5 gallon ziploc bag in a large stock pot. Poured the rest of the brine in and sealed it. I put a couple of folded dish towels in the stock pot to reduce the space and force the liquid high enough to keep the meat submerged. I left it in the brine for six days, then removed it, rinsed it thoroughly, and left it in the fridge uncovered for about 15 hours. Here it is at the end of that time:
Next step was to rub it with a mixture of 3 T cracked peppercorns, 3 T ground coriander, and 1 T ground mustard. About half of the rub fell off while handling it, but I anticipated that and made a little more than I was expecting to actually use.
A quick peek after about two hours on the smoker at 225, with two chunks of pecan wood (don't judge me on my less than sparkling grates....):
After 7 hours, it was reading 185 degrees throughout both pieces. I removed and immediately wrapped the pieces individually in a double layer of heavy duty foil, and put them into a cooler for two hours. Here's a slice from the flatter section:
And a slice from the point section:
Finally, the midnight snack for both me and the missus (on marbled rye with kraut, thousand island and swiss cheese):
Overall, the taste is VERY good. My pictures don't really do it justice, but the color is the perfect dark pink of pastrami. The level of seasoning is good, so I'm glad half of the rub didn't adhere to it - any more and the kids wouldn't touch it ("too spicy Dad!"). I thought the saltiness was just right, and if I had soaked it at all after brining (like some recipes/sites recommend) I don't think it would have been salty enough. However, my ratio of salt was quite a bit less than several of the recipes I saw recommend. The slices from the very thin end of the flat were a little tougher than I expected, but it was also hard to slice them very thin with a knife (1/4" thick in my sandwiches). It is in the refrigerator now and will go through the slicer tomorrow, the tougher end should be just fine if sliced thinly.
I very highly recommend getting yourself some pink salt and a cheap brisket to give this a try. You will not be disappointed!
