Corned Beef Pastami? Stop fooling yourself! Make the real thing!


 
J

Josh Z.

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I'll admit I'm somewhat of a pastrami freak. With this said I thought that I would see what people were talkign about when they said the used corned beef to make pastrami. Since corned beef flasts were sale for $1.99 I picked a couple up. Rubbed em down and made them like pastrami. This in my freakish opinion did not make pastrami. It made something like pastrami, but saltier and not near as good.

The recipe on this site for pastrami from scratch is much better in my opinion. If you have the means don't skimp by using corned beef. The real stuff is not as salty with a hint of the brown sugar showing through. Far superior IMHO.

So good luck and enjoy your <STRIKE>corned beef pastrami</STRIKE> I mean your REAL pastrami!

Josh
 
In the case of pastrami using a corned beef, what's missing is mostly the pepper in the cure. Also note that you probably didn't soak the store-bought corned beef in freshwater as is called for in the website pastrami recipe-- that would have lessened the saltiness. I find that the injected cure used in the store-bought corned beef seems to make the product very boiled ham-like in texture. That's the main reason I prefer to make pastrami more akin to the Cooking section technique, using USDA Choice brisket flats.
 
Doug,

Even with a soak (probably not long enough) it was too salty. It was wonderful tasting as corned beef, but not pastrami. I was just coming back after a taste to post that I really missed the consistency of the real pastrami meat too. By all means I won't die from eating this fake pastrami, but it still isn't up to my standards after making the homemade stuff.

The pastrami that I've made has a better texture and taste. Great pepper taste, but just a hint of sweetness from the brown sugar makes it soooo goood.

I'm right with ya, making it from flats on your own is as I posted above the way to go.
 
I have made the pastrami recipe that Doug refered to and it's quite good. I'll be making it again in the future because i really liked the end product. Myself i would never use a corned beef brisket to make a pastrami. Two totally different animals.
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ok, here's a question for you folks. There's this place in NYC that makes - I believe - the best pastrami on earth. It's called Katz' deli.

If you haven't been there, it's hard to describe... wish I could do a better job.

I can't figure out what they do differently. First, they hand cut it - which is similar to what we'd do - so it is thick cut. But it is so amazingly tender and moist. More so than any I've made.

I wonder how I can get close to reproducing that??? Do they smoke it, then steam it afterwards (I've heard of places doing that). Maybe if I were to cook it to normal brisket temps - like in the high 180s?

I salivate over that stuff. The pastrami I make in my WSM is great, but it still doesn't hold a candle to Katz'.
 
kevin - have you ever tried katz'? Man... amazing stuff. Maybe I'll try that next time.

How would I do it? I would assume steam it whole, rather than sliced (since I Katz' hand slices it for you, that's what they'd have to do)....

do you lose flavor that way?
 
Adam,

Are you sure they are using the brisket? I've got a recipe that the author favors beef plate over brisket due to higher fat content that allow it to stay juicer, but still says a brisket works well too. It also calls for smoking it to 150 and then finishing off on the stove and oven. Inch of simmering water in a stock pot or roasting pan over the stove, Cover and then put into an oven @275 and slow roast/steam for 2 to 3 hours till it is fork tender.

Either way I'm guessing the deli uses some sort of method like that. I've been intrigued by this method and I'll probably try it out someday.

I hope this helps,
Josh
 
Adam--

Yes, but try Langer's when you are next in L.A. Better than Katz's--believe me.

Steaming is common. Smoke slowly to 165 internal, cool, then steam whole or sliced later. Plate, as Josh notes, is common but so is brisket--either will work. (Plate is thinner.) The inch of water is common too. Steam on top of the stove though--not in the oven--so that you can keep an eye on things.
 
Josh - Katz' definitely uses brisket.

wow Kevin... claiming a place in LA can make better pastrami than a place in NYC. That's enough to start a war!
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now, you know I'm an LA expat. But... I'm struggling to imagine any place as good as Katz. I guess I'll just have to try it out this summer when I head back to LA for a few weeks.

I'll have to try steaming next time to see what happens.
 
Katz Deli - I love that place! Too bad it is over a 1,000 miles from here or we'd go there much more often.
Katz Deli
Click on "Worth A 1000 Words" to see the sandwich.

I've done the brisket to pastrami routine, but have been using corned beef to make pastrami because it is convenient. Will get a choice cut flat and try again.

Richard
 
Katz' is fabulous, but I also had pastrami in Ft. Lauderdale at a place called Brothers, since closed, that was amazing. I'm an ex-New Yorker, and pastrami is my desert Island food [and ribs]. I actually smuggled 5 lbs back into Canada.

Best,
Mike
 
So what I'm hearing here is that one of the finest deli's for pastrami more than likely does steam their pastrami. I was thinking of trying it out before, now I'll have to try it out.
 
HOT DAMN! That better be the best pastrami ever if I'm gonna pay 13.45 for it. Does it come with a side of lobster too? Is this place expensive in comparison or is this a crazy NY/Manhatten overpriced because its the city deal?

Josh
 
So what I'm hearing here...
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Yes, Josh, more than likely--I think so anyway. Makes sense though. Pastrami is usually taken to 165 or so but not really held there. If allowed to cool fairly quickly then steamed (either whole or sliced) till the juices/connective tissue soften again and given some time therer, the meat will actually have more of an opportunity to become more tender and flavorful. That's my theory anyway. I do not steam mine (though I should try it) but I do drop the smoker temp dramatically so that the meat will sit in the 160s for a while before pulling.

Adam-- Try Langer's when you are next in LA. It is wonderful.
 
Originally posted by Josh Z.:
HOT DAMN! That better be the best pastrami ever if I'm gonna pay 13.45 for it. Does it come with a side of lobster too? Is this place expensive in comparison or is this a crazy NY/Manhatten overpriced because its the city deal?
Josh
Click to expand...
$13 is a little expensive for a pastrami sandwich in NYC, but not obscenely so. At most decent delis, they are around $7-$10. However, what you get at Katz just can't be considered normal. They give you huge amounts (can feed two) and it's just so amazing that you leave feeling you just spent the best $13 ever.

OK... I've got to fess up about something about making my own pastrami... I've dutifully followed everybody's advice only taking it to 165-ish. And every time it's been way too tough. So, this last time, I took it to about 180 and it was definitely better. What am I doing wrong here. When I say it's been tough, I mean that it's not tender in the same way as well-cooked brisket. Where it holds together, but if pulled apart, it would tear without much resistance. In the case of my pastrami's it just hasn't been that way. So, I started to cook it like I do a normal Brisket - nearer to the 180s. It seems to be better.

What am I doing wrong then if everyone finds theirs tender at 160, but I don't... and it isn't tough due to overcooking because the connective tissue hasn't broken down yet.

Thoughts?

Anyhow, I'm hoping the steaming after smoking helps this issue...
 
adam,

At 165 I get pastrami that resembles lunch meat that when shaved thin is easy to eat. By no means have I ever tried to get brisket tenderness from my pastrami. Maybe I should be though.

Josh
 
Steaming will help. 160 is too low. Raise that. I've done steam in restaurants but not at home. Now, I take my time getting there by starting the cook ~200 grate till 130 or so then raising the grate and going till 165 then lowering the temp a lot by removing coals, cooking a while longer then wrapping and shutting down the cooker and letting it cook gently as the heat dies then rest. (Too involved but I've been addressing other issues.)

I haven't done all that many and have been playing but I have wanted to steam as well. I was thinking of smoking to 165, cooling, then low-temp steaming till done or maybe 165, chill, vac then sous vide for a while.
 
ooh... sous vide may be the ticket... how would you recommend managing the temp doing it that way? I'd be afraid of overcooking...

thoughts?
 
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