My first WSM project - Pastrami


 
D

Dan Cassaro

New member
Greetings, guys and gals,
I had enough fun with my el-cheapo smoker that I decided to step up to the WSM 18. I've made BRITU and chickens and such with the other, but I wanted a challenge for my new smoker, so I decided to try pastrami.
To my surprise, the hardest part of the recipe was finding Morton's Tender Quick! I tried all the big stores but nobody had it, or had even heard of it. Finally, a local butcher suggested I call some feed stores. Bingo! The first one I called had a whole rack of the stuff!
So, three days curing in the fridge, four hours in the smoker, and finally two hours in a cooler.
OMG!!! It was magnificent! Sliced warm, it was just tender beyond belief. Even my kids, notoriously finicky eaters, ate it up as fast as I could slice it. Just fabulous!
http://i557.photobucket.com/al...0Smoker/IMG_0372.jpg
Dan
PS Next project... how to get that coriander smell out of my coffee grinder?
icon_smile.gif
 
Hi Dan

Put some baking soda in your coffee grinder and pulse it than let it sit for a day or so. Spice smell should be gone
 
Branon,
It was a brisket from CostCo... Just the flat, I think, about 7lbs, but I confess that I'm not 100% sure. It's my first time ever cooking brisket in any manner.
Next time, I will trim it a bit more carefully, as I discovered when slicing there were some parts that still had quite a bit of fat on them. Consequently, the cure didn't quite make it all the way through.
Needless to say, we are all gobbling up the pastrami so dad can give it another try!
Dan
 
Looks great Dan.

Would you mind sharing the recipe...i've been on a rye bread making kick this winter and that would make a great sandwhich........love me some ruebens!

Cheers

Dave
 
<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Originally posted by D Petrman:
Looks great Dan.

Would you mind sharing the recipe...i've been on a rye bread making kick this winter and that would make a great sandwhich........love me some ruebens!

Cheers

Dave </div></BLOCKQUOTE>

Dave, it's one of Chris A's cooking topic recipes:

http://www.virtualweberbullet.com/pastrami.html
 
It also took me a long time to find MTQ. Look for local butchers & etc. Usually wal-mart and large corporate groceries will be a waste of time.

They might have it at Bass Pro Shops or other outdoor-pursuit stores too.
 
I've had more success finding Pink Salt here in the Dallas area than Tenderquick! Although I've found both at several stores in the area.

If you cannot find the tenderquick but can find the Curing Salt #1 here is a brine recipe that I've used for some tasty pastrami:

PASTRAMI RECIPE
adapted from Michael Ruhlman’s Ratio
This version of the recipe corrects the typo in the first edition of Ratio and converts the corned beef recipe into dedicated pastrami variation.

INGREDIENTS
1 4-5 pound brisket, short rib slab, or boneless short ribs.

Brine
2 liters water (half gallon)
25 grams of pink curing salt* (1 ounce or 5 teaspoons)
50 grams sugar (1¼ ounces or scant ¼ cup)
100 grams kosher salt
10 cloves garlic, flattened with the flat side of a knife
1 teaspoon whole black peppercorns
1 teaspoon yellow mustard seeds
1 teaspoon coriander seeds
1 teaspoon dried red pepper flakes
1 teaspoon whole allspice
½ teaspoon ground nutmeg
1 cinnamon stick, crushed or broken into pieces
3 bay leaves, crumbled
1 teaspoon whole cloves
½ teaspoon ground ginger

Link that Recipe came from
 
<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Originally posted by Dave from Denver:
It also took me a long time to find MTQ. Look for local butchers & etc. Usually wal-mart and large corporate groceries will be a waste of time.

They might have it at Bass Pro Shops or other outdoor-pursuit stores too. </div></BLOCKQUOTE>
Also try Asian and international markets.
 
Dave and Dan,

Found Morton Tender Quick at my local Kroger....the morton site has a locate product feature and sure enough it was there. It may have something to do with the store also having jesus candles. . . i don't know.
icon_smile.gif


Brad, would your brine recipe work with tenderquick?

Since I am new at the use of this.....i am a little unsure until i get one under my belt.

now off to find a cheap flat!

Cheers
 
I tried the product locator, but it said there were no stores within 50 miles, even though there clearly was at least one.
The dry-rub recipe is very easy to follow. A jewish friend from NYC says my pastrami was wonderful, as good as he has ever had, so that's some high praise there!
I'm off to Costco this weekend to get some baby back ribs and another brisket. Ribs this weekend, more pastrami next weekend!
Dan
 
Dan,

Then the dry one on the site it is. There is no higher compliment in my book than the one you got from your jewish friend.

I am sure the morton site is geared to the larger corporate customers versus the indie's. I was just glad it was there....2 miles away cause these gas prices are killing me.

Let me know how your ribs and brisket turn out.

Cheers
 
In order to use the brine with Tenderquick you'd have to modify the amounts of ingredients. Tenderquick is a much lower % of Nitrite (0.6%) i believe vs. the 6% from pink salt. Given that the rest of Tenderquick is salt and some sugar 10X the amount of Tenderquick to Pink salt and reduce the salt based on the amount of Tenderquick added would probably work.

I liked the brine, just trimmed the flat, placed in a 2 gallon ziplock and filled with brine. Left in the fridge for 6 days (while I had to go on the road for work) and made the next day after returning. The juniper and alspice in the brine recipe really came through in the finished product, I was surprised.
 
<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Originally posted by D Petrman:
Let me know how your ribs and brisket turn out.
</div></BLOCKQUOTE>

D,
We had BRITU ribs tonight... I made them before on my Brinkman, and they were delicious.
We just finished the first batch off the WSM...
MAGNIFICENT!!!!! Without a doubt, the best ribs I have ever had. Even my finicky kids wolfed them down!
In addition to the brisket, I got a pork belly today... I'm going to make the maple cured bacon, and some pancetta. I guess you can tell I'm having fun!
Dan
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

 

Back
Top