Pastrami (And Corned Beef)

सामग्री

Corned beef

• About 8 pounds of beef brisket tor navel

• 1 gallon water

• 1 cup brown sugar, preferably dark

• 8 ounces salt, by weight

• 4 teaspoons pink curing salt #1

• 5 tablespoons pickling spices

• 4 cloves garlic, smashed or pressed

Pastrami

• 4 pounds of good corned beef, preferably home made (above)

• 4 tablespoons fresh coarsely ground black pepper

• 2 tablespoons coriander powder

• 1 teaspoon mustard powder

• 1 tablespoon brown sugar

• 1 tablespoon paprika

• 2 teaspoons garlic powder

• 2 teaspoons onion powder

• 4 to 8 ounces of smoke wood

निर्देश

1) Brine corned beef for 5 or more days.

2) Desalinate. Put the corned beef in a pot slightly larger than the meat and cover it with cold water in the fridge for 8 hours. This removes excess salt. Trust me, you need to do this or you will be gulping water all night after your meal.

3) Rub. Make the rub by blending all the spice. Rinse the meat, pat it dry with paper towels, coat it with a thin layer of cooking oil, apply the rub liberally, about 4 tablespoons per square foot of surface, and press it into the surface to help it adhere. If there is a thin part of meat, use less rub. Put in the fridge for a minimum of 2 days. My best batch sat for almost a week.

4) Smoke. Set up your smoker or your grill for smoking. You will find instructions for this in my Tips & Techniques section. If uou can, use a charcoal smoker. It produces a deeper darker crust than gas, electric, or even pellets, but it still comes out fabulous on a pellet burner or gasser. Preheat to 225F. Pick your wood. I dont think it makes a huge difference with all the other flavors banging around in there. My best batch was with cherry wood. Smoke it fat side up over indirect heat at 225F until it reaches 190F to 200F. Add wood when the smoke dwindles. If you wish you can smoke it for 3 to 4 hours and finish it indoors, but this stuff can take all the smoke you throw at it, so outdoors is better it could take 12 hours or more depending on the thickness.

Pastrami crust

5) Chill. When it is done cooking, go ahead and Cut a taste. I know you want to. All the flavor is there, but it may still be a bit chewy. Wrap in foil and refrigerate for at least 12 hours. You can keep it for a week if you wish.

Steaming pastrami

6) Steam. When it is time to serve it is time to steam heat and tenderize. If you have a bamboo or metal steamer in wich the meat will fit, you can use that. If not, you can make a steamer by putting a wire rack in a baking pan. If necessary you can sit the rack on wads of foil to keep it out of water. Put the meat on the foil in which it was wrapped or the steam will wash off much of the rub. Do not slice the meat first.

If you made a steamer with a baking pan, cover with foil. If the pan is steel, but dont let the foil touch the meat. The salt, the water, the steel, and the aluminum can interact and create electrical charges that can melt the foil this is a phenomenon known as "lasagna cell".

Put the pan on a burner, turn the heat to medium low, and steam it and hour or two until heated through to 203F. The exact time will depend on the meat's thickness and how hot the water is. Add hot water as needed, making sure the pan never dries out. Dont rush this. Take it all the way to 203F.