Thirdeye Pastrami?

[Jim]

Thanks, Jim.

Do the rules for brisket apply to the brined pastrami? I noticed that Thirdeye's Method 1 calls for an internal of 165 to 170 and the meat is tender. This is a temp well below the "plateau" of 185 to 190, so I took it that the brining and the long rest he calls for would turn those collagens to heavenly juices. Maybe not, though.

If pastrami cooks just like a regular ol' brisket, then I know exactly what I want to do. I had thought it was significantly different...

Roger

Wayne does his a couple of ways as you can see on his blog, I will not speak for him but I would imagine it finishes in the 195-205 before its done.

I have had no luck with brisket /pastrami at any lessor temps. You should drop him a note.

 

[Rughi]

Jim's writings gave me the clue I needed. Once the pastrami goes into the cooker, it got the same treatment as I'd give a brisket.

I used a high heat method of starting at 250F until I reached 140F internal (it got a bit further there than I meant) and then at 325F to 350F beyond and through the plateau. I pulled it at 190F wrapped in foil and towels and put it in a cooler for 2.5 hours until we were ready for it. A spice rub of salt, coarsely cracked pepper, caraway and a touch of cayenne made a nice bark that mostly held up during the resting.

It turned out nice with some quick sauerkraut made from cabbage, yellow onion and Fuji apples cut chiffonade. After sauteeing the onions, I added the cabbage and apples along with cider vinegar, the spice rub from the meat, and some water. A simple smashed potato salad with the same spice rub and a bit of vinegar added carried the theme through.

I don't know why I photographed a plate with a dinner roll on it. It was all pastrami on Acme New York Rye bread and coarse grain mustard for this guy!

Roger

Hmmm... Looks like I could of presented the plate a little more elegantly. Oh well, it was gone in 5 minutes.

 

[Alacrity59]

Jim's writings gave me the clue I needed. Once the pastrami goes into the cooker, it got the same treatment as I'd give a brisket.

I used a high heat method of starting at 250F until I reached 140F internal (it got a bit further there than I meant) and then at 325F to 350F beyond and through the plateau. I pulled it at 190F wrapped in foil and towels and put it in a cooler for 2.5 hours until we were ready for it. A spice rub of salt, coarsely cracked pepper, caraway and a touch of cayenne made a nice bark that mostly held up during the resting.

It turned out nice with some quick sauerkraut made from cabbage, yellow onion and Fuji apples cut chiffonade. After sauteeing the onions, I added the cabbage and apples along with cider vinegar, the spice rub from the meat, and some water. A simple smashed potato salad with the same spice rub and a bit of vinegar added carried the theme through.

I don't know why I photographed a plate with a dinner roll on it. It was all pastrami on Acme New York Rye bread and coarse grain mustard for this guy!

Roger

Hmmm... Looks like I could of presented the plate a little more elegantly. Oh well, it was gone in 5 minutes.

It looks wonderful! How long did you end up brining the brisket?

 

[blackfoot]

Man, that looks good.

 

[Jim]

Looks Great!

 

[Rughi]

The next day I sauteed some onion and garlic and stirred in with just cooked potatoes and some of the pastrami to make a breakfast hash. Crispy up in the pan, one basted egg on top, mmmmmmm.

One neat thing was that the spicy bark made any further salt or pepper unnecessary.

Roger

 

[Rughi]

It looks wonderful! How long did you end up brining the brisket?

The brisket-lets were pre-packaged for corned beef.

I rinsed them well and put them into my own brine for about 36 hours. I may be fooling myself, but I feel I can remove some of the nitrates this way, while I'm instilling my own brine flavoring choices.

Roger

 

[Confilo]

thats one of the things i miss the most, here in spain all coldcuts are pork or turkey based, i would kill for a decent pastrami sandwitch, and making it from scratch takes close to 2 weeks just to get the meat ready to smoke,

But you have access to the best hams

 

[ofelas]

Real smoked meat says hi!


So many people here have never had Montreal Smoked meat and don't know what they are missing. As a former St. Lambert guy I know too well what I'm missing. I think Smoked meat is to Montreal as Pizza is to NYC . . . ain't nobody that does it better.

+1

I never thought I'd find good brisket outside TX, but the first time I tried medium Schwartz's I was hooked. Way better than NY pastrami to me.