homemade pastrami

This is a fantastic step by step recipe on how to make pastrami! Incredible flavor and perfect for sandwiches, rarely are there any leftovers.

How to Make Pastrami

4.25 lb corned beef ((See Note 1))

tbsp black pepper

tbsp coriander

mustard

brown sugar

garlic powder

onion powder

tsp chili powder ((See Note 2))

Take the corned beef out of it’s packaging and rinse with cold water. Place in a large stock pot and cover with cold water. Keep refrigerated overnight or 4 hours minimum to remove the excess salt. This is the desalinating process. I like the corned beef flavorings so use this kind (go to Step 3), but feel free to use a beef brisket of same weight (see Step 2).

If starting with a beef brisket, see my recipe on How to Make Corned Beef first, then go straight to applying the dry rub.

In a small bowl whisk together the dry rub ingredients. Rinse corned beef in water and allow excess to drip off and apply dry rub mixture evenly over all sides. Place on a platter and refrigerate over night or 8 hours. No need to cover with plastic wrap because when you remove it most of the dry rub sticks to the wrap and is wasted. Air cured is fine overnight, but feel free to go right to the smoker. I have found overnight adds more flavor then straight to the smoker. Use your own discretion.

I use a The Masterbuilt 30" Digital Electric Smoker, but follow your smoker instructions. Add an inch of water to the water tray, and using cherry wood chips, smoke the brisket for approximately 6 hours at 225°F. We will want an internal temperature of 180°F for that tender meat.&nbsp;

Allow meat to cool and refrigerate overnight, or at least 8 hours covered with a loose fitting piece of aluminum foil (We don’t want the dry rub to come off), if not steaming right away. Otherwise take directly to the steamer.&nbsp;(See below instructions).

If refrigerated, remove from refrigerator and allow to come to room temperature, then steam for 2 hours. I use a bamboo steamer with the meat resting on a bit of aluminum foil (See Note 3). In a large pot over medium low heat pour enough water in pot that there is an inch gap between steamer rack and water and steam for 2 hours. Check occasionally to make sure water does not evaporate and refill as needed. We want an internal temperature of 204°F. Just before it hits that I turn off the heat because the meat will continue to cook. (See picture, it rose all the away to 207°F while resting.)

If you don&#039;t have a steamer, you could use an Instant Pot. Use the Instant Pot with the strainer made to fit the IP size. Put the smoked, refrigerated pastrami in the steamer basket, added 1 cup water and set it on STEAM and LOW for 2 hours.

Feel free to discard whatever fat cap is still there and not rendered down completely. With a sharp knife be sure to slice across the grain into about 1/8" and serve! Slicing across the grain will ensure a tender, fall apart piece of pastrami.

Recipe video above. This is an easy homemade Pastrami for all the poor sods like myself who don&#039;t live around the corner from a New York Jewish deli. Tender, juicy and with the signature pastrami spice crust, this is astonishingly straight forward to make - and is outrageously good!ALSO - use the pastrami to make homemade Rebuen sandwiches!

Homemade Pastrami Without a Smoker

lbs / 2kg good corned beef,

tbsp fresh coarsely ground black pepper

coriander powder

mustard powder

tbsp smoked paprika

tbsp liquid smoke ((optional))

Mix Spice Mix and spread out on a tray.&nbsp;Pat beef dry then roll in Spice Mix, coating well all over. Sprinkle with liquid smoke it using (I rarely use this).

Place beef fat cap side down and wrap in a large sheet of foil. Repeat again with another sheet of foil and flip the beef so the fat cap is on the top.

Place rack in slow cooker (Note 2), place beef on rack. Slow cook for 10 hours on low or electric pressure cook for 1 hour 40 minutes (see notes for oven).

Remove beef, cool then refrigerate for 6 hours +. Reserve juices in slow cooker.

Unwrap beef. Place rack on tray, place beef on rack. Bake 30 minutes at 180C/350F until spice crust is set.

Remove from oven, slice thinly - pastrami will be tender. Place some pastrami in a dish, spoon over a bit of reserved juices. Cover and microwave to warm (I like to add a slice of Swiss cheese).

New York Deli style Pastrami Sandwich: Pile high on toasted rye bread slathered with plenty of mustard of choice. Serve with pickles on the side! Plus plain potato crisps (for the full deli experience!)

Rebuen sandwiches - see this recipe.

This homemade pastrami recipe is complex and smoky, but not in the way that other smoked meats are smoky. The smoke in this beef pastrami is not overt. It is blended in thoroughly. Much like Katz&#039;s pastrami, this is highly seasoned, but the black pepper and coriander rub is never domineering, and swimming across all your buds are a range of other herbs and spices. Once you try this recipe you may need to open your own deli!

Simple And Smoky Homemade Pastrami Recipe

corned beef, preferably our homemade recipe

pastrami rub

Prep the corned beef. If possible, make your own corned beef. It is just plain better than storebought. For pastrami, the flat section of the brisket is favored by many because it makes nice even slices for sandwiches, but I prefer the point section of the brisket because it is fattier, richer, and more tender. It can also be made from flank steak, or leaner cuts, or even from boneless short plate (rib meat). If you are using brisket, one side of the meat will probably have a thick layer of fat on it called the cap. Remove all of the fat cap except about 1/8" and if there is any filmy membrane on the other side, remove it all. That thin layer of fat is important. The process takes about a week.

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

Rub. Make the rub. Rinse the meat, and while it is damp, 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. Don't wrap it. The rub just sticks to the plastic wrap. Normally I say you do not need to let meats marinate in a rub, but the wait seems to help this particular rub adhere.

Fire up. Set up your grill in 2 zones for smoking or set up your smoker. If you can, use a charcoal smoker. It produces a deeper darker crust than any other cooker. Preheat to 225°F. Pick your wood. I don't think it makes a huge difference with all the other flavors banging around in there. My best batch was with cherry wood.

Cook. Place the meat on the smoker or on the indirect heat side of the grill. If you plan to steam it before serving for maximum tenderness, you only need to smoke it with indirect heat until it reaches the stall at about 150°F. You can wrap in foil and refrigerate for a week if you wish or proceed to the steaming step. The downside is that steam softens the crust. You can skip the steaming and smoke it up to 203°F and have a nice firm smoky bark, but the meat will not be quite as tender. But it will be tender. And delicious. Your call. Try it both ways and pick the method that suits you best.

Steam (optional). If you want to steam it for maximum tenderness, if you have a bamboo or metal steamer in which 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 the water. Unwrap the meat and put it 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 it with foil. If the pan is steel don't 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 called the "lasagna cell" because it happens to lasagna often.

Put the pan on a burner, turn the heat to medium low, and steam it an hour or two until heated through to 203°F. Add hot water as needed, making sure the pan never dries out. Don't rush this. Take it all the way to 203°F. Note that the crust tends to get soft when you steam. No doubt about it, a hard crust is more appealing. So you can firm the crust by putting it on a hot grill or in the oven or under the broiler for a few minutes. The best crust comes from smoking up to 203°F and skipping the steam. The big puzzlement is how does Katz's retain the hard crust even though they boil the meat just before serving. Dr. Blonder speculates that they pack the meat in so tight that the crust remains hard. I'm skeptical.

Slicing. Slicing is crucial to maximize tenderness. Look at the meat and notice which way the grain is running. Cut it by hand in thin slices, about 1/8" thick, perpendicular to the grain. If you cut parallel to the grain it will be much chewier. Don't try to slice it with a machine. It will just fall apart.

Serve. I serve the homemade smoked pastrami on fresh untoasted rye bread. A good brown mustard on both slices and a few shreds of sauerkraut is nice but not necessary. Now this is going to sound weird: It may need a light sprinkling of salt. The soaking process occasionally removes too much. So taste it and if you wish, sprinkle it on lightly. At Katz&#039;s they put about 1 pound of meat on each sandwich, and the Carnegie Deli uses even more. That&#039;s just too much for me devour without unhinging my jaw. 1/2 to 3/4 pound per sandwich is more than enough for home use. If you want, you can make a Rockin&#039; Pastrami Reuben with sauerkraut, melted swiss, and thousand island or Russian dressing, or beter still, my famous Burger Glop. Reubens were originally made with corned beef, but there&#039;s no rule that you can&#039;t make one from pastrami. In fact, I highly recommend it.Leftovers freeze well and they can be reheated in the microwave or steamed. They can also be made into a killer hash. Ess, bench, sei a mensch!

The best recipe for the ultimate Reuben from Meathead of AmazingRibs.com.  Learn More: https://tinyurl.com/acq59mj

Meathead of AmazingRibs.com shows you how to elevate the world's best sandwich, the Reuben, by converting corned beef to smoked pastrami, as close to Katz's deli pastrami as possible without a trip to Manhattan.

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How To Make The Best Pastrami And Pastrami Reuben Sandwiches

How to make pastrami using store bought corned beef

store bought brined corned beef brisket (Flat or point cut)

black pepper

coriander

smoked paprika

beef stock

Guinness beer

Remove corned beef from package, add to large container and cover with water. Store in fridge for at least 12 hours or up to 24 hours changing out the water half way through. 

Remove the corned beef from the water, rinse and pat dry with paper towels. 

Combine seasonings in a bowl and stir to combine. Then season the corned beef with the dry rub mixture being sure to cover all sides. 

Smoke the corned beef at 250°F until it reaches an internal temperature of at least 165°F and it has a nice bark on the outside. Also spritz with a 50-50 mix of Guinness beer and beef stock if and when the corned beef looks dried out. 

Wrap the corned beef in butcher paper or foil with 1/4 cup of beef stock once you are happy with the bark. Continue cooking the corned beef until it reaches an internal temperature of 200°F and is probe tender. 

Remove from the smoker and allow the corned beef to rest for at least an hour before slicing thinly to serve. 

You now have smoked pastrami made from corned beef! Enjoy. 

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How to Make Pastrami

Homemade Pastrami Without a Smoker

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