Chef Tom smokes up one of our most requested recipes, pastrami! He cures it for six days and then smokes it on the Yoder Smokers Loaded Wichita. Enjoy.
WHAT YOU’LL LOVE
- Six-day cold cure: A brine of kosher salt, sugar, curing salt, crushed garlic, and homemade pickling spice, kept submerged and refrigerated, cures the brisket all the way through and gives it pastrami’s pink color and flavor.
- Homemade pickling spice: Coriander, peppercorns, and mustard seeds toasted and cracked, then mixed with chile flakes, allspice, cloves, ginger, mace, cinnamon, and bay, make a fresh, aromatic blend.
- Pepper and coriander crust: After rinsing and drying, a thin mustard binder holds a coat of coarsely ground toasted black pepper and coriander.
- Smoke, then wrap: Smoking at 250°F until the bark turns mahogany (about 155°F inside), then double-wrapping in foil at 300°F, takes it to a tender 195-210°F.
How to Make Pastrami
Tom Jackson
Rated 4.0 stars by 101 users
Category
Entree
Cuisine
American
Servings
10
Prep Time
30 minutes
Cook Time
6 hours 1 minute
Calories
1871
Treat your taste buds to an unforgettable experience: Chef Tom's 6-day-cured, Smoked Pastrami! Enjoy the tantalizing smoky flavors, sublime succulence and unbeatable texture of this indulgent brisket preparation.
Ingredients
-
1 beef brisket flat
- 1 gallon water
-
1 1/2 cup kosher salt
- 1 cup sugar
- 4 tsp pink salt (sodium nitrite)
- 10 cloves garlic, crushed
- 1/4 cup pickling spice (recipe below)
- 8 1/2 lb ice
-
Chile Slinger Fatalii Mustard Sauce (substitute)
-
1/4 cup black peppercorns, toasted, coarsely ground
- 1/4 cup coriander seeds, toasted, coarsely ground
-
1 tbsp coriander seeds
-
1 tbsp black peppercorns
- 1 tbsp mustard seeds
- 1 tbsp red chile flakes
- 1 tbsp allspice berries
- 1 tbsp whole cloves
- 1 tsp ground ginger
- 1 tsp ground mace
- 1 small cinnamon stick, crushed
- 2 bay leaves, broken into pieces
For the brine:
For the rub:
Pickling Spice Recipe
Directions
- Combine all brine ingredients, except the ice, in a large pot. Bring to a boil and stir until salt and sugar are dissolved.
Add the ice to a large Briner Bucket. Pour the briner mixture over the ice. Stir to melt the ice.
- Place brisket in the brining liquid. Lock the plate in place to make sure it is fully submerged. Refrigerate for 6 days.
Before removing the brisket from the brine, preheat your Yoder Smokers Loaded Wichita offset smoker to 250ºF.
Remove brisket from brine, and rinse thoroughly under cold water. Pat dry with paper towels. Apply a thin layer of Chile Slinger Fatalii Mustard Sauce (substitute) the surface of the meat to help the rub adhere. Coat the brisket with the rub.
- Smoke at 250ºF until you achieve a nice mahogany red color on the outside, roughly 5 hours (about 155ºF internal temperature). Double wrap the brisket in foil, increase the temperature of the smoker to 300ºF, and continue smoking until pastrami is tender when probed with a thermometer (195ºF-210ºF). Allow meat to rest half an hour. Slice thinly and serve.
Pickling Spice Recipe
In a dry hot 12” Lodge cast iron skillet, toast the coriander, peppercorns and mustard seeds just until fragrant. Be careful not to burn them. Place the spices in a cloth napkin. Fold the napkin over the spices, and crack the spices by smashing them with a heavy skillet, or rolling pin.
- Combine the toasted spices with the remaining spices. Store in a sealed container.
Recipe Note
Recipe FAQ
What is pastrami?
Pastrami is beef, traditionally brisket, that's brined with salt, sugar, curing salt, and spices, coated in a pepper and coriander crust, and smoked until tender.
Which curing salt should I use?
Use Prague Powder #1, also sold as Cure #1 or Insta Cure #1, which contains 6.25% sodium nitrite. It's a different product from Himalayan pink salt and from pure sodium nitrite, which is unsafe to handle in this form. Measure the cure carefully, ideally by weight, and keep it away from regular salt.
Why cure the brisket for six days?
The cure has to travel all the way to the center of the meat, and that takes time. Keep the brisket fully submerged under the plate and refrigerated at 40°F or below for the entire cure.
Why pour the hot brine over ice?
Boiling dissolves the salt and sugar, and the ice cools the brine quickly. Make sure the brine has cooled to 40°F or below before the brisket goes in.
Why rinse and dry the brisket after the cure?
Rinsing removes surface salt, and patting it dry gives the mustard and rub something to grip. If a slice of the finished pastrami tastes very salty, soak the cured brisket in cold water for 30-60 minutes next time.
Why toast the spices?
Toasting wakes up their oils and deepens their aroma. Toast the coriander, peppercorns, and mustard seeds only until fragrant, since they scorch quickly.
Why brush on mustard sauce before the rub?
It's a binder that holds the thick pepper and coriander crust on the surface. Its flavor mostly fades during the long smoke.
Why smoke to 155°F and then wrap?
The first stage builds smoke flavor and a dark bark. Wrapping at around 155°F and raising the heat to 300°F pushes the brisket through the stall and softens its connective tissue.
How do I know the pastrami is done?
It should feel tender when probed, at about 195-210°F. That's well above the 145°F USDA minimum for whole beef, so the higher target is for texture.
Why rest the pastrami for 30 minutes?
Resting lets the juices settle, so the meat slices cleanly and stays moist. Slice it thin and across the grain.
How do I adjust the brine for a bigger brisket?
Scale the recipe up so the brine fully covers the meat in your container, keeping the proportions of water, salt, sugar, and cure the same.
How should I store leftovers?
Refrigerate within 2 hours of cooking. It keeps for about 3-4 days, and it freezes well in portions. Reheat slices gently with steam so they stay moist.
How indoor-friendly is this recipe?
3 out of 5. The cure is done in the refrigerator, and a 250°F oven followed by a foil-wrapped finish at 300°F gives the same tenderness, though you'd lose the smoke and bark.
Recipe Highlights
Six-day wet cure: Seasons and cures the brisket through.
Homemade pickling spice: Gives a fresh, aromatic brine.
Pepper and coriander crust: Builds a bold, peppery bark.
Smoke, wrap, and finish: Delivers a tender, sliceable brisket.
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Nutrition
Nutrition
- Nutrition Serving Size
- 4 oz
- per serving
- Calories
- 1871
- Carbs
- 26 grams
- Protein
- 176 grams
- Fat
- 112 grams
- Sodium
- 8909 milligrams
