# Your Favorite Pastrami and Recipes



## mhlee (Oct 26, 2012)

I thought I'd throw this question out here since I've only had little luck in finding this information online.

I have several 3 lb brisket flats that I want to turn into pastrami. I've found a few recipes that seem promising, but I'm really looking for recipes that are super accurate (ingredients by weight) and consistent. I would also rather work with actual recipes, rather than pre-made blends, so I can adjust as I'd like. 

That being said, would any of you be willing to share your favorite pastrami (in the hopes of being able to find recipes for these places) or recipes? Or books that include pastrami recipes? Personally, I'm looking to do the brine, rub, then smoke and steam method to make hand-sliced pastrami. 

FWIW, I'm a big Langer's fan. I was also pretty impressed by the pastrami at Umamicatessen - a little inconsistent, but when good, it was pretty damn good!. I wasn't impressed with the pastrami at Carnegie and have never had Katz's (the next time I'm in NY, I'm getting my fill for sure!). 

Thanks in advance!


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## piratechefny (Nov 3, 2012)

"Charcuterie" by Brian Polcyn has at least one pastrami recipe in it as well as a ton of other great recipes for various sausages and cured meats. Well worth the money spent.


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## Zwiefel (Nov 3, 2012)

I wasn't impressed by carnagie either...it was definitely good and I wish we had one in Little Rock...but it's competing in the wrong neighborhood.

I haven't been there since 2006 but "new holland deli" near wall + broad was damned good.


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## Chuckles (Nov 7, 2012)

Check out 'Great Sausage Recipes and Meat Curing' by Rytek Kutas. The layout is a little funky but it is a great resource. 

Max09 - Are you a real person?


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## Vertigo (Nov 7, 2012)

Chuckles said:


> Max09 - Are you a real person?


Max (also known as Harry) is a robot. Don't click the link in his sig, that's how he gets paid.


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## Dave Martell (Nov 7, 2012)

Max is gone - thanks Jack


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## sachem allison (Nov 8, 2012)

http://alpoethemad.com/2012/02/how-to-make-homemade-pastrami/


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## wenus2 (Nov 8, 2012)

Good link Son. I'm gonna have to try this.
Thanks for asking this Mike.


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## Chuckles (Nov 8, 2012)

http://www.butcher-packer.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=2_45_231&products_id=25

I highly recommend this brine pump for doing cured meats. It is a large syringe but the needle has holes on all sides. Your cure will be distributed evenly from the word go. It will cut down on your cure time which means the product will be safer and more consistent. I use it for corned beef and hams with good results.


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## mhlee (Nov 8, 2012)

Thanks, everyone. I've gotten some good info. Hopefully, I'll be able to get to making the brine this weekend. 

If I do, I'll put pictures up of the process.


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## brainsausage (Nov 8, 2012)

I do my brine percentages based on the combined weight of liquid and protein(in grams for accuracy). A brining pump is a great suggestion, they're fairly cheap, and cut your brining time in half. Here's my pastrami:

2% kosher salt
2% brown sugar
.5% whole black pepper
.4% whole coriander
.25% cure #1
.25% garlic powder
.25% onion powder
.25% whole white pepper
.1% crushed red pepper flake
.1% whole allspice
.05% mace

Before smoking, I crust the meat with a 40/40/20 blend of coarse ground pepper-coriander-brown sugar. I prefer my pastrami sliceable, as opposed to pulled. But I've used this recipe for both applications and it worked great either way. Hope this helps


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## Jim (Nov 9, 2012)

The Brine seems to be well covered here already, I have to say that there is no sugar involved in any pastrami I have ever made or eaten. 

*Pastrami rub*
4T Pepper med grind
1t ground coriander
1t granulated garlic
1t granulated onion
1/2 t thyme
1t paprika
1 t juniper berries 

Grind all spices fairly fine and liberally coat corned beef
Smoke until tender 195-205
Slice thin and enjoy with a homemade pickle


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## PierreRodrigue (Nov 9, 2012)

Jim in the interest of me being curious, what is your brineing recipe and procedure? 

Also has anyone ever tried to use moose instead of beef? I seem to be sitting on 500 pounds of the stuff at the moment, aging in the cold room.


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## DeepCSweede (Nov 9, 2012)

PierreRodrigue said:


> Jim in the interest of me being curious, what is your brineing recipe and procedure?
> 
> Also has anyone ever tried to use moose instead of beef? I seem to be sitting on 500 pounds of the stuff at the moment, aging in the cold room.



Pierre,

I have done it with venison with great results, I can't imagine moose would be bad at all.


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## mhlee (Nov 9, 2012)

brainsausage said:


> I do my brine percentages based on the combined weight of liquid and protein(in grams for accuracy). A brining pump is a great suggestion, they're fairly cheap, and cut your brining time in half. Here's my pastrami:
> 
> 2% kosher salt
> 2% brown sugar
> ...



To me, it would seem that you would need some kind of minimum amount of water to make sure that you have enough brine (and from what I gather, most importantly, enough salt) for the meat. If you use very little water and a heavy piece of meat, it would also seem that you could end up with a disproportionate ratio of brine to meat, e.g. 2000 gram piece of meat, 500 grams of water (approximately one pint or two cups of water), which would result in using 50 grams of salt, which, if using Diamond Kosher Salt (at 5 oz per cup) is only about one and a half ounces of salt and just over one quarter of a cup of salt (if my calculations are correct) for two cups of water.

Would this amount of brine be sufficient for a 4.4. pound brisket flat? (The flats I'm going to use are about this size).


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## Jim (Nov 9, 2012)

PierreRodrigue said:


> Jim in the interest of me being curious, what is your brineing recipe and procedure?
> 
> Also has anyone ever tried to use moose instead of beef? I seem to be sitting on 500 pounds of the stuff at the moment, aging in the cold room.



I would love to try it with moose. I cannot see why it would not be terrific.

Brine 
1 gallon water
2 cups kosher salt
1/2 cup sugar
5 tsp. pink salt

You can add any combination of spices/herbs you like.
I would double or triple this as needed, as long as the meat has plenty of room in the container it will be fine. 5-6 days for a flat or 7-8 for full packers.

I soak for one day in clear water before rubbing and smoking @ 325 until probe tender 195-200 range, but let the meat tell you, not the thermometer.


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## brainsausage (Nov 10, 2012)

mhlee said:


> To me, it would seem that you would need some kind of minimum amount of water to make sure that you have enough brine (and from what I gather, most importantly, enough salt) for the meat. If you use very little water and a heavy piece of meat, it would also seem that you could end up with a disproportionate ratio of brine to meat, e.g. 2000 gram piece of meat, 500 grams of water (approximately one pint or two cups of water), which would result in using 50 grams of salt, which, if using Diamond Kosher Salt (at 5 oz per cup) is only about one and a half ounces of salt and just over one quarter of a cup of salt (if my calculations are correct) for two cups of water.
> 
> Would this amount of brine be sufficient for a 4.4. pound brisket flat? (The flats I'm going to use are about this size).



Sorry, I completely forgot to mention the fluid ratios 

I typically do about 1 gallon to every 10 pounds of protein.


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## brainsausage (Nov 10, 2012)

Jim said:


> The Brine seems to be well covered here already, I have to say that there is no sugar involved in any pastrami I have ever made or eaten.
> 
> *Pastrami rub*
> 4T Pepper med grind
> ...



That looks quite delicious Jim!


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## Jim (Nov 11, 2012)

brainsausage said:


> That looks quite delicious Jim!


Why thanks!


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## sw2geeks (Nov 12, 2012)

I posted a pastrami I made earlier here. I dry cured my brisket instead of using a wet brine.

http://www.kitchenknifeforums.com/showthread.php/5953-Pastrami-Texas-style!


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## Jim (Nov 12, 2012)

sw2geeks said:


> I posted a pastrami I made earlier here. I dry cured my brisket instead of using a wet brine.
> 
> http://www.kitchenknifeforums.com/showthread.php/5953-Pastrami-Texas-style!




Looks Delicious!


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## Deckhand (Nov 12, 2012)

PierreRodrigue said:


> Jim in the interest of me being curious, what is your brineing recipe and procedure?
> 
> Also has anyone ever tried to use moose instead of beef? I seem to be sitting on 500 pounds of the stuff at the moment, aging in the cold room.



Lucky guy. One of the best steaks I ever had was a moose steak from Alaska on the BBQ.


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## slowtyper (Nov 15, 2012)

We have a lot of pastrami bits left over (ends of the brisket leftover after machine slicing). Any ideas of what to do with them?


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## brainsausage (Nov 16, 2012)

slowtyper said:


> We have a lot of pastrami bits left over (ends of the brisket leftover after machine slicing). Any ideas of what to do with them?



Hash, turkey stuffings, scrambles, rissotto, Mac n cheese, nachos, sammiches, dehydrate for quick beef broths....


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## Jim (Nov 16, 2012)

slowtyper said:


> We have a lot of pastrami bits left over (ends of the brisket leftover after machine slicing). Any ideas of what to do with them?



Hash hash hash and eggs!


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## wenus2 (Nov 16, 2012)

slowtyper said:


> We have a lot of pastrami bits left over (ends of the brisket leftover after machine slicing). Any ideas of what to do with them?



Cheese, crackers, and a bottle of muscadet?


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