How To Make Pastrami.
A step by step guide to making insanely good pastrami at home.
Is there a better deli meat than pastrami?
It’s definitely my favourite & this week I’m going to be showing you how to make it completely from scratch. This step by step guide will have you making pastrami that’s so good that you’ll never buy it from the shop again!
It takes a week to make but the results are worth it.
The Beef & Cure.
Traditionally, pastrami is made from a navel end brisket. This cut comes from the rib plate of a cow & is the beef equivalent of a pork belly.
Before being cooked, the meat needs to be cured in a brine for the best part of a week. This is what flavours the meat & allows the beef to stay pink even after being cooked for many hours.
To make the brine, a special type of curing salt is required.
For this recipe I have used the salt beef cure from Weschenfelder.co.uk.
These salts contain sodium nitrite (this is what makes the beef stay pink) which can only be used in small quantities.
It is important to follow the usage instructions from the manufacturer for these cures.
*If your in the UK, I’d recommend the salt beef cure from Weschenfelder which has a 5% usage rate (e.g. 50g cure to 1 litre of water). If you use a different cure/curing salt, make sure to follow the manufacturers usage guidelines.
The Rub.
As the beef has been brined, the rub doesn’t need to contain any salt. Commonly, pastrami is coated in a rub that contains coriander & black pepper. Other ingredients are used alongside these ones but coriander & pepper should be two of the main flavours.
The Process.
There are several steps in the process of making pastrami.
In short, these are;
Brining/Curing
Desalination
Equalise The Cure
Smoking
Steaming
The whole process takes a week to complete but the hands on prep time is minimal.
Day 1-5: Brining.
The first step is the brine. As mentioned earlier, this is what cures the meat & keeps it pink. After making the brine & letting it cool, we take a small amount & inject it into the beef. The brisket is then submerged fully in the brine & left in the fridge for 5 days, flipping once a day to ensure an even cure.
The injecting step is optional but it allows the brine to penetrate fully, preventing any uncured/grey patches of meat.
The beef needs to be completely covered by the brine so it is important to use a big enough container. If the brisket needs to be held down in the brine, a plastic food bag filled with cold water works well.
Make sure to use a plastic container as a metal one can react with the cure.
Day 5-6 (Overnight): Desalination
Once the beef has been brined for five days, it needs an overnight soak in cold water. This is called desalination & takes away some of the saltiness from the brine.
Day 6-7: Equalising The Cure
The following morning, the brisket is removed from the water, patted dry then left uncovered in the fridge for 24 hours.
This rest in the fridge gives the cure a chance to settle, improving the colour of the cooked pastrami.
Day 7: Smoking & Steaming
The final step is the cook.
After coating the brisket in our pastrami rub, it is cooked in a smoker until a decent bark has developed & has reached an internal temperature of 71°c/160°f, roughly 4-6 hours.
At this point the brisket is then steamed in the oven until tender (it will probe like butter) & the internal temperature reaches 93°c-96°c/200°f-205°f. Roughly 3-4 hours.
The pastrami is now cooked & after a good rest, is ready to slice. Alternatively, you can chill the pastrami in the fridge & reheat another day.
*My reheating barbecue guide can be found here.
Equipment.
A meat injector (optional)
A large plastic container - big enough to hold the meat & brine
Pestle & mortar
A bbq/smoker - I use a Weber Smokey Mountain
Charcoal briquettes
A couple chunks of dry oak
A spray bottle - to spritz the meat in the smoker
A roasting tin with a wire rack
A Note On Curing Salt/Salt Beef Cure - IMPORTANT
The cure that I use for my pastrami is the salt beef cure from Weschenfelder.co.uk which contains 2.8% sodium nitrite. This cure contains both the nitrite (curing) salt & regular salt needed to cure pastrami.
Some pastrami recipes call for Prague Powder No.1 to be used, as I have never used this to cure with, I haven’t included it in this recipe & can’t give any usage guidelines.
If you use prague powder instead, keep in mind that it has a much lower usage rate & needs to be used with regular salt in a brine.
The salt beef cure used here has a 5% usage rate which means it is used at 50g cure to 1 litre of water.
Always follow the manufacturers usage guidelines when using curing salts as too much sodium nitrite can be harmful.
How To Make Pastrami Step By Step
Serves 10-12 | Prep Time: 7 Days | Cook Time: Roughly 9 Hours
Ingredients.
2kg Navel End Brisket
The Brine.
3 Litres Water
200g Light Brown Sugar
150g Salt Beef Cure (From weschenfelder.co.uk)
*See above for important cure info.2 Bay Leaves
1 Cinnamon Stick
1 tsp Coriander Seeds
1/2 tsp Black Peppercorns
Pastrami Rub.
2 tbsp Demerara Sugar
2.5 tsp Coarse Black Pepper
2.5 tsp Onion Granules
2.5 tsp Garlic Granules
2 tsp Smoked Paprika
2 tsp Coriander Seeds
2 tsp English Mustard Powder
1 tsp Ground Coriander
1/2 tsp Cinnamon
The Cook.
2-3 tbsp French’s Mustard
75ml Apple Cider Vinegar
75ml Water
Method.
Step 1.
In a large saucepan, combine the water, sugar, curing salt, bay leaves, cinnamon, coriander seeds & peppercorns.
Over a medium - high heat, bring the brine to a boil, stirring occasionally so that the sugar & salt dissolve fully then remove from the heat & leave to cool at room temperature.
Stick the brine in the fridge & leave to chill completely.
Remove any silver skin from the brisket & if necessary trim any excess fat (there should a good cm of fat left on).
Using a meat injector, inject the brisket all over, making sure that you inject along the grain of the meat.
Transfer the chilled brine to a large plastic container then add in the brisket, making sure that it is full submerged.
Leave in the brine for 5 days, turning the brisket over once a day.
Step 2.
After 5 days in the brine, remove the brisket & give it a good rinse under cold water.
Discard the brine & fill the container back up with cold water.
Place the brisket back into the water & leave in the fridge overnight to desalinate.
*Change the water after the first 4-6 hours.
Step 3.
The following morning, take the brisket out of the water, pat dry with kitchen roll then place on a tray & leave uncovered in the fridge for 24 hours.
Step 4.
The next day, prepare the pastrami rub by first crushing the coriander seeds in a pestle & mortar. Combine the crushed seeds in a bowl with the remaining rub ingredients.
Take the brisket out of the fridge then cover completely with the French’s mustard. Sprinkle the rub all over & leave to sit at room temperature for 30 minutes - 1 hour.
In the meantime, using charcoal briquettes, preheat a smoker/bbq to 250°f & set up for indirect cooking.
Once the smoker is up to temperature, throw in a couple of chunks of oak then add in the brisket, fat side up. Cook undisturbed for 3 hours.
Combine the water & vinegar then place into a spray bottle.
After the first 3 hours have passed, spray the brisket with the water/vinegar mix every 45 minutes.
Continue cooking until the meat reaches an internal temperature of 71°c/160°f. This will roughly take a further 3-4 hours.
Preheat an oven to 160°c/320°f.
Next, transfer the brisket to a wire rack set in a roasting tin then pour in a 1cm layer of boiling water into the bottom.
Place a sheet of baking parchment over the brisket then cover with foil.
Cook in the preheated oven until the meat probes tender & has reached an internal temperature of 93°c-96°c/200°f-205°f. This will take roughly 3-4 hours of steaming*.
*But check regularly after 2 hours.
Once cooked, leave the pastrami to rest for at least an hour before slicing.
When slicing, make sure to cut against the grain of the meat.
I served my pastrami in a bagel with mustard, pickles & Emmental cheese. My everything bagel recipe can be found here.
Thanks for reading this week’s exclusive recipe. See you next week!
Hi everyone!
Just to avoid any confusion with the curing salt used for this recipe, the one that I have used is the salt beef cure from weschenfelder.co.uk.
Some recipes use Prague Powder No.1 instead which is used in a much lower amount compared to the salt beef cure used here (prague powder is also used by combining with regular salt in a brine whereas the salt beef cure already contains both curing salt & regular salt).
I've never used prague powder to cure with, which is why I haven't included it in this recipe.
If you plan to use a different curing salt to the one used in this recipe, make sure that you use the recommended amount. Too much sodium nitrite can be harmful so it is important to use the correct amount.
Thanks for reading!