Pork U 162 Hour Pastrami from Scratch

PorkU

This started out as a flat brisket that I cured to corned beef, then smoked on my large egg using cherry wood chunks and rubbed down in Pork U "Beef U"  Unbelievable!!!!!

Black_Badger

Beautiful! That's great looking. I'm inspired to give it a go.

Bookmarked for sure.

Thanks for posting and the sweet pics.

Cheers -
B_B

HoustonEgger

Awesome cook!

buzd504

This one has been on my list for a while.  Great work!

bgebrent

Yup.  Gotta try that!  Great job!

johnkitchens

That looks great! 

Brisket_Fanatic

Looks great, care to share your method?

dwh075

Looks good!  How long did you brine?  My last one turned out a tad salty.

PorkU

I brined for 6 days...but on the last day I submerged the beef in plain water for around 12 hours to take out the salt used to cure it.  That step makes all the difference...

Legume

Hell yes - excellent.

Legume

Do you notice much difference compared to just smoking a corned beef flat?

jaydub58

That is a serious drooler!

PorkU

Legume said:

Do you notice much difference compared to just smoking a corned beef flat?

From scratch is always better!!!!!

nolaegghead

Looks tender and yummy.

MrCookingNurse

I've always wanted to make pastrami. Looks amazing sir

PorkU

Pork U Pastrami

 

Brine:

 

4-7 lb brisket flat

1 gallon distilled water

1 cup Kosher Salt

2 teaspoons Prague Powder #1

1 cup Brown Sugar

5 tablespoons pickling spices 

4 TB Pork U Garlic 101

In a large container mix in all above brine ingredients until everything is dissolved... You can heat it up to speed the process but make sure to let it cool before inserting brisket.

Trim the brisket to make sure only about 1/8 inch of fat remains... Place brisket into brine and add a bowl or bag of water to keep brisket from floating up.  Make sure the brisket is covered by at least 1 inch of brine....  Put it in the fridge for a minimum of 5 days and move the meat around every day to make sure all sides get equal time in every position.

I like to make sure once I'm done brining that I soak the brisket for at least 12 hours after the brining process in a pot full of regular water to desalinate the brisket. This will help reduce the salty taste the brining fluid created.

Once removed from the pot of plain water, dry off with paper towel and cover in your favorite rub.... I of course prefer Pork U "Beef U".  Rub all sides of your brisket and place in the refrigerator uncovered for a minimum of 4 hours, preferably 8 hours.

Cooking:

 

250 degrees indirect on the Bge and I chose to use cherry wood chunks.  I smoked it uncovered until it reached an internal temp of 160 degrees.  I then foil my brisket, pour a half a beer into the foil boat and return back to the Bge until it reaches 204 degrees internally.  Remove from the egg and immediately wrap in towels and let rest in a cooler for at least 1 hour.... I prefer longer.

 

There is only one more optional step to having some of the best homemade pastrami around.... Steaming it.  The steaming process is what actually turns the meat into pastrami.  Google ways to steam if you don't have a steamer ... There are several easy ways out there to do so.  Steam it and hand slice to the width of a pencil and watch it disappear!!!

Let me know if you have any questions or need anything clarified.....

Sonny3

Bookmarked this one for sure.  Thank you.