First try at Pastrami

SeahawksEGGHead

Your pics look amazing.  I'd love to try something like this, sans pressure cooker if possible.

cazzy

Legume said:

Definitely doing this again, not like anything I can get in a store. The pressure cooker finish makes it really tender and moist. Next time I'll cook two at a time.

Love the way you staged this pic!! Great and great cook!!!!!!

thirdeye

@thirdeye - is there a minimum size needed?

Not really, your only limitation would be the manufacturers recommendation for amount (height) of product in your pressure cooker.  My smallest pressure cooker is a Kuhn Rikon 5 Qt that will fit one small pastrami (brisket flat).  I have an 8 Qt  one I use for larger roasts, and when I do 2 or 3 at the same time I use my pressure canner which is either 16 or 18 quarts.  Here is the little guy with one pastrami.

Legume

@thirdeye

so, you set it directly in the water?  I wasn't sure so I propped the rack up higher to get it out of the water.  does the bark boil off?

Legume

thanks @Cazzy -  inspired by a little pizza place in Dripping Springs called Pieous that makes their own pastrami and serves on a board like this with some grainy mustard and a few other things

thirdeye

Legume said:

@thirdeye

so, you set it directly in the water?  I wasn't sure so I propped the rack up higher to get it out of the water.  does the bark boil off?

@Legume  There is a little rack underneath you can't see, and if you have the headroom, you could raise the rack a little.  I cook mine fat down, so if it's sitting in broth it's no big deal about the bark.. as I take a thin slice of the fat off after cooking anyway.   The top bark will soften, the picture above was taken after pressure cooking, But when I get them to the platter for resting I blot off excess moisture and the bark firms back up in a few minutes.  If you chill them the bark is really nice.

BigWader

Thanks for the clarification...

All these pics just look like pure goodness!!!

BYS1981

Only thing I would add is thousand island and sauer kraut on sourdough - I'm not a fan of rye. That looks excellent, I'll be working in Berkeley this week... where should we meet up? Haha

JRWhitee

@legume

That looks fantastic, love the pic as well.

Ladeback69

I've smoked a couple corn beef briskets, pastrami rubbed on my Weber Smokey Mountain a few years ago and they were great, but I didn't know about putting it in a pressure cooker. I may have to try this or at least the oven method.