Holding pastrami after curing

djmsalem

I put a 10-pound brisket flat in dry cure a couple of days ago, when it seemed that the impending snowstorm would leave us about five inches of snow. Now the forecast is for more than a foot, which may still be a problem when it's time to hit the smoker.

Experience and what is left of my common sense tells me that it would probably be OK to rinse off the cure when it's done, then hold it in the fridge for a few days until it's more comfortable to put it on the Egg, but I thought I'd see if anyone here has been around this block before.

What do you think? OK to hold, or should I blow a path to the Egg and hack through the snow and ice that will be on it to smoke the beef right away?

paqman

Rinse and wait is OK.  In fact, I almost always do that anyway, it gives time for the salt to “spread” evenly.

However, I have concerns over a little snow stopping you!  Real eggers don’t let snow stop them! 🤣😂. I kinda enjoy egging in the snow 🤷‍♂️

Carolina Q

paqman said:

However, I have concerns over a little snow stopping you!  Real eggers don’t let snow stop them! 🤣😂. I kinda enjoy egging in the snow 🤷‍♂️

This.

CornfedMA

It’ll be fine, but if you’re going to let it sit in the fridge for a few more days, why not leave the cure on it? All cures, be they dry or wet, are meant to equalize the salt/liquid content of the meats they’re applied to. 

And I’ll triple down on the egging in a snowstorm thing. Sometimes you just gotta do it. 

buzd504

I can honestly say I have never egged during a snowstorm. 

I have, however, egged in a hurricane. 

paqman

CornfedMA said:

It’ll be fine, but if you’re going to let it sit in the fridge for a few more days, why not leave the cure on it? All cures, be they dry or wet, are meant to equalize the salt/liquid content of the meats they’re applied to. 

And I’ll triple down on the egging in a snowstorm thing. Sometimes you just gotta do it. 

Letting it sit uncovered in the fridge will create a tacky pellicule that is basically a magnet for smoke, it helps.

PigBeanUs

It's cured.  Keeping it long term is *WHY* they cured beef to begin with.

I just had a bagel with some smoked trout that we got fresh back at the beginning of December.  That wasn't even cured....

Fear not.  You salted the ever-loving chr!st out of it.  It's fine.

(remember folks, we still have cured foods available now because we like the way they taste.  But it used to be we needed to have cured foods, because there were no refrigerators, and we needed to make them safe to store long term.  Now it's just for flavor, but the storage benefit remains. )

Yesterday I prepped a pork tenderloin for dinner tonight.  stuffed with some mushrooms etc., and then wrapped in prosciutto.  It was prosciutto we bought in November.  ...if anyone can tell me why we shouldn't eat that prosciutto, two-months-plus later, I'd love to hear the logic.

PigBeanUs

....don't even ask about the city ham which has been on the porch since mid-December, even during the warm stretch.

It's called 'ham' for a d*mned reason...

djmsalem

This is all great, and thank you all! 

I hear you about not letting the snow (now forecast at 18 inches) get in my way, but my advanced years and the unblowable distance to the Egg may make my pursuit of valor unwise. 

Either way, thanks to you I now have a plan!

PigBeanUs

I used to dance with the Chippendales at a bar called “Unblowable Distance”. 

Lots of bachelorette parties.  But they weren’t allowed to get within 8 inches of us. 

djmsalem

PigBeanUs said:

I used to dance with the Chippendales at a bar called “Unblowable Distance”. 

Lots of bachelorette parties.  But they weren’t allowed to get within 8 inches of us. 

Reminds me of the time I got the Egg to 900 degrees and opened the lid 

Elijah

Did you measure the cure or just dredge it? Last time I did bacon I dredged and let it sit a few extra days. It was too salty. 

PigBeanUs

I find dredging actually uses less cure than weighing...

Elijah

@PigBeanUs so where did I go wrong? It probably wasn't just the cure, but it was too salty. 

PigBeanUs

Hard to say.

Was it the only thing you cured, first try etc? Or have you had success before and after?

some people find home cures too salty in general. Since we’re refrigerating it anyway, you can always dial down the salt in the recipe 

Dredging can admittedly be variable, too. But there can also be a tendency to want to make sure there’s enough, and to really work it on, and in. 

 I have a light hand with the dredging so I have never really had a problem with the salt. 

nolaegghead

Given the same amount sticking on the surface and that most of that salt will enter the meat, the thickness of the meat (or thinness) is a big variable.

I only dredge pork belly which is fairly uniform.  Briskets I'll wet brine.  But you can still end up with some parts too salty.  The salt will eventually even out with a lot of resting time post-brine. 

I want to know about too salty.  So I cut some off and cook/taste it.  If it's too salty I'll soak in some water to remove some salt. 

Commercial corned beef is typically too salty to roast and eat.  It's got a great shelf life with the salt and they expect you'll boil it in water where the salt is extracted for the broth, and to salt any cabbage and other vegetables you add to it.