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The pastrami is ready

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Aledo Green Dreggon
Aledo Green Dreggon Posts: 134
edited November -1 in EggHead Forum
I ended soaking my beef for 72 hours instead of 48 because it was raining like mad here yesterday. I did the pressure method because that is what I am most familiar with. I am happy with the result even though it isn't salty at all. My family isn't sharing my enthusiasm though... They are having spaghetti for dinner.

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Sometime this week I will move on to pulled pork. I think I may get a few more takers with that.

Thank you thirdeye for the recipe, and thank you Grandpas Grub for helping me earlier.
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Comments

  • Tennisbum
    Tennisbum Posts: 228
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    Hey looks great to me. Have not done pastrami yet but after seeing yours think I will give it a try.
    gp
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  • Aledo Green Dreggon
    Aledo Green Dreggon Posts: 134
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    Here is the link to Thirdeye's recipe

    I used about half of the mix on my beef and it is pretty peppery but not over done. It was fun. I put it on at 12:30 and took it off around 3:30. The meat was around 4 lbs, and my dome temp was pretty close to 280 for the whole cook. I didn't have access to pecan wood so I used a little bit of apple chips and 3 hickory chunks. I also didn't have the Montreal steak mix, but I did have Montreal chicken seasoning so those were my only deviations. Just be sure to post your pics when you are done. :)
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  • Grandpas Grub
    Grandpas Grub Posts: 14,226
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    Sure looks good to me. The pressure finish looks fantastic.

    Well, thirdeye, I guess I had better give the pressure finish a try - it makes my pastrami look dry in comparison.

    I am a little surprised it doesn't have some salt taste to it. However, I have never soaked mine for 72 hours. 48 has been the most and 12 the least.

    I will have to give the longer soak a try.

    Does your family not like pastrami or didn't they like that cook?

    GG
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  • Aledo Green Dreggon
    Aledo Green Dreggon Posts: 134
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    My 4 year old wouldn't try it, my 2 year old is allergic to beef, my wife gave me a "not bad", and her 15 year old cousin took a bite, thought for a while and decided she didn't like it. I guess they just don't like pastrami. Oh well, more for me.

    The brand was skylark. It may have just been a mild flavored brand. I changed the water 3 times in the 72 hours and almost all of the flavor now is from the rub. I am still pleased though with it being my first try. I wanted to start with something small before I try a nice big butt next for pulled pork. I know they are fans of that. But they dump a roast and bbq sauce in the crock pot and call it pulled pork, so I am hoping to wow them.
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  • Big'un
    Big'un Posts: 5,909
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    Soaking it in what?
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  • Aledo Green Dreggon
    Aledo Green Dreggon Posts: 134
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    I just soaked it in water. I was trying to pull salt out. Did a good job of it I guess.
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  • Big'un
    Big'un Posts: 5,909
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    It looks good. Just a side note that someone passed on to me..put foil on top of your plate setter and it will stay cleaner.
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  • Aledo Green Dreggon
    Aledo Green Dreggon Posts: 134
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    :whistle: Thank you. I intended to put a pan under it, but ended up forgetting. If I do a pizza on it legs down will it burn most of that off?
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  • thirdeye
    thirdeye Posts: 7,428
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    Boy, did that ever turn out nice. My last three have been pressure finished, I'm really liking that technique. Too bad about the family not liking it....oh well, just more for you. Heheee.

    Lets see.....sandwich at midnight, hash or maybe pastrami on a bagel for breakfast, sandwich for lunch, Reuben pizza tomorrow. The possibilities are endless.

    I'll bet the 72 hours was responsible for decreasing the saltiness. Once you find out the soak time in hours that you prefer, and for some reason you need to delay the cook a day, you can remove from the water and just rest it in the fridge. Hold on the rub until 10 or 12 hours before the cook.
    Happy Trails
    ~thirdeye~

    Barbecue is not rocket surgery
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  • Aledo Green Dreggon
    Aledo Green Dreggon Posts: 134
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    I'm liking the idea of a pastrami bagel for breakfast. I wondered if it would be safe to take it out of the water and store it for a while, now I know. Up until now I have always had the turkey pastrami(lous rich I think), do you know if this recipe would work well with that? Would I need to grind the turkey and make it like a meatloaf? Just wondering.
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  • UGAVET
    UGAVET Posts: 577
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    What is the 'pressure method'?
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  • Aledo Green Dreggon
    Aledo Green Dreggon Posts: 134
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    Link to full recipe #3

    Here is the extracted paragraph
    COOKING METHOD #3 Wet Pastrami - Pressure Finish.
    I have tried using a "pressure finish" in a pressure cooker for my wet pastrami and really like the results. It is similar to olde fashioned steamed pastrami I have in deli's. Following smoking to 150° internal, add 3 cups of water to your pressure cooker and cook the pastrami for 20 minutes. Remove from the burner and let the pressure fall on it's own. This is called "natural release". I have been using corned briskets in the 4 pound range. Smaller ones may only require 15 minutes under pressure. The bark will be softened, but holds up well and sets-up once chilled.

    Pretty much you cook the beef and then put it in a pressure cooker to tenderize it a bit more in the end.
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  • UGAVET
    UGAVET Posts: 577
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    thanks, i had an idea that was the method but had no idea about times. I have not done pastrami yet but was planning to in the near future. The wife loves pastrami, so i hope i get it right.
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  • Aledo Green Dreggon
    Aledo Green Dreggon Posts: 134
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    I think this was my 4th cook on the egg and I made it through ok. If you have figured out how to regulate the temp on your egg then the rest is easy. You will do fine.
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  • Aledo Green Dreggon
    Aledo Green Dreggon Posts: 134
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    I just looked at your profile.. I am guessing you don't have any problems at all controlling your egg temps :woohoo: . It is a good recipe and I am sure you will do fine. If you look at the pictures of mine the muscle was separated weird so I don't know if it was a poor cut of meat or what. Tastes good to me though.
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  • thirdeye
    thirdeye Posts: 7,428
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    DSC02866a.jpg

    Well, pastrami is a noun and a verb. It's a verb when you are pastrami-ing something.....as in using the pastrami seasoning and technique.

    With a turkey breast, you need to brine it (which I do with all of them anyway) and some curing salts should be used. The seasonings in the brine need to be different than a standard brine, like more peppery, some corriander and/or some juniper berries....something to set it off from normal cured and smoked turkey. Then of course the surface rub would be a typical pastrami rub.

    Now, here is where I have run into a roadblock. The flavor of the skin and to some degree the meat is good, but it's not as intense or deep as say a corned beef starts out as. The solution is to put some rub under the skin and also to inject the breast with the brine to get the flavor deep. (store bought corned beef has been injected in addition to pickled in brine) The problem for me so far is finding the correct brine for injecting, flavor wise and also one that won't streak the meat. I'm leaning toward the thought that the brine and the injection need to be two separate recipes to make this work well. Possibly using all liquid flavors in the injection, no powders.
    Happy Trails
    ~thirdeye~

    Barbecue is not rocket surgery
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  • Grandpas Grub
    Grandpas Grub Posts: 14,226
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    You will knock them dead with your pulled butt.

    That cook will be longer but it is extremely easy and very seldom comes out so - so, but never bad.

    Watch your internal meat temp and or use the fork twist test, preferably both.

    GG
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  • UGAVET
    UGAVET Posts: 577
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    hey, thanks for the info. I have been cooking on my eggs since 06, so by no means am i an eggspert but i dont have problems with controling temp and usually use my bbq guru if i want to control temps for an overnite cook. Look forward to doing this soon.
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