Pastrami/Brisket Newbie

Follow Thirdeye's method....he knows his stuff. If you don't soak the "corned beef" for 48 hours it will end up too salty. Throw the flavor packet that comes with it away. It will cook quicker than a brisket….this was about 3 pounds and done in 4 ½ to 5 hours. Use temp not time to pull off the grill. I need to do another one of these soon.

Very nice looking Pastrami there Gunnar.

GG

I think what may be confusing you about making pastrami is that folks say "brisket" sometimes when they mean "corned beef brisket." That is why they talk about soaking them to reduce the saltiness that the "corning" process adds.

When using a corned beef, you are getting meat that has already been cured, but that then needs the excess curing solution washed out. Then you add spices that are suitable before smoking.

Note that another cut, top round, is also sometimes used for corned beef, instead of brisket. It works fine for pastrami too, but because it is leaner than brisket, it is good to steam the slices just before serving, to give them just a touch more moisture and disolve a bit more collagen.

thats a good link, might try that in a few weeks with some chuck

any idea how much kosher salt would sub out for the tender quick, up this side of the country corned beef is dark brown (grey) when cooked, not the red you see everywhere else. might try both to compare, 4 days seems safe enough for the regular salt, i think the shops around here go longer, maybe 7 or 8 days.

All in all, Tenderquick is mostly salt which is a carrier for the nitrite and nitrate. (Ingredients: Salt, sugar, 0.5% Sodium Nitrate (preservative), 0.5% Sodium Nitrite (preservative), Propylene Glycol).

So let's say that one percent of the 1.5 ounces of TQ in Dave's brine is something other than salt. This would lead me to believe that just less than 1.5 ounces of salt could work for what you have in mind with a couple of points to consider:

1. It's important to weigh your salt in any brine.

2. An injectable brine behaves differently than an immersion brine.

3. A very good tip that Dave gave me is to use pickling/canning salt when making an injectable brine. (Compared to kosher salt, it will dissolve in cooler water and I think stays in suspension better).

4. The balance of salt & sugar, as well as TQ and sugar is more delicate than you think, as far as your personal taste goes. I know this because I'm developing a pastramied turkey breast technique.... I got stuck about 6 months ago with the (immersion) brine I was using and Dave helped me out with an injectable brine to use as a starting point. This particular one uses canning salt, TQ and honey, plus some seasonings. I have been tweaking small amounts of salt/TQ/honey on each test cook in order to give me a flavor to balance with the pastrami seasoning I put under the skin. So far I'm up 6 or 7 trial breasts, but getting really close.

I hope you try a side-by-side. I'd be interested to know your results.

ok so ill use the canning salt for the brine and the kosher for the rub and see what happens. here is a typical grey corned beef from one of the local butchers, its got a redder tinge than other shops in the area and i believe he is adding a hint of tender quick. one thing about these is that the soak times needed are alot shorter than what the store bought red corned beef needs. tied up like this fits better on a bulkie roll when sliced. that pressure cooker of yours really makes it juicy looking