Pastrami
Pastrami
Hey guys,
Got a few days off thought I'd have a go at pastrami. Got a topside roast from wollies got it in brine now, have to wait a few days So to get my smokering fix now I grabbed sum belly rashers and ribs. Trying sumthing diffrent with the rashers dipping them in soy sauce and then letting them dry for a few hours then smoking. Gotta wait for my ribs to thaw as the only ones i can get in Mt Isa are frozen. Will post sum pics later on.
Neil
Got a few days off thought I'd have a go at pastrami. Got a topside roast from wollies got it in brine now, have to wait a few days So to get my smokering fix now I grabbed sum belly rashers and ribs. Trying sumthing diffrent with the rashers dipping them in soy sauce and then letting them dry for a few hours then smoking. Gotta wait for my ribs to thaw as the only ones i can get in Mt Isa are frozen. Will post sum pics later on.
Neil
Neil
Silver Creek Smokers
Custom Reverse Flow Off-set Smoker
Silver Creek Smokers
Custom Reverse Flow Off-set Smoker
Re: Pastrami
looking forward to reading more on this.. pastrami is my next cook up... but im going to short cut the brining process and just buy a piece of corned beef and go from there
Re: Pastrami
I had a go at pastrami over the last few weeks and got to finally taste it today. Cured in brown sugar, salt, ground coriander, paprika and pepper for about 16 days, the soaked in water (changed every 8 or so hours) for another 3 days to get as much salt out as possible.
Covered in cracked black pepper, ground coriander, sweet paprika, brown sugar and just enough crushed garlic to make the crust a bit sticky. Smoked for 4 hours at 96C, then about 45 minutes at 160C, until internal temp got to 77C. Wrapped in foil and towels, rested for about 3 hours, then into the fridge overnight.
Tasted it this morning. Crust was very moist, but still stuck well enough to the meat. Makes sense, given the rest. Way too salty for my liking (and I like things salty), so I decided to experiment. I put the pastrami in a sauce pan, covered it in cold water, brought to the boil then let it simmer for about 15 minutes. Wonderful aroma filled the house. I then pulled the pastrami out and let it dry off for a few minutes, then wrapped it in foil and back in the fridge for another few hours. Tasted it this afternoon. It's delicious and less salty, but still beer inducing! Kind of like a beef prosciutto, but completely lean.
Any tips for making it less salty next time? Obviously using less salt when curing would help, but I'm allergic to nitrates and nitrites, so can't use them as curing agents and I don't want to take any health risks by skimping on the salt when I have raw meat sitting in the fridge for 2-3 weeks.
Covered in cracked black pepper, ground coriander, sweet paprika, brown sugar and just enough crushed garlic to make the crust a bit sticky. Smoked for 4 hours at 96C, then about 45 minutes at 160C, until internal temp got to 77C. Wrapped in foil and towels, rested for about 3 hours, then into the fridge overnight.
Tasted it this morning. Crust was very moist, but still stuck well enough to the meat. Makes sense, given the rest. Way too salty for my liking (and I like things salty), so I decided to experiment. I put the pastrami in a sauce pan, covered it in cold water, brought to the boil then let it simmer for about 15 minutes. Wonderful aroma filled the house. I then pulled the pastrami out and let it dry off for a few minutes, then wrapped it in foil and back in the fridge for another few hours. Tasted it this afternoon. It's delicious and less salty, but still beer inducing! Kind of like a beef prosciutto, but completely lean.
Any tips for making it less salty next time? Obviously using less salt when curing would help, but I'm allergic to nitrates and nitrites, so can't use them as curing agents and I don't want to take any health risks by skimping on the salt when I have raw meat sitting in the fridge for 2-3 weeks.
____________
"Beauty lies in the hands of the beer holder."
"Beauty lies in the hands of the beer holder."
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Re: Pastrami
I do the same thing with supermarket Corned Beef, but I boil a pot of water with spices, pepper etc, wait till its almost cool then drop in the Corned Beef and let it sit there overnight...this seems to leech a bit of the salt out and infuse the spices a bit.
You can also get your butcher to do a low-salt pump for you.
Chris
You can also get your butcher to do a low-salt pump for you.
Chris
Common Sense is so rare these days it should be a Super Power!
Re: Pastrami
Well I pulled the topside roast out of the brine, it ended up in there for nearly 2 weeks. Looked like the brine had done a good job the roast it had reduced a fair amount and the nitrates had given the meat that pinkish apperance. I soaked it over night in fresh water then let it rest for about an hour then I applied the ground corriander and course grained pepper. Due to the wind I had trouble with the UDS eventually got it smoking and put the pastrami in with my remote temp probe set at 74C but i feel asleep, woke up at 1230 had been in there for roughly 4hrs LOL but still hadnt reached the 74c was sitting on 70C so I pulled it and straight into the fridge. Sliced it up this morning really wish I had that slicer today. Posted pic from along the way let me know what you think. Tastes good but might try rubbing off excess coating before I slice next time.
Just out of brine.
With the rub.
After smoking sliced up
Not bad if I dont say so myself.
Just out of brine.
With the rub.
After smoking sliced up
Not bad if I dont say so myself.
Neil
Silver Creek Smokers
Custom Reverse Flow Off-set Smoker
Silver Creek Smokers
Custom Reverse Flow Off-set Smoker
Re: Pastrami
Good smoke penentration
My pastrami comes out a lot darker maybe because dry cure method
http://www.aussiebbq.info/forum/viewtop ... 921#p40166
Glenn
My pastrami comes out a lot darker maybe because dry cure method
http://www.aussiebbq.info/forum/viewtop ... 921#p40166
Glenn
Kamado slow it goes as those lovely red embers glow
Royal Kamado, Weber Kettle K: 1988, Weber OTG DD:2000, Coolabah Mini Spit and 4 B Gasser
Re: Pastrami
Pastrami is the only charcuterie I've failed at so far. Mine came out too hard, way too salty and not much fun too. I also don't use nitrites, mainly because my mother is allergic to them but also, bugger them.peteru wrote:Any tips for making it less salty next time? Obviously using less salt when curing would help, but I'm allergic to nitrates and nitrites, so can't use them as curing agents and I don't want to take any health risks by skimping on the salt when I have raw meat sitting in the fridge for 2-3 weeks.
I always read the pastrami topics in the hope of finding a good recipe... if there's nitrites I just leave them out, usually you use the same amount of salt in the cure, with nitrites added.
What was the quantities for your cure, how big was the meat, and how long did it cure for? When I do a bacon belly (little one) a short week is sufficient, and then I do some soaking to get the worst of the salt out, but if the cure's too salty, the meat stays salty too. With a ham, you can fix it when you cook the ham (I boil it), but it sounds like that might not have been effective enough with the pastrami? Or it might have been just too salty to start with.
4 burner gas BBQ with an un-used Wok burner
Hark/Aldi Tall Smoker
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Hark/Aldi Tall Smoker
1 Classic Hibachi
1 Barrel Hibachi
Re: Pastrami
1/2 cup of cooking salt and 1 cup of brown sugar made the bulk of it, the spices accounted for about 1/4-1/2 cup all up.ant wrote:What was the quantities for your cure
Lean beef chunk, about 15cm x 8cm x 5cm. I didn't weigh it.ant wrote:how big was the meat
I used about 2/3 of the cure at the start and turned daily. I discarded the soaked cure after 3 or 4 days, rinsed the meat and repacked in the remaining 1/3 of the cure for the next 12 days, turning once every day or two. Then in the last 3 days, just fresh water every 8 hours or so. I was hoping that it would draw more of the salt out, but obviously not.ant wrote:and how long did it cure for?
Yeah, I'm pretty sure I used too much salt. I probably didn't need to cure it all that long either, it turned out fairly dry and firm. Mind you, once I let it age in the fridge for another week, it ended up being softer and moister. It can't have been all that bad, since it's gone nowant wrote: When I do a bacon belly (little one) a short week is sufficient, and then I do some soaking to get the worst of the salt out, but if the cure's too salty, the meat stays salty too. With a ham, you can fix it when you cook the ham (I boil it), but it sounds like that might not have been effective enough with the pastrami? Or it might have been just too salty to start with.
Had I done this with pork, I would have ended up with a nice piece of speck and the saltiness would have been just right.
____________
"Beauty lies in the hands of the beer holder."
"Beauty lies in the hands of the beer holder."
Re: Pastrami
Quickquestion.. even with the supermarket cornedbeef.. i would still need to boil this to leech the salts out? was thinking of simply covering it with rub then smoking for xx hours..
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Re: Pastrami
I don't boil them, just rinse in cold water and you are good to go!skuzy wrote:Quickquestion.. even with the supermarket cornedbeef.. i would still need to boil this to leech the salts out? was thinking of simply covering it with rub then smoking for xx hours..
Chris
Common Sense is so rare these days it should be a Super Power!
Re: Pastrami
been a whie... and yes.. this is still on my to do list!!
Chris thanks for confirming ! fingers crossed ill have this finally done in 2 wks!
Chris thanks for confirming ! fingers crossed ill have this finally done in 2 wks!
Re: Pastrami
Hi folks
i finally made this and the results were fantastic.
I was wondering.. is there much of a difference if the pastrami made from coles corned beef vs pickling it yourself??
i finally made this and the results were fantastic.
I was wondering.. is there much of a difference if the pastrami made from coles corned beef vs pickling it yourself??
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- Posts: 9453
- Joined: Sun Sep 14, 2008 8:46 pm
- Location: Perth WA
Re: Pastrami
Long two weeks brother!
Tha advantage of pickling your own is, no chemicals and control over the flavour......otherwise it works fine with the shop bought "Corned Beef"....too easy really!
Cheers
Chris
Tha advantage of pickling your own is, no chemicals and control over the flavour......otherwise it works fine with the shop bought "Corned Beef"....too easy really!
Cheers
Chris
Common Sense is so rare these days it should be a Super Power!
Re: Pastrami
makes sense and good enough for me..thanks again Chris.