Soak, marinate, smoke, chill, steam. Yep. You are just 5 easy steps, and 4 days away from the best tasting, knee weakening, Homemade Pastrami sandwich to ever pass your lips!
This does take 4 days to make, but it is so totally worth it!!! And it really truly is easy. If I can do it, you can do it. 😉
I mean, just LOOK at that sandwich!!!
I’ve never had the “pleasure” of enjoying a famous pastrami sandwich from Katz’s Delicatessen in New York City, (remember the infamous scene from “When Harry Met Sally“? 😉 ), but I seriously can’t imagine it being that much better than this!!! Anyways, my hubby has actually been there, and after he sank into his first bite, and his eyes returned to the front of his head, he said, “My, god! This is as good as Katz’s!” And there you have it. 😉
Ok, so, firstly, since I had never made my own pastrami, and it was our first time using our smoker, I called out for help and advice from the very best grillers and smokers out there! The recipe is from AmazingRibs, and my friends, Kita, of Girl Carnivore (who also made this recipe!), Adam, of The Unorthodox Epicure, and Jane, of The Heritage Cook, all lent my hubby and I a helping hand in making this adventure I’m calling, “#ProjectPastrami“! They all gave me the confidence that I needed, and I’m so glad that I did it! And you will be, too. So let’s rock right to it!!
I started with an uncooked, corned beef brisket. Since it has already been cured in salt, that salt has to be removed, or the end product will taste way too salty. Also while it’s cooking, all of that infused salt will draw out the moisture, and “pastrami jerky” is not what we’re going for here. 😉 So the first day, you simply soak it in a pot of cold water and let it go overnight to draw out most of that excess salt.
The next day, mix up your rub, and remove the brisket from the water. Trim down the fatty side to about an 1/8″ thick. Don’t pat the brisket dry, leave it moist so everything will stick, and pat on about half of the rub up the sides and meaty side of the brisket. Spray the rack from your smoker that it’s going to be cooking on, and place the brisket, coated side down, onto the rack. Pat on the rest of the rub on the top (fatty side). *You always want to slow-cook meat fat side-up, so that as the fat solids cook, break down and melt, they naturally baste the meat and keep it moist.
Place the rack onto a baking sheet and pop it straight into the fridge uncovered. Don’t worry. It won’t dry out one bit. Let it sit in there all day and overnight.
So here we are, already to day #3!
Preheat your smoker according to your manufacturer’s directions using whatever type of wood chips you’d like. We used half mesquite and half apple, and it was AMAZINGLY good!
Safety first! Keep your smoker away from the side of your house, and make sure it’s positioned so that your house doesn’t fill with smoke. 😉
Also make sure that you have 2 oven mitts handy, just in case you’d need to remove the rack for whatever foul ball life has a way of throwing you now and then. I was a Girl Scout. I’m always prepared. What can I say. 😉
We used our new Char-Broil Electric Smoker that we bought with a gift card that I had won, and it could not have been easier!
It was a very windy day, but I was determined to get a shot of the smoke! And WOW did it ever smell good!!!
This is what it will look like after it smokes. We set it to reach an internal temp of 190º F, and it took right about 4 hours. Not bad at all!!! But our champ was just a wee bit on the petite size, weighing in at a small, but mighty, 3.33 lbs.! Yours may take just a bit longer, so a meat thermometer is very important to use to ensure that it turns out extremely tender.
Once it’s done, carefully place it onto a sheet of foil and seal it closed, but try not to disturb the rub. Now you’re going to chill it overnight. I know. But be patient! It’s all worth it!!
The last day, serving day or day #4, you’re going to steam it. I filled the bottom of my large roaster with about 10 cups of water and placed a rack in it that actually didn’t go with the set. It only fit in to go down about halfway, and kept the rack OUT of the water, which is what you want. This allowed me to add the nice amount of water so that I didn’t need to add any more during steaming. (*If your pan and rack doesn’t allow you enough room for a lot of water, just do not let all of the water dissipate. Check and add more if needed during the steaming process, but remember, steam is HOT and will burn you just as bad or worse than fire. So make sure that you lift a corner of the foil, carefully, wearing a good oven mitt to protect your hand from getting burned).
So, you just open up the foil that you chilled the roast in, and place it on the rack. Then cover your roaster well with foil to hold in the steam. Turn on the stove to medium to get the water going, (about 5 minutes), then turn down to low. (Total time is 2 hours. But since ours was just a little small, the brisket was completely hot, and reached the goal temp of 203º F, in just an hour and a half).
Just look at that baby!!! Perfectly steamed and ready to slice! (We let it rest for 5 minutes before slicing, though, so all of those wonderful juices didn’t run out!)
Now here’s the pay-off…..
….absolute perfection!!!!!
My hubby found some wonderful New York-Style Rye bread at the grocery store, and we piled those mouthwatering, tender slices high with….
….good spicy brown mustard, and shaved White Cheddar Horseradish Cheese by Cabot!
You wanna talk about HEAVEN!!!!
OMG….I don’t know that I’ve EVER had a better sandwich in my life!!
It was so amazing that I was just in awe. I kept thinking….,”I made this? I….I….made this?? I made Homemade Pastrami?!!” You just simply must make this yourself at least ONCE in your lifetime. Then after you make it once, you’ll see how easy it is; and, like me, won’t be afraid to make it several times over the summer. 😉 But don’t make the same mistake I did. Cook at least two. We may do THREE next time. 😉
And remember, all you have to do is ….
… soak, marinate, smoke, chill, steam, … and enjoy!
*This freaking awesome recipe was adapted from two very talented grillers, Amazing Ribs and Girl Carnivore! And an extra shout out to Jane, of The Heritage Cook, for also helping to guide the hubs and I through our first smoker adventure, #ProjectPastrami!! Many thanks to you ALL! You rock!!
Homemade Pastrami Just Like Katz's New York Deli
Ingredients
Instructions
*As always, unless specified, this is not a paid endorsement of any of the products mentioned. They just work well for me, I enjoy them, and the opinions are my own.
I have made several pastramis over time and it is well worth the effort. I have used commercial corned beef brisket but the very best results come with brining your own brisket to create the corned beef in the first instance. Try it some time – heaven!
Finally, as a kid from the Bronx I have to take issue with the shaved cheese on the sandwich. I admit I am a purist. Its a no no. Home baked rye bread using Bernard Clayton’s “Jewish” rye recipe in “The Complete Book of Breads” and Goulden’s brown mustard are, in my view, the only permitted additions, unless one gets esoteric with a combo sandwich with corned beef or brisket! But that is too much work even for me.
Some of us think outside of the box, and some can’t. Enjoy it however you like it! And I will do the same. 😉 Horseradish cheese goes extremely well with pastrami! Maybe you should try it sometime!
Kelly, thanks for the recipe. It was delicious. While I agree that you should have the pastrami as you feel it should be made, I agree with RKS in that once you invoke Katz’s deli as your inspiration, it’s hard to have it with Horseradish cheese. Katz’s deli specifically does not recommend anything but Jewish rye and good deli mustard with your pastrami sandwich.
All in all great recipe and thanks.
The pastrami was made just like theirs. But once that’s done, you can make it into any kind of sandwich you personally enjoy. If you can’t think past rye and mustard, just enjoy it that way then. I personally like to get a little more adventurous. 😉 And since I happened to have a hot horseradish cheese on hand at that time, I tried it and it WONDERFUL!! What a BORING and uncreative world it would be if everyone HAD to eat pastrami on rye with mustard only, eh? Life is WAY too short for pettiness. Get over it, and live life to the fullest.
I am presently smoking my first homemade pastrami. The corned beef I’m using weighed just over 4lbs. It got the 24 hour soak with water changes, 2 days in the refrigerator coated and this morning on the grill. I have it in a Visions Kamado grill with pecan and cherry wood for the smoke. For the overnite chill I will deviate slightly and use pink butcher paper and steam it in that, mainly to protect the bark.
I too have an electric smoker with a water bath. I will use your receipe, but my question is, why do you need to reheat the meat in a steam bath when you are already smoking/cooking in steam with the smoker?
I have done pastromi in the past, (not that much of a pro, just a weekend warrior) with my electric smoker and have not steamed it afterwards and thought it came out good.
Please let me know.
Thanks,
Dave
One. The meat has to rest so that you don’t slice into it and lose all of the juices leaving the meat DRY. You also want to let it rest, overnight, to let all of the flavors have a chance to meld.
Then the next day, the steaming part is just to reheat it, GENTLY, (steam method), so that, again, it isn’t dry. The same way that Katz’s in New York City does theirs.
If you’d like more info, I suggest that you ask these questions to the creators of this recipe. Their link is provided in my blog. I followed their recipe with PERFECT results.
****Also, my smoker is a smoker, NOT a “steam bath”. There is only a tiny bin of water at the bottom. But it SMOKES, NOT steams. Just to be perfectly clear.
Can I steam the smoked brisket in my pressure cooker?
Made this the other day but didn’t follow the de-salting instructions to a tee, I went with 8 hrs changing the water out every 2 hrs. While the pastrami was tender and tastey it was as you know too salty. Edible but…
Yesterday, 23 hrs ago, I again am de-salting a corned brisket in hopes I get this down. Try and try again!
Thank you for the recipe 🙂
Yes, always follow Step #1!! One day (24 hours) really is needed for this. I wish you the best of luck this time!! *If you still have the first one, you can always make a pot of soup out of it! And make sure you add potatoes, as they draw out the salt! Hope that helps! Good luck with this one! You’ll do fine! 🙂
I sure hope so. Today is Day 3. I am going to smoke it over a mixture of pecan and oak wood. I need help with a way to steam it. I don’t have a steamer. I have a crock pot. Could I fill the crock pot up with a little water on bottom and then place something that the meat could rest on above the water and close lid?
Greg, I think a crock pot would work really well, actually. I’d place a rack or even a couple of all-metal whisks or something in the bottom to raise the (foil-wrapped) roast up above the water. And I would also get the water boiling in a pot, carefully pour the water into the crock off to the side, not over the sealed roast, then put the lid on and heat to low to steam it. The whole idea of this is to reheat it all the way through using moist heat. Even though it’s wrapped in foil, you still need to use steam to heat it. If you need other suggestions, let me know! Here to help! Sounds like you’re doing great, though!! 🙂
*Balls of foil work well on the bottom of crock pots when you need to raise things up, but it’s kind of expensive.
Great ideas Kelly. I will let you know how it goes. I am smoking right now and got fire at 225. Probably about another hour left. Even found the cheddar horseradish cheese. There is a place in Phoenix that is the Best of European Deli and Meats. Top end stuff. That is where i got my cheese rye bread.
Fantastic!!! Shall I bring the potato salad, cole slaw, and a keg of green beer? 😀 Your friends are going to look up to you like a cooking rock star! Have a blast!! Let me know if you have any more questions, always happy to help!! “Slainte!” to all! (“Cheers” toast in Irish!)
Trying your recipe for this Friday. Started today and will keep you posted. Hope it turns out good.
Oooooh, you’re going to love it! I’d about BEG for some! Going to have to make more myself soon!! Enjoy!! Let me know how you all like it! 🙂
First, these are gorgeous photos of what is obviously a melt-in-your-mouth homemade pastrami. I’m sure the neighbors were all too envious when they started smelling the smoke. I always appreciate shout-outs (after all, I only have 17 loyal followers), but the folks who really deserve the kudos here are you and your husband. I must admit that it was a pleasure hanging out with y’all virtually during the whole process. You were like a first time mom in the first few days of a new baby’s life. — Congrats. This is a nice hunk of meat, and I expect to be invited over for the next smoking. 😉
Awww, Adam! That’s one of the nicest, kindest comments, (and compliments), that I have ever received! Bless your heart!! It truly did turn out phenomenal, and we couldn’t have done it without everyone’s help and advice! Thanks again so very much for your time, patience, and advice!! VERY much appreciated!! 🙂 If you’ve tried it, oh boy, add it to your summer to-do list for your family! It was truly amazing!! 😀