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Suz’s Phoenix Pastrami
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Commercial pastrami tends to be very high in salt and preservatives, which means we hardly ever have it. Since we smoke brisket for Texas BBQ regularly, we decided to try preparing the brisket ‘pastrami style’ for a change, just to see how it would taste. Turns out it tastes great! Not as salty as regular deli products. Downside is that the colour isn’t red because we don’t use saltpetre as a preservative. We can live with that though! If you can as well, here’s our recipe.
NOTE: this recipe does not use saltpetre/pink salt for preserving colour or prolonging storage. The meat will not retain a red/pink colour and the raw brisket must be kept refrigerated until smoked. If not being used immediately, the finished pastrami should be frozen within a week for longer term storage.
Ingredients
large zippered plastic bag or vacuum seal bag
2-3 lb trimmed beef brisket (adjust proportions if using larger piece of meat)
1/3 C. vinegar (red wine, malt or white)
1/3 C. kosher salt
1/3 C. sugar
2 T pickling spice
2-4 garlic cloves, crushed/smashed
2 T coriander and 2 T peppercorns, coarsely ground
1 T paprika
1 T garlic powder
Instructions
Day 1:
Wash & dry 2-3 lb trimmed beef brisket (adjust proportions if using larger piece of meat). Place brisket in large zippered plastic bag or vacuum seal bag.
Add to bag and rub into meat:
1/3 C. vinegar (red wine, malt or white)
1/3 C. kosher salt
1/3 C. sugar
2 T pickling spice
2-4 garlic cloves, crushed/smashed
Seal bag well and place in flat pan/plate in refrigerator for 3-5 days. Turn bag over once per day.
When ready to smoke:
Remove brisket from bag and rinse well. Pat dry and return to fridge uncovered for several hours or overnight.
Remove brisket from refrigerator 1 hr before smoking.
Rub brisket with mixture of:
2 T coriander and 2 T peppercorns, coarsely ground
1 T paprika
1 T garlic powder
Smoke 3-4 hours at 200F or until internal temperature reaches 160-175F. Remove from smoker and wrap in foil. (For shorter smoking time, continue cooking foil wrapped brisket in oven for 2-3 hours at 225F until internal temperature registers 200F.) Remove from oven and let cool in foil to room temperature, approx. 1 hour. Refrigerate wrapped pastrami for one day before slicing so it will set.
Reheat thin slices for hot pastrami sandwiches, or use chunks of pastrami for meal portions.
Remember: it won’t be pink, but it will be delicious!