Easy Homemade Pastrami Recipes

HOMEMADE PASTRAMI

Steps:

• In a food-safe container large enough to hold the brisket, whisk the sea salt, sugars, honey, curing salt, garlic, and mustard and coriander seeds with 6-1/3 cups warm water to dissolve the salt and sugar. Refrigerate until cold, about 1 hour.
• Rinse the brisket, and then submerge it in the brine. Weigh the brisket down with a plate or a bowl to make sure it stays completely submerged. Refrigerate for 7 days, agitating the brine and turning the brisket every other day.
• Remove the brisket from the brine, pat it dry, and put it on a large baking sheet. Coat evenly on all sides with the peppercorns and coriander. Refrigerate uncovered for at least 6 hours and up to 24 hours to air-dry the surface.
• Prepare a gas or charcoal grill for indirect cooking over low heat (200°F to 275°F) or prepare a smoker according to manufacturer's directions. Add half of the hickory chips to the coals or to a smoker box. Place the brisket fat side up on the cooler side of the grill, cover, and cook until it registers 170°F on an instant-read thermometer inserted in the thickest part, 4 to 6 hours, adding the other half of the hickory chips halfway through. Let cool.
• To serve, slice the pastrami thinly against the grain. To reheat, steam slices in a vegetable steamer until warm, 2 to 3 minutes. Alternatively, microwave slices on high in 15-second bursts until warm.

EASY HOMEMADE PASTRAMI

Steps:

• Mix garlic and vegetable oil in a small bowl. Set aside for 1 hour.
• Preheat oven to 225 degrees F (110 degrees C).
• Combine black pepper, paprika, coriander, dry mustard, white pepper, and cayenne pepper in a large bowl. Set aside.
• Cover a baking sheet with a large sheet of heavy-duty aluminum foil. Coat aluminum foil with prepared garlic oil. Lay corned beef brisket on foil and brush with remaining garlic oil.
• Cover all sides of corned beef brisket completely with pepper mixture, reserving 1 to 2 tablespoons.
• With fat side of corned beef brisket up, wrap in the sheet of aluminum foil. Place wrapped corned beef on another sheet of aluminum foil with the seam and fat side down. Place double-wrapped corned beef on a third sheet of aluminum foil (seam down), and wrap again.
• Bake in the preheated oven for 6 hours.
• Remove pastrami from the oven and let cool to room temperature, about 3 hours.
• With pastrami still wrapped in aluminum foil, place in a freezer bag or other plastic bag and refrigerate for 8 to 10 hours.
• Preheat the oven's broiler and set the oven rack about 6 inches from the heat source.
• Line a baking sheet with aluminum foil.
• Remove pastrami from refrigerator, unwrap, and place on the prepared baking sheet. Sprinkle top with 1 to 2 tablespoons of remaining pepper mixture.
• Place pastrami in the oven, 6 to 8 inches below broiler heat. Broil briefly to brown surface, about 3 to 4 minutes. Remove pastrami from the oven and slice thinly, about 1/8-inch slices.
• Heat a large skillet over low heat.
• Heat pastrami slices in the skillet with a few drops of water until fat begins to turn from white to translucent, about 5 minutes.

HOMEMADE PASTRAMI

Steps:

• To make the brine, fill a medium to large stockpot with 3 quarts water. Add the kosher and pink salts, granulated sugar, pickling spice, coriander and mustard seeds, and garlic. Bring to a boil over high heat, stirring often to fully dissolve the salt and sugar in the water. Immediately remove the pot from the heat once the brine boils.Add 3 quarts ice cold water to a 2-gallon or larger food-safe container that will fit in your refrigerator (you can also use a strong sealing 2-gallon marination bag - double bag for extra insurance). Pour the brine into the container and place it uncovered in the refrigerator until completely cool. You can also divide the brine evenly between two separate containers so that it will fit better in the refrigerator.
• Trim the fat from the brisket until the fat layer is about 1/4 inch thick.
• If necessary, cut the brisket in half so that it will fit into your container(s).
• Submerge the brisket in the cooled brine.Allow the brisket to brine in the refrigerator for 10 to 12 days, flipping it daily top to bottom and stirring the brine. Make sure that if any of the brisket sides are touching one another you regularly turn them away from each other to expose all of the sides to the brine.
• To cook the brisket, pour 4 cups water into the bottom of a 12 by 15 inch roasting pan. Set a rack inside the pan and place the brisket on the rack, fatty side down.
• To make the spice rub, mix together the coriander, pepper and paprika in a small bowl. Evenly rub 1/4 cup of the mixture onto the top of the brisket. Then flip the brisket and rub the remaining spice mixture onto the fatty side. Allow the brisket to come to room temperature, about 2 hours.
• Preheat the oven to 300 degrees with a rack low enough to fit the pan holding the brisket. Tightly cover the brisket and pan with a double layer of aluminum foil.
• Bake until the meat reaches an internal temperature of 200 degrees, about 1 hour per pound or 5 hours total. Start checking internal temp at 3 hours and periodically every 20-30 minutes or so to avoid overcooking.
• Without trimming the fat, carve the pastrami into 1/4 inch thick slices, or cut as thin as possible without the meat falling apart. Keep tightly wrapped, or in a sealed container in the fridge, for up to 1 week, or in the freezer for up to 6 months.
• SAFETY NOTE: handle the pink curing salt with care and keep it out of reach of children. It is used in pastrami and other cured meats to kill bacteria, prevent botulism and add flavor. However it is extremely toxic if ingested directly; in fact, it's colored pink to prevent people from mistaking it for regular salt. When used with care in recipes like this, it is very safe and necessary for proper flavor and food safety. That said, you should know the risks and keep the curing salt properly labeled and out of the reach of children.

HOT PASTRAMI SANDWICH

Steps:

• Heat a flattop grill or pan on medium heat. Butter one side of each slice of bread. Set the buttered side of bread on the flattop. Add provolone to one slice and Swiss to the other slice. Grill until bread is toasted and cheese has melted, approximately 5 minutes, then remove from the flattop. Meanwhile, place pastrami on the flattop in a pile and the sauerkraut on the flattop in a separate pile. Grill both until warm, 1 1/2 to 2 minutes, then flip and warm the other side. Add mayonnaise to both pieces of bread, then add mustard to one half. Place half the pastrami on one slice and the other half on the other slice. Add sauerkraut to one half and flip the other slice on top. Cut sandwich in half and enjoy!

NO-SMOKER PASTRAMI

Steps:

• Place brisket in a gallon-size zipper freezer bag and set aside in a bowl or a large plastic container. Combine 3 tablespoons smoked salt, kosher salt, the sugars, Prague powder, bay leaves, garlic, cloves, crushed pepper, allspice and 1 tablespoon crushed coriander seeds in a large bowl. Add 2 cups boiling water. Let stand 15 minutes, stirring from time to time. Add 4 cups ice water to mixture, stir and pour into the bag with the meat. Add as much additional cold water as needed to fill the bag. Seal the bag, removing as much air as possible, and place in the refrigerator still in its bowl or container. Keep refrigerated for 5 days.
• Remove meat from brine, rinse and pat dry with paper towels. Set meat on a rimmed baking sheet that has been lined with parchment paper. Toast remaining coriander seeds and the mustard seeds in a dry skillet. Mix with the remaining smoked salt and crush all together. Add the coarse pepper. Press this spice mixture into the surface of the meat all over.
• Heat oven to 200 degrees. Place a rack in a rimmed baking sheet and cover rack with a piece of heavy-duty foil large enough to enclose meat. Punch some holes in the bottom of the foil for draining. Place meat on foil, wrap tightly and place pan in oven for 12 hours. Remove from the oven and let cool before refrigerating. At this point, pastrami will keep 10 to 12 days in the refrigerator.
• To serve, place all or a portion of the meat, wrapped in foil, in a steamer basket over simmering water in a large pot. Steam until warm, 30 minutes. Slice thin and serve.

PRIMETIME PASTRAMI

Steps:

• For the brine: In a large stockpot, add half of the water, the brown sugar, kosher salt, curing salt, coriander seeds, mustard seeds, fennel seeds, juniper berries, chile flakes, bay leaves, cloves, cinnamon and star anise and bring to a boil. Then simmer for 30 minutes. Add the remaining water with some ice to chill the brine.
• For the rub: Grind the peppercorns, coriander and juniper until crushed but still a little chunky. Add to a mixing bowl. Add the salt, brown sugar, chile flakes and granulated garlic and stir to combine.
• For the pastrami: First, clean all the fat off the brisket including the "V" between the two muscles, then follow the fat between the two muscles and separate them making a flat and a cap.
• Transfer the brine to a large hotel pan or roasting pan. Add the brisket and refrigerate at least 5 days and no more than 10 days. Make sure the brisket is stirred once a day to get an evenly brined brisket.
• After a minimum of 5 days, prepare a smoker for 225 degrees F.
• Remove the pastrami, rinse it and blot dry with paper towels. Thoroughly rub the brined brisket with the pastrami rub. Place in smoker and cook for 8 hours until the internal temperature reaches 210 degrees F on an instant-read thermometer.

HOMEMADE PASTRAMI - NO SMOKER NEEDED

Steps:

• Trim fat layer of corned beef to 1/8 inch.
• Mix together coriander, paprika, and garlic powder.
• Sprinkle half of spice mixture on one side of meat. Sprinkle on half of red pepper flakes and cover with pepper.
• Press seasonings into the meat.
• Turn meat over and repeat on other side.
• Wrap tightly with a lightly oiled sheet of heavy duty foil.
• Place meat seam side down on another sheet of foil and wrap again tightly. Repeat 5 more times using 7 sheets of foil.
• Slow roast at 240°F for 5 hours
• Remove from oven and let cool to room temperature.
• Refrigerate for 24 hours.
• Unwrap meat.
• If you like the coating, seal it on by baking at 400°F for 15 minutes.
• If you like your pastrami mild, you can scrape off the seasoning.
• Slice pastrami thinly at room temp or cooler.
• You can reheat in a frying pan with a few drops of water.