Pastrami

also called hot pastrami · hand-cut pastrami · pastrami sandwich · deli pastrami · beef navel pastrami · pastrami on rye

The table

4 L(1 gal, cold)waterstir the brinebrine 5 days, turn dailyrinse, soak 2 hr, pat drypress on the pepper and coriandersmoke 6 hr at 225°F (107°C)steam 2 hr, rest 30 min, slice by hand
200 g(1 cup Diamond Crystal)kosher salt
100 g(1/2 cup packed)dark brown sugar
25 g(5 tsp; cure #1, the 6.25% nitrite kind — not table salt and not pink Himalayan)pink curing salt
4 Tbspickling spice
10 cloves(crushed)garlic
5 lb(2.3 kg; brisket point is the usual stand-in)beef navel
4 L(1 gal, changed once)cold water
1/2 cup(55 g, coarse)cracked black peppercorns
1/4 cup(25 g, toasted and cracked)coriander seed
1 Tbssweet paprika
1 Tbsgranulated garlic
3 chunksoak or hickory wood
2 L(boiling)water
Tap anything to cross it off.

What to lay out

Everything the recipe asks for, sitting under the step that eats it. Tick each one as you measure it.16 things to get out.

Pans and tools

1stir the brine

2brine 5 days, turn daily

goes in with what step 1 made

3rinse, soak 2 hr, pat dry

goes in with what step 2 made

4press on the pepper and coriander

goes in with what step 3 made

5smoke 6 hr at 225°F (107°C)

goes in with what step 4 made

6steam 2 hr, rest 30 min, slice by hand

goes in with what step 5 made

Cooking it

Tap a step when it is done; the next one lights up.

The clock

Start to finish
at least 5 days 10 hrtwo waits that overlap count once
Needs you
none givenof the steps that give a time

2 of the 6 steps never say how long they take, so both numbers are floors. The recipe itself says 5 days 10 hr.

  1. stir the brine

    not timedfrom the start

  2. brine 5 days, turn daily

    5 dayswalk awayfrom the start

  3. rinse, soak 2 hr, pat dry

    2 hrwalk away5 days in

  4. press on the pepper and coriander

    not timed5 days 2 hr in

  5. smoke 6 hr at 225°F (107°C)

    6 hrwalk away5 days 2 hr in

  6. steam 2 hr, rest 30 min, slice by hand

    2 hr 30 minwalk away5 days 8 hr in

Drawn to scale, so a long wait really does take up the room it takes. The shortest stretches keep a sliver so they stay visible; their times are printed beside them.

You'll need non-reactive tub · smoker

Goes with

See how it is written
>> title: Pastrami
>> category: Smoked & Grilled
>> tags: beef, cured, smoked, steamed, deli
>> counters: Deli
>> aka: hot pastrami, hand-cut pastrami, pastrami sandwich, deli pastrami, beef navel pastrami, pastrami on rye
>> pairs-with: deli-rye-bread, sour-dill-pickles, corned-beef, russian-dressing
>> servings: 8
>> time: 5 days 10 hr 30 min
>> step.1: stir the brine
>> step.2: brine 5 days, turn daily
>> step.3: rinse, soak 2 hr, pat dry
>> step.4: press on the pepper and coriander
>> step.5: smoke 6 hr at 225°F (107°C)
>> step.6: steam 2 hr, rest 30 min, slice by hand

Stir @water{4%L}(1 gal, cold), @kosher salt{200%g}(1 cup Diamond Crystal), @dark brown sugar{100%g}(1/2 cup packed), @pink curing salt{25%g}(5 tsp; cure #1, the 6.25% nitrite kind — not table salt and not pink Himalayan), @pickling spice{4%Tbs} and @garlic{10%cloves}(crushed) until the salt and sugar have gone. The pink salt is what makes this pastrami rather than pot roast: it holds the meat red through a long low smoke and it is the only ingredient here with a dose.

Submerge @beef navel{5%lb}(2.3 kg; brisket point is the usual stand-in) in @&(~1)brine{} in a #non-reactive tub{}, weight it under the surface, and ~brine{5%days} in the fridge, turning it over once a day. Under five days the middle is still grey when you cut it; past seven it is salt and nothing else.

Rinse @&(~1)cured beef{} and ~soak{2%hr} in @cold water{4%L}(1 gal, changed once), then pat it dry. Fry a coin of it to taste before you commit — if the coin is too salty, another hour of soaking is the fix, and after the rub it is not.

Press @cracked black peppercorns{1/2%cup}(55 g, coarse), @coriander seed{1/4%cup}(25 g, toasted and cracked), @sweet paprika{1%Tbs} and @granulated garlic{1%Tbs} onto every face of @&(~1)soaked beef{} until no meat shows. Coarse, not ground: the crust is meant to be a layer you can see at the edge of each slice.

Smoke @&(~1)rubbed beef{} fat cap up in a #smoker{} over @oak or hickory wood{3%chunks} at 225°F (107°C) and ~smoke{6%hr}, until the inside reads 165°F (74°C). It is not tender yet and it is not supposed to be — the smoke is the flavour step, and the next one is the cooking step.

Steam @&(~1)smoked beef{} over @water{2%L}(boiling) in a covered pot for ~steam{2%hr}, until 203°F (95°C) and a probe slides in like into soft butter, then ~rest{30%min} and cut it across the grain by hand, a little thicker than you think. The steam is the whole difference between this and smoked brisket, and a machine slicer makes it into something else. To eat it the way the counter sells it: two inches piled on seeded rye with yellow mustard, and nothing else on the plate but a pickle.