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First pastrami

robbq

is one Smokin' Farker
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Hi everybody, I've been thinking about trying a pastrami for a while and finally did it last weekend. I saw people here recommending thirdeye's instructions so that's what I followed.

I used a store bought corned beef, 4 pounds. First I soaked it for about 24 hours in a few changes of water. Then I rubbed it and let it sit for another 2 days, and then smoked it with cherry for a couple hours until it hit 160 degrees.

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The only problem I had was that because I use an electric smoker during the winter it doesn't really create good bark. I tried putting it under the broiler for a few minutes to see if I could crisp it up, but I was afraid I would cook the meat and make it tough, so it wasn't in there long enough to do much.

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Next it went into the pressure cooker for 40 minutes to steam and tenderize.

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While it was cooking I made a loaf of deli style rye bread.

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Here is the finished pastrami.

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And a sandwich with the pastrami on the home made bread, with swiss cheese and horseradish mustard.

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It tasted great and was a lot of fun to make.
 
Pastrami might be my favorite thing to smoke. Only problem is the silly stuff disappears too fast
 
Great looking andwich! :thumb: Haven't made pastrami in a bit but now I'm itching to do it soon.
 
Very nicely done! The home made bread puts it right over the top.

Pastrami is the next thing on my list to do of things I haven't done yet. Can't wait!
 
That looks perfect on a day like today!

How did you get the meat stick to the grate like that in the first pic? Some sort of wizard or something. :wink:
 
looks great, i use a smokin-it #2 in the winter often as well. I think I will have to try this... gives me another reason to pick up a pressure cooker. :)
 
That looks great!

Next time I'd suggest doing the corned beef yourself to. It is better in the way that doing your own pastrami is better than store bought.
 
Thanks, I'll try that. Do you have a particular recipe or instructions you like to use?
 
I do Pastrami frequently and I have cured my own and bought them from the store. The advantage to curing your own is adding any flavors you may like during the curing process. For the time and effort of curing your own.... meh! I go with the store bought brisket point corned beef and then desalinate for a couple days. I do use Thirdeyes rub (with about twice the pepper) and take it to about 170IT before foiling. I then take it up to 190-195 IT in the foil. Awesome!!!
 
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