Pastrami from Start to Finish: Missing Details

[This is not your pork!]

Originally Posted by Redheart

How is that pastrami looking? Better yet how is it tasting?

Not ready yet. I couldn't find the time to prepare that brisket until last Saturday. I trimmed it, separated the (very small) point from the flat, and applied the curing salt, it's now sitting in the fridge:



The cook is scheduled for next Sunday. It already has that nice looking deep red, but I am skeptical, because I in my opinion the amount of curing salt according to the the manufacturer's instructions is way too little (4.41 lbs of curing salt are supposed to be enough for 132.28 lbs of meat). It was more like a sprinkle than covering the meat properly, but well, we'll see how this is going to turn out.

[This is not your pork!]

So the meat is still wrapped in foil tightly, which makes me wonder: Should I be worried that seemingly no liquid left the meat? I thought the curing salt is supposed to suck liquids out of the meat, but where would they go if wrapped tightly in plastic foil?

I am concerned that I used way not enough curing salt as according to the instructions only very little is supposed to be used. As seen on the picture, the meat looks nice reddish, but turning it over did not reveal any liquid in the foil.

[landarc]

I press the meat all the time, with a weight. But, you have cured it long enough that it wonh't be a problem. If you used the right amounts, per the instructions, then you should be fine. With meat, you can always trust your nose with spoilage.

Cook it up, that is the best way to know for sure. There will not always be a lot of liquid with that small amount of meat.