Curing a whole packer

[TheHojo]

Anyone have any suggestions - I have cured flats and plate ribs for pastrami - but would like to do a small packer (9 pounds) I have in my freezer

Thank you

[thirdeye]

You are talking about corning it, and either cooking it as corned beef.... or smoking it for pastrami? The biggest hassles with prepping a packer is trimming of the fat between the flat and point, and the fact you will have some differences in thickness. Cure time is based on thickness. Did you use a dry cure or a brine cure on your previous ones.

As much as I like dry curing, I would consider a brine cure if the point is really knobby. Pop's Brine is a good one because it's a lower strength, it can be injected, and the cure time for a brisket your size is about 14 days.

[JAKs Q & brew]

I would separate the point and the flat. Getting an even cure will be really hard with a giant layer of fat running through the middle. I suspect you would run the risk of over curing the flat but still not having the cure make it all the way to the middle of the point.
I just put in a rack of plate ribs to cure yesterday. 8 days soaking time (according to the amazing eats cure calculator). And i'm going to be worried the whole time it wont get to the middle due to the membrane.

[blackdogbbq21]

I've only done it once and used a packer about the same size. I wet cured it for two weeks and then desalinated it overnight in fresh water. It was cured all the way thru and i didn't think the flat was over cured. I want to try it again when brisket prices come back down.

[SmokeRingsMatter]

I also would seperate the point from the flat. Quicker cure time in the brine, and more surface area for your rub.

[thirdeye]

...
I just put in a rack of plate ribs to cure yesterday. 8 days soaking time (according to the amazing eats cure calculator). And i'm going to be worried the whole time it wont get to the middle due to the membrane.

I would think that plate ribs have a near perfect fat percentage for curing. I'm curious what end product you're shooting for, will you pastrami them?

As far as the effectiveness of curing, some people cure pork belly with the skin on, so I bet it will work. Is it too late to inject some of the curing brine? Often thicker meats will get both injected and immersed in the brine.

[airedale]

If I am uncertain about cure time I just leave the meat curing in the fridge for an extra few days or a week. With an equilibrium cure there's no rush to cut things off; once the bag is at equilibrium nothing more is happening -- good or bad.

[JAKs Q & brew]

I would think that plate ribs have a near perfect fat percentage for curing. I'm curious what end product you're shooting for, will you pastrami them?

As far as the effectiveness of curing, some people cure pork belly with the skin on, so I bet it will work. Is it too late to inject some of the curing brine? Often thicker meats will get both injected and immersed in the brine.

I am going to "pastrami" it.
I trimmed off a small portion of the membrane between the bones which should hopefully allow the brine to get in the bottom side easily.
Maybe ill pull it out and inject a small amount of brine into the middle just to be safe.
Plan is a 8 day soak in brine, 1 day desalinate, pastrami rub then "dry" in the fridge 2 days then smoke and eat.

[cowgirl]

I've had no problem curing whole packers.

https://www.bbq-brethren.com/forum/showthread.php?t=222035&highlight=brisket+pastrami

[TheHojo]

I would think that plate ribs have a near perfect fat percentage for curing. I'm curious what end product you're shooting for, will you pastrami them?

As far as the effectiveness of curing, some people cure pork belly with the skin on, so I bet it will work. Is it too late to inject some of the curing brine? Often thicker meats will get both injected and immersed in the brine.

Plan on making pastrami - in the past I have always used your wet cure. Starting the cure this weekend so I could inject as well as cure for 12-14 days

[Bacchus2b]

Injecting will cut down on your cure time and insure that you get it through a whole packer. Rule of thumb is to inject with 10% of your brisket weight, so a ten pound packer would have 1 pound (16 oz) of brine injected and let it soak in the rest.