Troubleshooting pastrami

[blackdogbbq21]

I smoked a small packer this weekend that I wet brined to make pastrami. The flavor was good but it ended up on the salty side. It wasn't inedible but it was too salty to serve to guests I'd say. I figure I either need to cut the salt in the brine, reduce soak time, or increase desalinate time but i'm not certain which to adjust. I used the same exact brine to do a brisket flat for corned beef around St Patricks and the saltiness was spot on, I did brine for less time since it was a much smaller piece.

Here is the details of what I did. Anyone that has these down have any advise on where to adjust for the next try?

Wet brined using Ruhlman brine.

1 gallon of water with 1.5 cups kosher salt

7.5 pound full packer brisket in the brine for 13 days ( was cured all the way thru no gray meat)

Soaked in fresh water for 12hrs before cooking to desalinate ( didn't change water, maybe a mistake)

Thanks for any help

 

[blazinfire]

I smoked a small packer this weekend that I wet brined to make pastrami. The flavor was good but it ended up on the salty side. It wasn't inedible but it was too salty to serve to guests I'd say. I figure I either need to cut the salt in the brine, reduce soak time, or increase desalinate time but i'm not certain which to adjust. I used the same exact brine to do a brisket flat for corned beef around St Patricks and the saltiness was spot on, I did brine for less time since it was a much smaller piece.

Here is the details of what I did. Anyone that has these down have any advise on where to adjust for the next try?

Wet brined using Ruhlman brine.

1 gallon of water with 1.5 cups kosher salt

7.5 pound full packer brisket in the brine for 13 days ( was cured all the way thru no gray meat)

Soaked in fresh water for 12hrs before cooking to desalinate ( didn't change water, maybe a mistake)

Thanks for any help

I say soaking in fresh water for 12 hours without changing water is the culprit.. I mean.. your just soaking it in salty water at that point.. I would of changed water every couple hours and soak for 24 hrs.

 

[Shadowdog500]

I never brined my own but I do make pastrami from corned beef.
I have to change the water a couple times on mine or it is too salty.

 

[Big George's BBQ]

When I do Pastrami from a corned meat I soak 12-24 hrs and change water 3-4 times. Turns out great. I also use thirdeye’s recipe

 

[blackdogbbq21]

Sounds like next time I desalinate sooner and change the water.

thanks all for the help

 

[SlickRockStones]

Maybe try reheating slices by steaming to draw out some saltiness.

 

[Smoking Piney]

When I do Pastrami from a corned meat I soak 12-24 hrs and change water 3-4 times. Turns out great. I also use thirdeye’s recipe

I go 2 days of desalinization, changing water every 12 hours.

 

[thirdeye]

I smoked a small packer this weekend that I wet brined to make pastrami. The flavor was good but it ended up on the salty side. It wasn't inedible but it was too salty to serve to guests I'd say. I figure I either need to cut the salt in the brine, reduce soak time, or increase desalinate time but i'm not certain which to adjust. I used the same exact brine to do a brisket flat for corned beef around St Patricks and the saltiness was spot on, I did brine for less time since it was a much smaller piece.

Here is the details of what I did. Anyone that has these down have any advise on where to adjust for the next try?

Wet brined using Ruhlman brine.

1 gallon of water with 1.5 cups kosher salt

7.5 pound full packer brisket in the brine for 13 days ( was cured all the way thru no gray meat)

Soaked in fresh water for 12hrs before cooking to desalinate ( didn't change water, maybe a mistake)

Thanks for any help

Some of Ruhlman's recipes lean toward the salty side, and 1 gallon of water to 1.5 cups of kosher salt is way heavy for some people.... about double for me. Which curing salt did you use, Cure #1 or Tenderquick? 14 days is a very typical cure time, so I think the salt percentage was high, and not changing your soak-out water was also part of the problem.

The best thing about home curing (corned beef, ham, bacon, Buckboard etc.) is..... there is not really a recipe, just a formula for dry curing, and another formula for a brine cure. The brine cure can be injected (like the storebought corned beef) and the injected meat can have a 'cover brine' which allows it to work from the outside in, and inside out. You can't change the amount of cure, it is a constant for food safety. But you can adjust the salt and sugar percentages, and you can get pretty western with the aromatics.

There are also some universal lite curing brines out there, very low amount of cure, and they allow you to select a salt and sugar percentage that works for your tastes. Don't give up.... just learn how to make adjustments.

 

[JAKs Q & brew]

It sounds like desalination time and changing the water were your issues.

One other thing that could be an issue is changing the brand of kosher salt you use grain size varies across different manufacturers. It should always be weighed in my opinion.