I’ve been making homemade pastrami for years. I make what is commonly called ‘cheater’ pastrami, or ‘fauxstrami’. I don’t start with a brisket, brine (or ‘corn’) it for ages and then smoke it. Instead, I start with a corned beef brisket. The end result is absolutely fantastic.
I load up on corned beefs any time they are on sale. My relatives and neighbors absolutely love it when I make pastrami. It’s always a huge hit.
I took a slightly different approach than my traditional method and I’ve found this way to make homemade pastrami to be even better than the old. You still get that slight peppery bite, but the pastrami-like flavor seems more pronounced and further penetrates the meat than when I use a more coarse spice grind.
I prefer to use fruit or nut woods when I smoke unless I want a heavier smoke flavor. Pecan, apple or cherry are my favorites. For this pastrami I went with apple.
