pastrami Archives - Life's A Tomato

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.

A Big Hit Every Time I Make It

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.

Weber Pecan Wood Chunks, for Grilling and Smoking, 4 lb.

Weber Apple Wood Chunks, for Grilling and Smoking, 4 lb.

Weber Cherry Wood Chunks, for Grilling and Smoking, 4 lb.

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5 from 1 vote

Homemade Pastrami

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.

Course Main

Cuisine American

Keyword corned beef, smoked

Prep Time 8

Cook Time 8

Total Time 16

Servings corned beef

Calories 2012kcal

Author Mike

Ingredients

1 corned beef brisket try to get a flat one that is consistent in thickness, such as a corned beef brisket flat
2 tablespoons prepared yellow mustard plus more, if needed
3 tablespoons brown sugar
1 tablespoon ground coriander
1 teaspoon ground allspice
3-4 tablespoons freshly ground black pepper

Instructions

Rinse and dry the corned beef.
Whisk together the mustard, brown sugar, coriander and allspice. You want the mixture to be slightly wet so that it adheres to the meat. If it does not, add a bit more mustard and mix.
Rub the mixture all over the brisket, then cover completely with the ground pepper.
Place in a large resealable bag or wrap tightly in foil and keep in the fridge overnight.
The next day, fire up your smoker for 225-250 F. Place a chunk or two of light fruit wood in the smoker (I used cherry).
Cook the brisket for at least 8 hours or until the internal temperature reaches 195 – 205 F.
Remove, wrap in foil, and let rest for 30 minutes.
Thinly slice the brisket against the grain using a meat slicer or sharp knife.
Serve.

Notes

I usually buy reduced sodium corned beef to make pastrami. If you have concerns over the amount of sodium, soak your brisket in cold water for 2 hours, replacing the water every 30 minutes.

Nutrition

Nutritional values are approximate.

GreenSpark Firestarters 70 Pcs Natural Fire Starter for Grill, Smoker, Pizza Oven, BBQ, Wooden & Pellet Stove, Fire Pit, Long Burn, Waterproof, All Weather Fire Starters Safe for Indoor/Outdoor Use

GEEKHOM BBQ Gloves, Grilling Gloves Heat Resistant Oven Gloves, Kitchen Silicone Oven Mitts, Long Waterproof Non-Slip Pot Holder for Barbecue, Cooking, Baking (Black)

Smoke Tube for Pellet Smoker, 12” Smoker Tube for Pellet Grill – Hot or Cold Smoker Accessories for Electric Gas Charcoal Grilling, Premium Stainless Steel Portable Barbecue Smoking Tube, Bonus Brush

I love the week around St. Patrick’s Day. Not because I’m Irish or love the color green. No, it’s because corned beef briskets go on sale. And every year, I buy a big load of them and make cheater pastrami on my smoker. The end result is tender and very flavorful. Perfect for sandwiches. Almost beyond perfect.

The Real Thing Takes A Lot Longer

So why is this approach called ‘cheating’? Well, real pastrami takes a long time to make. You don’t start with a corned beef brisket out of the grocer’s fridge. I’ve had the most amazing pastrami in New York City. Here in Indianapolis, the closest I’ve found is at Shapiro’s Delicatessen (though I’ve heard that Fat Dan’s Deli is also great). This cheater version isn’t as good, of course, but it’s actually quite fantastic. All my neighbors will back me up on that.

The Seasoning

I start out by rubbing corned beef in a mix of mustard, all spice, coriander and a lot of cracked pepper.

Overnight Marinating

The meat gets wrapped and goes into the fridge overnight to get ‘happy’.

Smoking

Then onto the smoker at 225 F for about 8 hours or until the internal temperatures reach 195-205 F. Let them rest then slice then and enjoy!

This recipe is a combination of a recipe I found on Patio Daddio and the technique on my favorite Weber Smoky-Mountain-related site, the Virtual Weber Bullet.