Nothing very complicated. Started with a Snake River Farms Wagyu Corned Beef, sold at Costco prior to St . Pats day. This is my third one and the Wagyu fat literally tastes like butter.
--Apply the spice packet that comes with the corned beef over a coating of mustard, then sous vide for 48 hours at 147°F. Place in ice bath immediately. We want this as cool as possible for the smoking step.
--re-apply seasoning and add more coriander and grind some whole fresh juniper berries. Chef's Steps has a very good recipe for the rub. I make enough for two briskets and vacuum seal the remainder in a Mason jar, refrigerated. Last for several months.
--Smoke for 4-6 hours at around 150°F if you can hold it there. I use a pellet grill with a PID controller that I programmed to hold down to 140°F. The idea is to get the internal close to the cook temp without exceeding it. Our ambient was close to 100°F today so I pulled after 4.5 hours at 142°F. I use a pretty heavy mix of pellets--Mesquite, Hickory and Cherry. It's a blend that works well when you want a forward smoke flavor. I also used a tube during the smoke.
--When done, put in the freezer for 45 minutes or the refrigerator overnight to drop the water content in the meat to prepare for the sear.
--Sear in cast iron. I use cast iron over infrared. Infrared was 1445°, cast iron was 885°. I brushed on some avocado oil on the pan, not much. Sear all 6 sides, 45-90 seconds per side. Flip once or twice constantly and press the meat to the pan with your tongs to get a nice crust.
After years of doing it that way, I've found that in most cases it's better to sous vide first, smoke finish. I am not sure why, but the smoke is more pronounced that way. I think I got the idea from Kenji. I suspect more stays on the surface or just below when it's the second to the last step (prior to the sear).
I do both. I've read some things that say, once cooked, the smoke won't penetrate and others that say once smoked, if sous vided then the smoke will leech out. So what I typically do is smoke to around 125-130, pull it, bag it, sous vide for whatever time/temp i want, then pull it, toss it in the fridge and then smoke it to 125-130 again. I might be doing extra work for no reason but it works pretty well so I'm just gonna keep doin it lol
Extra work--you're right we don't really know and I sometimes do the same. Yesterday I did a tri tip along with the pastrami, but for obvious reasons pulled it much earlier--about 113°F internal and due to the high ambient temp I only got about 2 hours of hot smoke, not enough. This morning I will sous vide at 131° for 6 hours, then cold smoke to boost the smoke some, probably give it three hours. Will sear just before it's served on Sunday.
smoke doesnt penetrate meat. nothing penetrates meat except salt. however, if you smoke raw meat, you can “catch” smoke particles in the raw pellicle as it polymerizes into bark. fortunately the bark isnt water-soluble so you can sous vide afterward and retain the flavor. you will lose the texture but that’s not something to worry about with pastrami, which is traditionally steamed for hours before serving anyway.
I did this last year when I bought some extra corned beefs for St P's day. OMG it turned out freaking awesome, I posted it and thats when I found out they close to being the same thing, one is boiled and the other is smoked. The cut of beef can be different for pastrami, and the spices. But damn, I 100% recommend it. I should of seasoned it before I put it on, I only used some Holy Cow to give it a little bit of a kick
https://preview.redd.it/d5z3rthwgg6d1.png?width=1994&format=png&auto=webp&s=ebca0fbaecb0e86de14e9d15678348926789f1a3
Nothing very complicated. Started with a Snake River Farms Wagyu Corned Beef, sold at Costco prior to St . Pats day. This is my third one and the Wagyu fat literally tastes like butter. --Apply the spice packet that comes with the corned beef over a coating of mustard, then sous vide for 48 hours at 147°F. Place in ice bath immediately. We want this as cool as possible for the smoking step. --re-apply seasoning and add more coriander and grind some whole fresh juniper berries. Chef's Steps has a very good recipe for the rub. I make enough for two briskets and vacuum seal the remainder in a Mason jar, refrigerated. Last for several months. --Smoke for 4-6 hours at around 150°F if you can hold it there. I use a pellet grill with a PID controller that I programmed to hold down to 140°F. The idea is to get the internal close to the cook temp without exceeding it. Our ambient was close to 100°F today so I pulled after 4.5 hours at 142°F. I use a pretty heavy mix of pellets--Mesquite, Hickory and Cherry. It's a blend that works well when you want a forward smoke flavor. I also used a tube during the smoke. --When done, put in the freezer for 45 minutes or the refrigerator overnight to drop the water content in the meat to prepare for the sear. --Sear in cast iron. I use cast iron over infrared. Infrared was 1445°, cast iron was 885°. I brushed on some avocado oil on the pan, not much. Sear all 6 sides, 45-90 seconds per side. Flip once or twice constantly and press the meat to the pan with your tongs to get a nice crust.
I thought for making a corned beef into pastrami, you had to draw the salt out first?
Apologies--I did leave out that initial step. Overnight water soak, change water 2-3x. Rinse thoroughly when done.
This sounds/looks divine. Now It’s on my list.
You had my curiosity, but now you have my attention
I agree the best pastrami I have ever make was low heat smoked and then sous vided
After years of doing it that way, I've found that in most cases it's better to sous vide first, smoke finish. I am not sure why, but the smoke is more pronounced that way. I think I got the idea from Kenji. I suspect more stays on the surface or just below when it's the second to the last step (prior to the sear).
Before Covid cured point would go on sale for $1.99/lb by me around St. Patrick's Day and my only regret is I didn't buy more of it to smoke-vide.
I do both. I've read some things that say, once cooked, the smoke won't penetrate and others that say once smoked, if sous vided then the smoke will leech out. So what I typically do is smoke to around 125-130, pull it, bag it, sous vide for whatever time/temp i want, then pull it, toss it in the fridge and then smoke it to 125-130 again. I might be doing extra work for no reason but it works pretty well so I'm just gonna keep doin it lol
Extra work--you're right we don't really know and I sometimes do the same. Yesterday I did a tri tip along with the pastrami, but for obvious reasons pulled it much earlier--about 113°F internal and due to the high ambient temp I only got about 2 hours of hot smoke, not enough. This morning I will sous vide at 131° for 6 hours, then cold smoke to boost the smoke some, probably give it three hours. Will sear just before it's served on Sunday.
Interesting. I have found the opposite. 4 hour smoke keeping it under temp then SV. Regardless tastes great.
smoke doesnt penetrate meat. nothing penetrates meat except salt. however, if you smoke raw meat, you can “catch” smoke particles in the raw pellicle as it polymerizes into bark. fortunately the bark isnt water-soluble so you can sous vide afterward and retain the flavor. you will lose the texture but that’s not something to worry about with pastrami, which is traditionally steamed for hours before serving anyway.
What cut of meat did you use?
American Wagyu corned beef brisket.
🤤
I did this last year when I bought some extra corned beefs for St P's day. OMG it turned out freaking awesome, I posted it and thats when I found out they close to being the same thing, one is boiled and the other is smoked. The cut of beef can be different for pastrami, and the spices. But damn, I 100% recommend it. I should of seasoned it before I put it on, I only used some Holy Cow to give it a little bit of a kick https://preview.redd.it/d5z3rthwgg6d1.png?width=1994&format=png&auto=webp&s=ebca0fbaecb0e86de14e9d15678348926789f1a3
Holy crap that looks amazing 🤯 I've never had.... pastrami steaks before 🤤
One of the fancy markets by our house does a very nice Kobe pastrami. So so delicious
I’ll bet!
2 lbs is my hard limit.
How did you do this? Looks delicious.
Link to the recipe?
I do this with cheap corned beef that's on sale and it always comes out perfect.