To make pastrami at home, I’m using a 10 pound home raised Organic Beef Brisket, cut in half, with excess fat carved (cut off). While plenty of pastrami is made with any cut of beef brisket, aficionados will tell you that the real deal comes specifically from the navel end. The navel is particularly fatty and stands up well to the long cooking to come; save the rest of the brisket for corned beef.
It takes some time to make pastrami, but there’s not a whole lot of hands on effort involved. Some spices and patience will give you a pastrami like you’ve never had before!
Pastrami Ingredients for 10 pound Brisket
6 tablespoons fresh coarsely ground black pepper
4 tablespoons coriander powder
2 teaspoon mustard powder
6 tablespoon brown sugar
1 tablespoon paprika
4 teaspoons garlic powder
4 teaspoons onion powder
5 oz. Tender Quick
How to Make Pastrami
Per 1/2 slab or 5 pounds of meat, use 2 1/2 ounces of “Tender Quick”and rub it in. Then add brown sugar, pepper, and some garlic, and onion powder applied to both sides. Put in large bags to sit in fridge for approximately 10 to 12 days – 5 days per inch of thickness. Rinse off the salt cure and pat dry. Gather the spices below and re-season, adding the ingredients below, minus the Tender Quick, and brown sugar. Smoke at around 200 to 250 for up to 4 hours until the internal temperature reaches 160 to 165 degrees. Remove, set in pan of water or apple juice and cook until the internal temp reaches 200 degrees. At this point, it is Pastrami. Enjoy!
