I found, what became my pastrami recipe, in a website linked here https://kosherdosher4.blogspot.com/p/just-pastrami.html?m=. The recipe was great, but over my first 4 or 5 attempts, i made some tweeks. I have not found the complicated curing mix to make much of a difference in flavor. I simplified that and have made a few other, minor tweaks. But overall this is a wonderful recipe and process can be adapted to almost any kind of meat you would want to make pastrami out of.
Pastrami
Ingredients
- Beef Brisket
- Salt at 2.2%
- Bulk pickling spices at 4%
- Dark brown sugar at 1.8%
- Crushed juniper berries at 0.5%
- Cure 1 at 0.25%
- Black pepper for rub
- Ground corriander for rub
- Chinese 5 spice for rub
- Garlic powder for rub
- Paprika or other pepper powder for rub
Method
- Apply cure ingredients in a vacuum bag. Loosely seal, so that the spices can be worked around during occasional overhauling. Cure 6-8 weeks
- Rinse the bulk of the pickling spices off and pat the surface of the meat dry. Leave enough surface moisture, to help rub stick. Apply rub
- Cold smoke 10 hours over wood of choice
- Put meat back into a vacuum bag. Sous vide at 142⁰f, for 24-48 hours depending on meat type. Tri tip for example is 24 hours, while brisket is 48 hours.
- Chill meat in vacuum bag
- Touch up rub
- Hot smoke at a smoke temp of 200⁰f, to an internal temperature of 140⁰f
