Pastrami is made from beef, usually brisket, that is wet-cured in a brine, then highly seasoned with a rub consisting mainly of black pepper and coriander, then smoked for flavor, and steamed to finish. It is often sliced hot and served as a sandwich, though it can also be chilled and sliced as a cold-cut meat. Pastrami, the word, seems to have first appeared in print in the USA in 1936, making it a relative newcomer to our lexicon. It is most likely derived from Romanian or Armenian and arrived with Yiddish-speaking Jewish immigrants in the early part of the 20th century. Various dried meats with names similar to Pastirma can be found all around the lands of the Eastern Mediterranean, though most of those seem to be closer in style to South African biltong than the current American pastrami.

What is the difference between pastrami vs corned beef?

The main difference between pastrami and corned beef is the flavor and final preparation. Both meats are cured in a nearly identical way, in a brine containing salt, curing salt, and flavorings. (This curing is a remnant of an age before refrigeration when a whole cow would have to be slaughtered but could certainly not all be eaten at one time. The curing helped to keep the meat palatable and safe for longer.) But the similarity stops there. Corned beef gets boiled and served as is , but pastrami gets its coat of spices, a hit of smoke, and then a steam bath to loosen it up. But if you take a core sample from pastrami that is sufficiently far from the smoky, seasoned surface, it will be very hard to tell the difference between it and corned beef.

How to Make Pastrami (Start to Finish)

Description

Homemade pastrami, influences taken from:

Pastronomy: Close to Katz’s Homemade Pastrami Recipe, AmazingRibs.com

Sous Vide Pastrami, ChefSteps

Ingredients

1 brisket or brisket flat 5–12 lbs

Curing Solution

3/4 C (227 grams) kosher salt
1 C (156 grams) brown sugar
4 whole cloves of garlic, crushed
2 Tbsp whole mustard seed
2 Tbsp whole coriander seed
1 Tbsp ground ginger
2 tsp (19 grams) Prague powder #1 (pink curing salt)
1 Tbsp whole allspice berries
6 whole cloves
2 Tbsp whole black peppercorns
6 bay leaves
1 Gallon water

Spice Rub

1/2 cup packed brown sugar
1/2 cup whole black peppercorns
2/3 cup whole coriander seed
1 Tbsp granulated garlic
1 Tbsp granulated onion
1 Tbsp red pepper flakes
2 Tbsp paprika

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Instructions

Trim and brine the meat

Make the brine in a suitably sized container by mixing the water with the other brine ingredients and whisking until the salt and sugar are dissolved.
Trim the brisket of excess fat according to your preference. If using a whole brisket, trim the fat between the flat and point. (For a good look at that process, see our post on Brisket Burnt Ends.)
Submerge the brisket in the brine and refrigerate it for 7–10 days, turning it over in the brine every day or two.

Rinse, rub, and smoke the brisket

The day of the smoking, prepare the rub by coarsely grinding the coriander and the pepper and mixing them both with the other ingredients for the rub.
Preheat your smoker to 250°F (121°C) using your choice of smoking wood. If using your Smoke to monitor the air temp, set the High-temp alarm for 250°F (121°C) and the low-temp alarm for 225°F (107°C).
Remove the beef from the brine and discard the brine carefully so that you don’t contaminate your kitchen with beef juices.
Rinse the cured beef under cold running water, then dry it all over with paper towels.
Apply the rub liberally all over the brisket, including in the gap between the flat and point.
Put the beef on the smoker and insert a probe into its thickest part. Set the high-temp alarm for 150°F (66°C) and smoke the beef.
When the high-temp alarm sounds, verify with your Thermapen ONE and remove the pastrami from the smoker.
If you are going to finish cooking the next day, let the pastrami cool to room temperature, uncovered, before wrapping or covering it and refrigerating it. If you are doing it all in one day, just continue to the steaming step.

Steam the pastrami

Heat your oven to 275°F (135°C).
Set a rack in the bottom of a roasting pan and pour nearly 1/2″ of very hot water into the bottom of it.
Place the pastrami on the rack, cover it tightly with foil, and place it in the oven.
Insert a probe from your Smoke and set the high-temp alarm for 203°F (95°C).
Steam the meat until the high-temp alarm sounds.
Verify the internal temperature with your Thermapen ONE. Remember that this doesn’t need to feel super tender, as it will be sliced very thinly.
Remove the pastrami from the oven and either start carving it right away or cool it to make into cold cuts later.
Eat it, eat as much of it as you can!

Notes

This rub is a little coriander-heavy, even compared to some other pastramis. I love it this way, as did literally everyone who ate some when we made it here. But if it’s a little much coriander for you, scale that spice back to only 1/2 C. I don’t think that is in any way necessary, but people have different tastes.