Last time I made pastrami was not that long ago. First step was bringing a hunk of
brisket.
A zillion recipes for it on line, mine was pretty basic with salt, some cure #1, black pepper, mustard seeds and bay leaf. Soaked for about 3 weeks.
Yes, I used
brisket, some of the big operations use cuts from the round, which is just not the same, hardly any fat at all.
Took the slab out of the brine, set in in a pan on a rack, let it dry in the fridge for a day, get a bit of pellicle on it.
My plan was to smoke it, the allotted day saw temps in Salt Lake City breaking a 140+ year record for cold. I opted for the oven. Rubbed with a black pepper, ground coriander mix with some smoked paprika added, hoping to get some sort of smoke flavor into it.
Went 4 hours at 275F, on a rack over some water, covered in foil. Let it cool for a while, then cut into it.
This picture doesn't really show the true color of the meat, it did have that distinctive pastrami color, Juicy and tasty, but it just wasn't the same as some low and slow smoked 'strami. Sure, it wasn't even close to the heavenly stuff Beltex Meats here in Salt Lake produces, but it was better than Boar's Head. I enjoyed a few sandwiches while it lasted.
And
@Iceman's definition of 'deckle' seems to be open to interpretation as I've heard the term used to describe the point of the
brisket, as well as the outer portion of the rib eye.
mjb.