Smoked Pastrami

Learn how to brine and smoke your own pastrami! This isn’t a quick meal by any means, so make sure to set aside plenty of days for the meat to brine and then several hours to smoke it. This recipe was adapted from Steven Raichlen’s Project Smoke.

Ingredients for brining the brisket:
1 beef brisket flat with plenty of fat intact (6 to 8 pounds)
2 quarts hot water and 2 quarts ice water
2/3 cup coarse salt (sea or kosher)
2 teaspoons pink curing salt
1 small onion, peeled and cut in half
8 cloves garlic, peeled and cut in half

For the spice rub
1/2 cup cracked black peppercorns
1/2 cup coriander seeds
2 tablespoons mustard seeds
1 tablespoon light or dark brown sugar
1 teaspoon ground ginger

Steps
1.Trim the brisket and leave about 1/4 inch of fat

2.Make the brine by placing hot water, coarse salt, and pink salt in a large bowl or plastic tub and whisk until the salt crystals are dissolved. Stir in the ice water, onion, and garlic. Place the brisket in a jumbo heavy-duty resealable plastic bag. Add the brine and seal the top, then squeeze out the air. Place in a second bag and seal, then place the bag in an aluminum foil pan. Brine the brisket for 10-12 days, and turn the brisket over once a day.

3.Make the rub by grounding the peppercorns, coriander seeds, mustard seeds, brown sugar, and ginger in a spice mill and grind to a coarse powder. The final rub should feel gritty like coarse sand.

4.Drain the brisket and rinse well under cold running water. Place it in a baking sheet or pan and thickly crust it on all sides with the rub.

5.After letting grill smoke for 5-10 minutes, set smoker to 250 degrees. Add pan with water.

6.Place the pastrami fat side up in the smoker directly on the rack. Smoke the pastrami until crusty and black on the outside and cooked to 165 degrees, about 6 hours.

7.Wrap the pastrami in butcher paper and put it back in the smoker until the internal temperature reaches 200 degrees, about 2-3 hours.