In all the years that I have spent eating corned beef and pastrami at various Jewish delis, I never knew that pastrami is simply corned beef that is coated in a mixture of coriander and black pepper, smoked and steamed. Since I was already brining the brisket for the corned beef project, I had to try my hand at making pastrami.

Ingredients:

• 1 Brisket (brined)
• 2 tablespoons of coriander seeds
• 2 tablespoons of black peppercorns

Application:

After removing the brisket from the brine, rinse and dry thoroughly, and let rest for a hour in the refrigerator. While the brisket is resting, toast the coriander and black peppercorns in a small, dry pan. Pour the spices into a spice grinder and grind finely. Remove the brisket from the refrigerator and cover it with the spice mixture. Place the brisket in the smoker until the internal temperature of the brisket reaches 140 degrees, about two hours.
Note: My smoker runs so cold in that I often smoke my meat for two or three hours and finish it off in the oven at 225-250 degrees until the meat hits 140 degrees.

Coated and Smoked Brisket

Steam the pastrami until the meat is fork tender, about two hours. Don’t skip the steaming part, because it is the steam that breaks down the connective tissue in the pastrami, making it tender.

Pastrami after steaming

Cool the pastrami down in the refrigerator overnight for easy slicing the next day. Just before serving, steam the pastrami(or if you must microwave) for the best flavor.

My favorite way of serving pastrami

I am not going to claim that this pastrami is at the level of the Jewish deli’s in NYC, but I would say that making your own pastrami will produce better results than anything you will find in your local supermarket.

Enjoy!