Pastrami

Ingredients

Brine cure

• 3.5 kgbeef navel end brisket or plate, fat cap left at 1 cm
• 4 litreswater
• 400 gfine sea salt
• 200 gcaster sugar
• 30 gPrague powder #1 (pink curing salt, 6.25% sodium nitrite)
• 6garlic cloves, crushed
• 2 tbsppickling spice
• 1 tbspblack peppercorns
• 3bay leaves

Pastrami rub

• 60 gcoarsely cracked black peppercorns
• 40 gwhole coriander seed, toasted and cracked
• 1 tbspsmoked or sweet paprika
• 1 tbspgranulated garlic
• 1 tbspbrown sugar
• 2 tspmustard powder

To serve

• 1loaf seeded Jewish rye bread
• Deli mustard
• Half-sour and full-sour pickles

Directions

1. Boil the brine ingredients except the curing salt for 5 minutes, cool completely, then stir in the Prague powder. Never add nitrite to hot liquid.
2. Submerge the beef in the cold brine under a plate, refrigerate at 2–4 C and cure 5–7 days, injecting some brine into the thickest part with a meat syringe on day one so the centre cures evenly.
3. Rinse the cured meat and soak it in fresh cold water for 4–6 hours, changing the water twice, to pull back the surface salt. Fry a slice to test: it should be seasoned, not salty.
4. Dry the surface, then coat every side thickly with the cracked pepper and coriander rub, pressing it on so it forms a crust 3 mm deep. Rest uncovered in the fridge overnight to set a pellicle.
5. Smoke at 110–120°C (225–250°F) over hardwood, ideally oak, hickory or cherry, for 5–7 hours until the internal temperature reaches 68°C (155°F) and the bark is dark and set.
6. Wrap and rest, or refrigerate at this stage; New York delis hold the smoked slabs cold for days before finishing them.
7. Steam the pastrami over simmering water in a covered pot or a steam cabinet for 2.5–3.5 hours until the internal temperature is 96–98°C (205–210°F) and a skewer slides in with almost no resistance.
8. Rest 30 minutes, then hand-slice against the grain, 5 mm thick, while still hot; cold pastrami slices are drier and firmer.
9. Pile 200 g per sandwich on rye with mustard only, and serve with a pickle. Never with mayonnaise, and never toasted, if you want a Katz’s-style sandwich.

Technique

• Food safety: the pink curing salt is essential in a long, low-temperature cure and smoke. It prevents Clostridium botulinum. Weigh it precisely at about 2.5 g per kg of meat and never substitute plain salt.
• The steam is what separates pastrami from smoked brisket. It renders the last connective tissue and makes the meat juicy enough to hand-slice.
• The navel end plate is the traditional cut, fattier and more marbled than flat brisket. If you use flat brisket, keep the fat cap and expect a leaner result.

Substitutions

• No smoker? Cure and rub as written, then roast at 120°C (250°F) in a covered tray with 2 tbsp liquid smoke in the water bath for 5 hours, then steam. Honest, but less complex.
• Turkey breast can be cured and smoked the same way for a lighter deli pastrami, cutting the cure to 3 days.

Variations

• Romanian pastrama, the ancestor, usually made with mutton or goose and heavily garlicked.
• Montreal smoked meat, cured with less sugar and more pepper and always hand-sliced.
• Pastrami on rye with Russian dressing and coleslaw, the New Yorker sandwich.

History

Romanian Jewish immigrants brought pastrama to New York; Sussman Volk claimed the first sandwich in 1887 and Katz’s Delicatessen opened in 1888.

Frequently asked questions

What is Pastrami?

Pastrami is a charcuterie & cured from United States: brined, spice-crusted, smoked beef navel steamed and piled on rye. Romanian Jewish immigrants brought pastrama to New York; Sussman Volk claimed the first sandwich in 1887 and Katz’s Delicatessen opened in 1888.

How long does Pastrami take to make?

Pastrami takes 1 hr of preparation and 5 days cure, 6 hr smoke, 3 hr steam of cooking. The recipe makes 10–12 servings (about 2 kg finished). It is rated hard to make.

What can I substitute in Pastrami?

Yes, within limits. No smoker? Cure and rub as written, then roast at 120°C (250°F) in a covered tray with 2 tbsp liquid smoke in the water bath for 5 hours, then steam. Honest, but less complex. Turkey breast can be cured and smoked the same way for a lighter deli pastrami, cutting the cure to 3 days.

What is the most important thing to get right in Pastrami?

Boil the brine ingredients except the curing salt for 5 minutes, cool completely, then stir in the Prague powder. Never add nitrite to hot liquid.