Saturday, February 2, 2013

Pastrami for Superbowl

I decided about two weeks ago that I was going to attempt to make some pastrami from scratch.  I started with a fresh brisket from a local organic farm near Atlanta, Georgia called Riverview Farms http://www.grassfedcow.com.  I have gotten fresh produce and meats from them before and have been very pleased.

I started by doing my research on pastrami recipes and realized this was a very long process.  We need to first make corned beef.  Corned beef is made by curing the meat either with a brine or dry rub.   I decided to use a brine.  My wife was not pleased that I was taking up a whole shelf in the refrigerator for over a week to let is soak in the brine. She also thinks we may die from food poisoning.  She is not much on history of food processing before we had refrigerators.

Recipe for Brine
Ingredients
About 8 pounds of beef brisket
1 gallon water
1 cup dark brown sugar
1 Cup of Morton's Canning or Pickling Salt
1 Packet of Dill Pickling Spice
3 Whole Garlic Cloves Crushed
1 Tbls Peppercorns



 After seven days in the refrigerator I removed and rinsed it with cold water and then refilled the container with fresh cold water and I sliced a potatoe to include in the water to draw out the salt. You do not want your meat too salty before cooking.




 After two days more of soaking and changing my water three (3) times I was ready to start the cooking process.


I then rinsed a final time and patted dry with paper towels.  I then applied a light coat of cooking oil on the outside.  I then applied the rub in a thick layer over the entire corned beef.

Recipe for Rub
Ingredients
4 tablespoons fresh coarsely ground black pepper
2 tablespoons coriander powder
1 teaspoon mustard powder
1 tablespoon brown sugar
1 tablespoon paprika
2 teaspoons garlic powder
2 teaspoons onion powder






I then smoked it with mesquite wood chips until it reach the temperature of 190F.


We then wrapped it in aluminum foil to let it cool.   We will refrigerate until tomorrow for Superbowl Sunday