Let me start by saying this beef pastrami recipe is a combination of a sourced recipe, advice from various sources and our own ideas. My first attempt at pastrami worked ok but was far from perfect. The meat hadn’t fully cured and I have since altered the cooking method. The base recipe comes from Meathead Goldwyn at amazingribs.com. Meathead’s recipe is based on the pastrami found at Katz’s Delicatessen in New York City. Their method involves using brisket however I chose to use short ribs after seeing some very tasting looking samples on social media. Oh, and there is the fact I have somewhat of an addiction to shorties.
There are a lot of steps involved in making pastrami and a lot of waiting, about 9 days all up. The good news is that it is definitely worth the wait. The majority of the time spent waiting is for the meat to cure which merely involves giving the container holding the ribs a shake each day. As Meathead discusses in his article it is important that after the curing process the meat is left to desalinate in water. If you don’t do this the meat will be too salty.
After desalinating the meat it’s time to smoke them. Do so in exactly the same way you would normally smoke short ribs. Aim to cook somewhere between 250°F to 275°F and to get the internal temperature of the ribs to around the 203°F mark, or, until they probe like butter. You can eat the pastrami off the bone or thinly slice it up and make yourself some old fashioned Reuben Sandwiches on rye with Swiss cheese, sauerkraut and a Russian style dressing.
Ingredients
For the curing stage
- 1 rack of beef short ribs
- 2 L distilled water
- 1 tsp Prague powder #1
- 1/2 cup kosher salt
- 2 garlic cloves, crushed
- 1/2 cup brown sugar
Tor the desalination stage
- 2 L distilled water
For the pastrami stage
- 1 tbsp coarse ground black pepper
- 1 tsp paprika
- 1/2 tsp garlic powder
- 1/2 tsp onion powder
- 1/2 tbsp ground coriander
- 1/4 tsp mustard powder
Method
For the curing stage
Step 1
Cut the fat cap off the ribs. It doesn’t have to be perfect, just get most of it off.
Step 2
Add the Prague powder, salt, garlic and sugar to 2 litres of the distilled water and whisk until the dry ingredients have dissolved.
Step 3
Add the ribs to the water in an airtight container.
Step 4
Store in the fridge for 7 to 8 days. Give the container a shake every day to mix up the cure.
For the desalination stage
Step 1
Once the meat has cured rinse with cold water and return to the (cleaned) container with another 2 litres of water. Do this for a minimum of 6 hours to desalinate the ribs.
For the pastrami stage
Step 1
Remove the ribs from the water, pat dry with paper towel and add the rub.
Step 2
Fire up your smoker and aim for 250°F – 275°F.
Step 3
Add the ribs to the smoker along with a few chunks of your favourite wood. We used cherry.
Step 4
Cook as you would normally cook short ribs, until the internal temperature of the meat reaches somewhere between 200°F to 205°F. Or, until the meat probes like butter. After the bark has formed, usually 3 to 4 hours, spritz the ribs with a 50-50 mix of apple juice and water every 45 minutes until done.
Step 5
Allow to rest for half an hour.
Step 6
Enjoy your beef pastrami straight out of the cooker or slice it up and use it for Reuben sandwiches.
This recipe first appeared at messybenches.com, republished here with permission.
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