Easy Pastrami Recipe (fully detailed)

[Oddley]

I believe Franco recommends 1 gram of Prague powder per 1lb of meat.

cure 2
Warning

Please read carefully before using this product

Cure number 2

This cure is a mixture of sea salt, Sodium Nitrite and Sodium Nitrate

This is a slow acting cure that can be used for sausage that is cured and dried, and can be eaten without cooking.


Please note that Sodium Nitrite and Sodium Nitrate are toxic chemicals , used correctly this cure is very safe but utmost care must be taken to measure it accurately before adding it to your recipe.

You must follow recipes that call for Cure 2 or �Prague Powder number 2� exactly.

As a general rule most recipes call for two level tea spoons (approx 10 grammes) of Cure 2 to 10 pounds (4.5 Kilos) of meat, however this is a general guide. YOU MUST FOLLOW RECIPES EXACTLY!!!!!

Cure 2 is not a replacement for salt, extra salt must be added as required by the recipe.


Unused Cure 2 can be stored in a dry jar after use.


If you need further explanation of the use of this cure please contact us.

To be honest If I were new to dried sausage and if I were buying a cure from Franco I would ring him and ask him what to do as he is a bit of a dried sausage expert.

If you want to do pastrami you could do a lot worse than follow Len Poli's recipe. I have made it and it's not bad.

http://home.pacbell.net/lpoli/index_fil ... l_list.htm

[deb]

Oddley (perhaps others?) what is your opinion on the following idea?

I don�t have access to a smoker and can�t see it happening in the foreseeable future but I would like to make something like Pastrami. I have some of the smoke powder that Franco sells so was thinking of adding this to the brine or dry rub for curing the meat to get the smoky flavour and as far as the cooking goes coating the meat in the spice mix and cooking in a very low/low oven to reach the correct internal temperature. I�m not sure what sort of heat a smoker produces, is it dry or humid?, if it�s humid I could put a dish of water in the bottom of the oven. I know this won�t make �proper� Pastrami but do you think this would make a reasonable imitation?

Thanks.

[Oddley]

Hi deb I really can't say how the smoke powder would work with a brine cure only to say that it works well in the smoked bacon cure. I think if I wanted a smokey flavour I would be inclined to give it a go.

As you know I live in central London and have no smoker and not likely to have one. So I think I have to accept some limitations. This being said I have made Len Poli's pastrami and it came out really quite nice I will make it again. I left out the garlic in the brine so that I could cut the meat in half and simmer half in a stock the other half I bought up to temp in the oven.

My wife loved the simmered one I loved the oven one. One word of warning be sparing with the pastrami coating as it will tend to overpower everything.

I'm not really worried about how authentic it is there are probably a thousand recipes for pastrami yours will just be another one. As long as you like it that's the most important thing.

Here is a pic of my Pastrami done in the oven.

To view the full post:
http://forum.sausagemaking.org/viewtopi ... highlight=

[deb]

Thanks Oddley it's a great help knowing you cooked yours in the oven and it went well. Good to know that I should be a bit careful with the spice rub too.
I think I'll give the smoke powder a go. Not sure about wet or dry curing, I'll have to have a think about it.
To be honest I wouldn't know a good Pastrami if it bit me on the butt. If you end up with something you like it's been a success as far as I'm concerned.

[Bob]

As you know I live in central London and have no smoker and not likely to have one. So I think I have to accept some limitations.

Find a BBQ restaurant that will smoke your meat along with theirs. Many of our BBQ restaurants will do that for a nominal fee, e.g. $0.10 per pound.

[deb]

Oddley, just thought I'd ask at what temperature you cooked your Pastrami, for how long and how much did it weigh?.

Meant to put in the last post that it looks really good.

Thanks.

[Oddley]

Unfortunately BBQ restaurants are not popular in England I don't know of one in my area.

deb can't remember how much the meat weighed I cooked it at about 180 deg F gas mark slow until the internal temp was 165 deg F.

I have an insertion meat thermometer if you will be doing a lot of this sort of thing it's not a bad investment at about �5-�12 from Nisbets link below.

http://www.nisbets.co.uk/

[Bob]

Unfortunately BBQ restaurants are not popular in England I don't know of one in my area.

For those who may not know, BBQ is smoked meat, not grilled meat.

There's one on just about every street corner in the restaurant district here in Houston.

I am surprised the British don't know how to smoke meat.

[deb]

Thanks Oddley. I think I'll get one of those thermometers with a probe, it'll be useful for cooking the ordinary roast anyway.

Out of interest did you keep the oven humid by putting a dish of water in the bottom. If not do you think it would be a good idea or not?

[Oddley]

The idea of keeping the oven humid would be to keep the meat moist. I didn't with mine I quite enjoyed the dry taste like a parma ham. So really it's your choice if you want the meat moist then use water if not then don't.

[deb]

Cheers Oddley.

[sausagemaker]

Bob wrote

I am surprised the British don't know how to smoke meat

Of course we do but we don't all have smokers you need to remember the climate over here.
Bob also wrote "For those who may not know, BBQ is smoked meat, not grilled meat."
This is not strictly true

Grilling is cooking meat by the direct application of high heat with a gas burner or an electric heater. Grilling is simple since temperature is easy, but doesn't bring any new flavors to the party.

BBQing is cooking meat by the direct application of heat with charcoal or wood. The burning of the fuel adds flavor to the meat. BBQing requires more skill since the flames must be managed to prevent burning or low temperatures.

Smoking is cooking meat by the indirect application of heat with wood at low temperatures. Low temperatures are considered around 225�. The smoke of the burning wood adds significant flavor to the meat.

Due to the lower temperature, smoking meat takes a longer time than grilling or BBQing. Using different woods leads to different flavors being imparted into the meat.

regards
sausagemaker

[Bob]

Bob wrote

I am surprised the British don't know how to smoke meat

Of course we do but we don't all have smokers you need to remember the climate over here.

It's just as rainy here. We have covered patios.

Bob also wrote "For those who may not know, BBQ is smoked meat, not grilled meat."

This is not strictly true

Grilling is cooking meat by the direct application of high heat with a gas burner or an electric heater. Grilling is simple since temperature is easy, but doesn't bring any new flavors to the party.

BBQing is cooking meat by the direct application of heat with charcoal or wood. The burning of the fuel adds flavor to the meat. BBQing requires more skill since the flames must be managed to prevent burning or low temperatures.

Smoking is cooking meat by the indirect application of heat with wood at low temperatures. Low temperatures are considered around 225�. The smoke of the burning wood adds significant flavor to the meat.

Due to the lower temperature, smoking meat takes a longer time than grilling or BBQing. Using different woods leads to different flavors being imparted into the meat.

In Texas, BBQ is both slow-cooked and smoked meat. What you describe as "smoking" above is also called "BBQ" - they are different techniques for cooking BBQ. The application of heat can be either direct as in Pit BBQ or indirect as in Smoker BBQ. BTW, 225� F is the ideal slow-cooking temperature for BBQ.

You can also cook BBQ with a gas grill if you put wood chips in a metal container over the fire on one side and put the meat on the side where there is no fire. These are known as combination grill/smokers and they have two independent gas controls. You can even use a traditional grill if you bank the fire to one side, but that is tricky because you have to control the fire manually.

And finally there are electric smokers shaped like vertical drums, with the electric heating element on the bottom. You put the wood chips onto a metal tray and your meat on grates above it with a pan in between to catch juices, and then seal the unit with a tight-fitting lid.

Below is the most definitive reference for Texas BBQ, written by Robb Walsh, food editor for a large Houston tabloid. I recommend it to anyone interested in cooking authentic Texas BBQ. The recipe for New Mt. Zion Missionary Baptist Church ribs is worth the cost of the book.

http://home.houston.rr.com/rkba/bbq.html

Legends of Texas Barbecue Cookbook:
Recipes and Recollections from the Pit Bosses
By Robb Walsh
Publisher: Chronicle Books (June 2002)
Paperback: 256 pages
ISBN: 0811829618

Walsh also describes the sausage making that goes along with BBQ although he does not give any sausage recipes. In both cases (sausage and BBQ), the reason for doing it was to use up the pieces of beef not suitable for steaks and roasts.

[Bob]

Bob wrote: "I am surprised the British don't know how to smoke meat"

Of course we do

As a followup I present pictures of three kinds of cooking units that I own. These units are sufficient to cook any kind of meat, grilled or BBQ.

Cabinet Smoker
http://i.walmart.com/i/p/00/64/31/70/90/0064317090008_215X215.jpg

Gas Grill
http://www.charbroil.com/i/grills/fam/cb940.jpg

Electric Smoker
http://www.oldsmokey.com/0220ES%20images/0220.gif

All three can be used to cook authentic Texas BBQ.

[sausagemaker]

Bob wrote

It's just as rainy here. We have covered patios.

I never said it did'nt & if you want to cook in the rain go do it. Us brits tend to BBQ in the sunshine & we don't get too much of that.
As for rainfall your average is 48" in Houston and Cumbria is 65".

regards
sausagemaker