Now, living in Dayton, OH, it is difficult to find good deli -- the closest we have is Boar's Head meat at the deli counter of Kroger -- ugh. People who didn't grow up with my culinary diversity think this is okay, but I rarely find it truly satisfying. I have found decent deli in larger cities like Cleveland or Chicago, but that is a tough commute for a sandwich. So, for Father's Day, I decided to take matters into my own hands and try to make my own corned beef and pastrami. It was good -- and quite satisfying. Good enough to make a few tweaks and try it again for the July 4th weekend.
I initially didn't realize how much work it would be -- especially making pastrami. I now know why this is typically so much more expensive than, say, turkey breast or salami. The first thing to realize is that it takes a good two weeks to brine the meat, so I needed to plan well in advance of the day that I actually wanted the deli sandwiches. Second, I needed a good amount of space in the refrigerator for a 5-gallon bucket to hold the meat and brine solution.
So, about two weeks prior the day that I anticipated actually craving the meats, I started the process. I started with two 8-ish pound beef briskets. I figure it would be little more work to do two than it is for one. This is the same philosophy I have when cooking a thanksgiving turkey -- a 24 pound bird is no more work than a 14 pound one, and I end up with much more leftovers and a larger carcass for soup. But more on that another time.
Two briskets. I cut each of them roughly in half anticipating that I would be making both corned beef and pastrami. From the flat side of the brisket, which will become the corned beef, I took off much of the fat. Since this will ultimately be boiled, there is no need for the surface fat. From the point side of each piece, I took off much of the heavy fat build-up, but left a thin layer (maybe 1/4"). Since this will be smoked and steamed, the fat will help with both the moisture and flavor (lean pastrami? -- eww). I then lined a five-gallon bucket with a turkey roasting bag (perfect fit) in preparation for the meat and brine. I made a brine using salt, sugar, pink pickling salt, and pickling spice*, and put both the brine and meat into the bucket. I pressed out as much air as possible, ensuring that the brine totally encased all of the meat. Creating space in our extra refrigerator, I put it away so the magic could happen.
Two weeks later, I opened the bucket to prepare cooking the meat. I pulled each piece of the flats out and put them directly into a pot. I added a few handfuls of the pickling spice from the brine, covered the meat with water and set it on a low simmer. About four hours later, the meat was fork-tender, and the corned beef was done.
For the point pieces, I rinsed each piece, and put them on the grids of my smoker. I coated each piece with a mixture of black pepper, ground coriander, and granulated garlic, and smoked them for about 5 hours using hickory chips. After smoking, I removed the pieces and put them on the stove to steam for about 2 hours, until they were fork tender. During the steaming process, the kitchen smelled incredible -- everyone who walked into the kitchen had the mouth-watering, eyes-glazed look of anticipation asking every few minutes "is it done yet?"
Anticipating that Sunday afternoon would be the perfect day for corned beef and pastrami sandwiches, I finished cooking on Saturday evening, and put all of the meat into the refrigerator. On Sunday, I sliced the meat pretty thin using a borrowed electric slicer. I then invited several friends and family over for sandwiches and homemade coleslaw. When people arrived, I heated up a few pounds of the sliced meat and served them on fresh rye bread with a bowl of pickles and pickled tomatoes made by my brother.
The best compliment I got was when one of my friends was leaving. He said, "let me know when you are making this again so I can make sure my calendar is clear."
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