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2
more short-cut Pastrami's
in the Cookshack Smokette
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MainelyDave |
| After
my previous corned beef brisket smoke turned
out such a great almost Pastrami, I just had to try it again. Besides, it
went so fast, I didn't have nearly enough for myself. This time, I decided
to try an alternate recipe, and experiment with cutting the fat cap off.
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Click
image to enlarge |
| Visited
the local WallyWorld, and picked up 2 USDA Choice Point Cut Corned Beef
Briskets. My only real goal was to get two that were approximately the same
size. |
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| Again,
I soaked in water for an hour an a half, to get rid of some of the saltiness.
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While it was
soaking, I mixed up a rub to apply to its surface. Ironically, it contains
quite a bit of salt. I'm not sure what I was thinking. I got this off
from a bbq website someplace.
10 Tablespoons
Kosher Salt
8 Tablespoons Paprika
6 Tablespoons Coriander Seeds
6 Tablespoons Splenda (a substitution for brown sugar)
4 Tablespoons Whole Pepper Melange
4 Tablespoons Yellow Mustard Seeds
16 Cloves Garlic
I blended
the salt and powders, and cracked the coriander, pepper, and mustard seeds
with a rolling pin. Its easier if you put them in a baggy first. I then
used a mini-processor to mince up the garlic. Then I took everything,
threw it in a large baggy, and mixed it up.
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| I
decided to cut a big hunk of the fat cap off from one piece. On the other,
I'll leave it on. See what happens. |
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| I
took the Corned Beef out of the water, rinsed it more on the surface, then
applied some olive oil, then the rub. I went heavy on it this time. I'm
hoping to get more of a pastrami flavor than last time. |
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| Into
the Smokette they go. I decided to put them on the same rack. I placed the
extra "fat" pieces directly over the one I had removed it from.
Thought it might help baste it as it cooks. I'm hoping that the removal
of the fat cap will help flavor it more by allowing the smoke to penetrate
further and the rub to form a bark. |
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| I
know. It looks funny. Let's just call it an experiment, o.k. I place two
hickory chunks in the wood box, turn the dial to 225 degrees, and go inside.
It's 6:30 p.m. Time to go relax and then go to bed. (Try doing this with
another type of smoker!) Estimated time of completion is 5:00 a.m. |
 |
| Nature
calls, and I wake up at 4:00 a.m. While up, I go outside and check the temperature.
Its 198 degrees... time to take them out. Its higher than I wanted to go,
but everything still looks mighty fine. |
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| I
let them rest for 15 minutes while I shave, brush my teeth, and other morning
duties. |
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| Isn't
it pretty? It slices like butter, as long as I don't want thin slices. Maybe
I'll get a slicer for Christmas? I can't help but think of the Seinfeld
episode where Kramer buys his own commercial grade slicer. He's not as crazy
as we think! |
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Final Conclusions
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Again, absolutely delicious. It was well worth trimming the fat off.
It made it much easier to slice after it cooked, and it didn't dry out
at all. The rub seemed like overkill, althought it wasn't salty. Next
time I'll stay with the simple rub I used during my last "Almost
Pastrami" smoke. Smoke was just about right, a bit heavier than
last time.
I'm so glad
I smoked two. It's less than 16 hours since I finished smoking, and one
of them is already been devoured!
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If you have
any questions or comments, send me a message.
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