The Hawthornes Make Pastrami.

Mr. Hawthorne picked up a brisket 

at Food Lion the other day 

and he's making pastrami.

Here's the process:

First you make a pickling spice mix.

Then you brine the brisket for 4 days.

On the last day, rinse off the brine

and leave the brisket in refrigerator overnight, uncovered.

The next day, you prepare a spice rub for the meat

and then smoke it until internal temperature reaches 190°-200°.
Let rest before cutting.

We have a little stovetop smoker which comes in quite handy.

Rosie assembled all of Mr. Hawthorne's spice ingredients,
since if I'd left it up to him to find them,
he'd still be looking for them.

 

Pickling Spice Mixture

2 TB mixed whole peppercorns

2 TB hot red pepper flakes

2 TB coriander seeds

2 TB mustard seeds

5 fresh bay leaves (less for dried)

1 TB ground ginger

1 TB ground mace

3 cinnamon sticks

1 TB whole cloves

2 TB allspice berries

1 TB smoked paprika

1 TB garlic powder

1 TB onion powder

1 cup coarse kosher salt

1 cup sugar

1/2 cup firmly packed brown sugar

1/4 cup honey

4 garlic cloves, minced

Mix all ingredients together in a container

large enough to hold the brisket.

 Stir well to dissolve sugars and salt.

Place brisket in and

add enough water to cover the brisket.

Cover and refrigerate for four days,

stirring mixture and turning brisket over each day.

I used a small cooler.

Now, true deli pastrami would have some type 

of curing salts containing sodium nitrite.

This is what gives pastrami its pink color.

I don't have any curing salts.

But I do have annatto.

Annatto is made from the seeds of the achiote tree,

indigenous to South America, 

and is used for both food coloring and flavor.

I use a little annatto whenever I make Spanish rice

and it's also what gives cheddar cheese its color.

I decided to shave off slices of the annatto

and add that to the mixture.

After the fourth day,

remove the brisket from its brine and wash it off.

Pat dry, then place back in refrigerator, uncovered, overnight.

When you're ready to smoke,

make your Spice Rub:

1/4 cup ground coriander

2 TB freshly ground black pepper

2 TB smoked paprika

Rub spice mixture into brisket.

Mr. Hawthorne used applewood chips in the smoker

and smoked until internal temperature reached 190° - 200°.

Let rest before slicing.

 And there you have homemade pastrami.

Jewish barbecue, if you will.

I'm very happy with the taste and flavor of this pastrami,
but I'd like to try my take on it
and actually get the curing salts.
Pink Prague Powder #1.
Plus a few more tweaks.

Pastrami on toasted homemade rye bread

with a schmear of coarse grained mustard,

 turkey, pepperoni slices, and Swiss cheese.

Rosie Tip #459:

Whenever I'm using pepperoni,

in a sandwich or on a pizza,

I place the pepperoni slices on paper towels and nuke them.

Grease goes onto towels, not in you.

Put under the broiler until the cheese is bubbly,

then add pickle slices and Mr. Hawthorne's pickled red onions.

He keeps a jar of pickled beet juice in the fridge

and simply adds onion slices to it.

Enjoy!

The Hawthornes Make Pastrami.

Mr. Hawthorne got a hankerin' for pastrami -

not the color-/chemical-infused store-bought stuff -

but a homemade brined, rubbed, and smoked pastrami.

I started out with my pickling mix.

Pickling Spice Mix

2 TB mixed whole peppercorns
2 TB mustard seeds

2 TB coriander seeds

2 TB hot red pepper flakes

4 dried bay leaves

1 TB ground mace

1 TB ground ginger

3 small cinnamon sticks

1 TB whole cloves

2 TB allspice berries

Combine peppercorns, coriander seeds, and allspice berries

in dry pan over medium heat, swirling until fragrant,

being careful not to burn.

Crack all peppers, seeds, and berries

in mortar and pestle.

Add in other ingredients.

Mix well and store in refrigerator.

Let's get ready for the BRINE.

3/4 cups Kosher salt
1/2 cup sugar

2 tsp pink salt

(I used Murray River Salt Flakes,

a product of Australia

which my AussieFriendKerry sent me.)

5 cloves garlic
2 TB pickling spice mix, ground

In a pot big enough to hold a 5-pound beef brisket,

combine 1 gallon water with Kosher salt,

 sugar, pink salt, garlic, and 2 TB pickling spice.

Bring to a simmer, stirring until salt and sugar are dissolved.

Remove from heat, let cool to room temperature,

then refrigerate until chilled.

Place brisket in brine and keep submerged.

Cover and refrigerate for 3 days.

Stop and take pictures of a cute puppy dog.

After the third day,

remove the brisket from brine and rinse thoroughly.

Refrigerate, uncovered, for another day.

Prepare the rub:

1 TB peppercorns, toasted and ground

1 TB coriander seed, toasted and ground

Coat the brisket with the rub and smoke it.

Mr. Hawthorne used hickory chips in his stove-top smoker

and smoked the brisket about 4 hours, or until tender.

Here's our home-cured pastrami.

And no red dye!

I toasted some of my homemade bread.

Gave it a smear of Dijon mustard.

Added pastrami slices and sliced onion.

Topped it with Swiss cheese

and then gave it a trip under the broiler.

Give it some tomato, pickle, and basil love.

And serve with one of Mr. Hawthornes deviled eggs

which has both dill pickles and sweet pickles.