Pastrami

DLFL · Post by **DLFL** » Sat Oct 08, 2011 21:07

If you read the dry cure recipe in the recipe section on this site, there are two measures for salt.

I would think one is for cure #2. What is the correct recipe?

Pastrami may be dry cured. For 1 kg (2.20 lb.) beef use:

20 g salt (31/2 tsp.)
100 g salt ( 81/2 Tbsp.)
2.5 g (1/2 tsp.) Cure #1
2 tsp. cracked black pepper
51/2 tsp. coriander seeds
51/2 tsp. brown sugar
2 cloves garlic, finely minced
Mix all ingredients together and rub it into the meat. Massage it well and cover the meat`s surface evenly.

story28 · Post by **story28** » Sat Oct 08, 2011 22:44

DLFL wrote:If you read the dry cure recipe in the recipe section on this site, there are two measures for salt. I would think one is for cure #2. What is the correct recipe?

Pastrami may be dry cured. For 1 kg (2.20 lb.) beef use:

20 g salt (31/2 tsp.)
100 g salt ( 81/2 Tbsp.)
2.5 g (1/2 tsp.) Cure #1
2 tsp. cracked black pepper
51/2 tsp. coriander seeds
51/2 tsp. brown sugar
2 cloves garlic, finely minced
Mix all ingredients together and rub it into the meat. Massage it well and cover the meat`s surface evenly.

Well, I know that the additional salt is not meant to be Cure #2 because that is meant for long aging processes. Cure #2 contains nitrate that must be converted to nitrite and then into nitric oxide and then into nitrosomyoglobin.

If you look at the recipe a bit more, you will see there is also a recipe for a dry rub when using the dry cured method. That dry rub recipe contains salt, which is what I believe is the 20 g of salt on the recipe you posted. I think the 100 g of salt is what is meant to go toward the curing process.

Chuckwagon · Post by **Chuckwagon** » Sat Oct 08, 2011 22:54

Hi Guys, I can't find the recipe you are talking about but I haven't really dug too deep yet. Will someone post a link!

story28 · Post by **story28** » Sat Oct 08, 2011 23:02

Chuckwagon wrote:Hi Guys, I can't find the recipe you are talking about but I haven't really dug too deep yet. Will someone post a link!

Hey CW! Here's the link.

http://www.wedlinydomowe.com/hams-other-meats/pastrami

You can also compare it in Mr. Marianski's HPQMS book on pg. 499

DLFL · Post by **DLFL** » Sat Oct 08, 2011 23:11

If you look at the recipe a bit more, you will see there is also a recipe for a dry rub when using the dry cured method. That dry rub recipe contains salt, which is what I believe is the 20 g of salt on the recipe you posted. I think the 100 g of salt is what is meant to go toward the curing process.

I am talking about the dry rub.

story28 · Post by **story28** » Sat Oct 08, 2011 23:20

DLFL wrote:
If you look at the recipe a bit more, you will see there is also a recipe for a dry rub when using the dry cured method. That dry rub recipe contains salt, which is what I believe is the 20 g of salt on the recipe you posted. I think the 100 g of salt is what is meant to go toward the curing process.
I am talking about the dry rub.

The dry rub says

A typical dry rub:

4 T salt (optional) if meat dry cured
3 T cracked black pepper
6 T coriander seed
2 T yellow mustard seeds
4 T paprika
8 ea garlic cloves

Since there is only one salt in that recipe, I think the step that calls for re applying the spices that have fallen off would be when you can also add the rub that the book says is typical of pastrami. I think the reason they gave that salt measurement for the rub in the dry cure recipe is because that is the amount of salt % for the rub that works for that weight of meat with that percentage of salt used in the curing process.

DLFL · Post by **DLFL** » Sat Oct 08, 2011 23:22

My mistake I meant dry cure:

Pastrami may be dry cured. For 1 kg (2.20 lb.) beef use:

20 g salt (31/2 tsp.)
100 g salt ( 81/2 Tbsp.)
2.5 g (1/2 tsp.) Cure #1
2 tsp. cracked black pepper
51/2 tsp. coriander seeds
51/2 tsp. brown sugar
2 cloves garlic, finely minced
Mix all ingredients together and rub it into the meat. Massage it well and cover the meat`s surface evenly.

Wrap the meat in aluminum foil and place in a plastic bag.

Hold in a refrigerator for 10 days, turning the package daily.

Remove meat from the package and let it dry for 2 hours at room temperature. Re-apply any spices that may have fallen off.

Go to Step 3 in instructions and follow steps 4, 5 and 6.

story28 · Post by **story28** » Sat Oct 08, 2011 23:25

This is a subsection in the recipe found above the dry cure method. I hope this helps explain what I am saying

Notes

A light sprinkling of Spanish paprika over the top will give pastrami an attractive appearance.

A classical pastrami is covered with cracked black pepper and whole coriander seeds. In many cases it is covered with coarsely chopped spices.

A classical pastrami is covered with cracked black pepper and whole coriander seeds. In many cases it is covered with coarsely chopped spices. Mustard seeds and garlic are often added.

A typical rub:

4 tablespoons (Tbsp.) salt. Optional, if meat was previously cured.
3 Tbsp. cracked black pepper
6 Tbsp. coriander seeds
2 Tbsp. yellow mustard seeds
4 Tbsp. paprika
8 cloves garlic, finely chopped

DLFL · Post by **DLFL** » Sat Oct 08, 2011 23:42

That would be a nice dry rub.

Chuckwagon · Post by **Chuckwagon** » Sat Oct 08, 2011 23:49

Yay! Even ol' Chuck O can find stuff in the dark if he uses both hands on the flashlight!

You are absolutely correct DLFL. Further down the page, the recipe lists two measurements for salt. I have already reported it to Stan. I think he's still in Poland but should be back soon. He'll make necessary adjustments. Thanks for the catch, DLFL.
Jason, thanks for your help pal!

DLFL, for now, if you use the recipe for 2.2 be sure to only add 20 g salt (31/2 tsp.) to the recipe. Also, please be aware that Cure #1 and Cure#2 must NEVER be used together in the same recipe. They have entirely different purposes. (see this link: http://wedlinydomowe.pl/en/viewtopic.php?t=4794)

Best Wishes,
Chuckwagon

DLFL · Post by **DLFL** » Sun Oct 09, 2011 00:51

CW,
Thank you for the clarification. I would like to make some but not sure if I am going to use dry or wet cure.

Dick

Chuckwagon · Post by **Chuckwagon** » Sun Oct 09, 2011 01:15

Hey DLFL,
I hope you've found our "MRI" (Member's Recipe Index). It's in Hyde Park in the stickies at the top. Here is a quick link: http://wedlinydomowe.pl/en/viewtopic.php?t=5146 Yup! And it even includes a wet recipe for pastrami by... (ahem, ahem!)... uh.. well uh... me

Best Wishes,
Chuckwagon

rdstoll · Post by **rdstoll** » Mon May 25, 2015 00:54

Hi -

I'm looking to do a Pastrami for the first time but am very confused by the recipes in the Home Production of Quality Meats and Sausages book and the recipe listed here on the site.

I want to DRY CURE this pastrami.

In the book it says for the dry cure:
20 g Salt (3-1/2 tsp)
100g Salt (8-1/2 tsp)
2.5g Cure #1 (1/2 tsp)
2 tsp Cracked Black Pepper
5-1/2 tsp Coriander Seeds
5-1/2 tsp Brown Sugar
2 Cloves Garlic, minced

Based on previous posts in this thread, it looks like there was an error in the book given that two salt ingredients were listed.

But the recipe on the website here is also inconsistent with the book recipe as it relates to the spice mixture:

35g Salt
5g Cure #1 (1 tsp)
3 tsp Cracked Black Pepper
3 tsp Coriander Seeds
2 tsp Brown Sugar
1 Clove Garlic, minced

I'm just not sure what the "real" recipe is based on these two recipes and don't want to mess up a $55 brisket flat so am checking here?

Post by **redzed** » Mon May 25, 2015 02:54

Yes, the recipe in the book is an erratum. The couple of times that I made pastrami I used the brine method, so it's difficult to me to assess the 35g salt in the web recipe. With the cure it's almost 4% and that might be a bit high. But the recipe states to cure in the fridge for only five days, so perhaps Stan Marianski does not expect all the salt to be absorbed by the meat. But if it were, you would have a salty product. Pastrami is a cooked product so you are adding the salt essentially for flavour and not preservation. For that reason, I would use the recipe in the book, after crossing out the 100g salt. Using the equilibrium cure method, 20g of salt and 2.5g Cure #1 should be adequate. And cure in fridge for 10 days, you can't oversalt that way.

Please let us know how the pastrami will turn out. I'll be over with some rye bread, mustard and a jar of pickles.

rdstoll · Post by **rdstoll** » Mon May 25, 2015 15:30

redzed wrote:Yes, the recipe in the book is an erratum. The couple of times that I made pastrami I used the brine method, so it's difficult to me to assess the 35g salt in the web recipe. With the cure it's almost 4% and that might be a bit high. But the recipe states to cure in the fridge for only five days, so perhaps Stan Marianski does not expect all the salt to be absorbed by the meat. But if it were, you would have a salty product. Pastrami is a cooked product so you are adding the salt essentially for flavour and not preservation. For that reason, I would use the recipe in the book, after crossing out the 100g salt. Using the equilibrium cure method, 20g of salt and 2.5g Cure #1 should be adequate. And cure in fridge for 10 days, you can't oversalt that way.

Please let us know how the pastrami will turn out. I'll be over with some rye bread, mustard and a jar of pickles.

Thanks - I sort of split the difference between the two (excluding the 100g of salt the book called for) but did use 35g of salt for every 1 kg so it may turn out a bit salty. Used 2.5g of Cure #1 for each kg and then for all the other spice ingredients I just split the difference between the two.

We shall see how all this turns out. I've never made pastrami so I'm not expecting a spot-on effort my first time. Will adjust accordingly!

**As an aside, the recipes on here are great but I have to admit it's a bit hard when the recipe jumps around from giving ingredients by weight and then all of a sudden we have tbs and tsp mixed in there. I'm learning to cook by weight and find that using grams is way easier to follow when converting the recipe for the weight of meat I'm actually using.**

Pastrami

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