Corned beef/pastrami

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bigwheel

Master Chef
Joined
Jan 25, 2005
Messages
9,951
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Foat Wuth
Got a request for this off list so thought I might as well go ahead an post it for all.

Bigwheel's Grand Prize Winning Corned Beef (Pastrami)

2 big severely trimmed packer briskets
2 gallons Foat Wuth tap water
2 cups pickling salt
1 3/4 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup Mortons's Tender Quick
1/2 cup Amesphos *optional (if you aint got none dont worry about it)
1/2 cup dried minced onyawns
1/4 cup garlic powder
1/3 cup coarse grind black pepper
2 T. dry mustard
1 T. ground Thyme
1 liberal sprinkle ground Allspice
1 chintzy sprinkle ground Cloves
4 or 5 or 6 of Joe Ames good tasting bay leaves

Mix up the brine and get it ice cold. Strain a few quarts of the the brine and shoot them briskets up to the gills..then dunk em in the brine for 4 days in the ice box giving them a shake and roll once a day. (I use doubled non-scented Glad trash bags for doing my brining but however you brine feel free to do it your way). Drag em out and rub down good with coase grind black peppa and ground corriander. Cook em on the pit at somewhere around 250 till the internal temp hits about 180 and dont seem to want to go no higher. Slice em thin and against thegrain and pile it high on your Reuben. Will make you want to slap somebody's
Mama.

bigwheel
 
Its just plain old salt without iodine or other additives. Down here they tend to keep it in the canning/pickling section at the stores and all I have seen is Morton's brand. Kosher salt should work just fine too. Might use just a touch more since its a coarser grind and more bulky meaning it not quite as salty by dry measure standards. Should be the same if you went by weight. Actually probably couldnt tell much difference if a person used regular old iodized table salt. Have done that evil deed on a few chicken brines over the years and never could tell much difference myself. Not sure how much the phosphates added to the equation..I mainly just used it cuz I already had it on hand for making sausage. It do help make a sausage nice n juicy when used at the rate of half the salt ration.

bigwheel


HFD26 said:
BW, tell me a little bit about this pickling salt. I got plain, iodized, and kosher salt. Don't recall seeing pickling salt in the supermarket. Maybe I just wasn't lookin. I think I can get Amesphos from Zach's Spice company in Deer Park Texas, they have everything.
 
Well hope you like it. Dont let the Cap'n talk you into that W. Seneca water. That might could pizzen a person I suspect.

bigwheel


wittdog said:
I picked up an extra brisket today and plan on trying this recipe this week.
 
Think I have heard of Seneca. Aint that up near Amarillo?

bigwheel


Captain Morgan said:
oh yeah? You got Foat Wuth tap water? I'll tell you right now it won't be the same with West Seneca tap water.
 
Well I mixed up the brine today...couldn't get any Foat Wurth tap water..and I substituted the Kutas amounts of insta cure and salt...but added the rest of the stuff from your recipe....If'in it tastes as good as it smells I reckon I'm going to be one happy dog....I'll let ya know in 5 days
 
wittdog said:
Well I mixed up the brine today...couldn't get any Foat Wurth tap water..and I substituted the Kutas amounts of insta cure and salt...but added the rest of the stuff from your recipe....If'in it tastes as good as it smells I reckon I'm going to be one happy dog....I'll let ya know in 5 days

Could have just used toilet water, same stuff.
 
Hey Witt..how much salt per gallon did he call for?

bigwheel


wittdog said:
Well I mixed up the brine today...couldn't get any Foat Wurth tap water..and I substituted the Kutas amounts of insta cure and salt...but added the rest of the stuff from your recipe....If'in it tastes as good as it smells I reckon I'm going to be one happy dog....I'll let ya know in 5 days
 
The Kutas book calls for 5 qts of water...3/4 cup of salt, and 2/3 cup of insta cure #1 that's for curing 25lbs of Pastrami
 
Nick Prochilo said:
wittdog said:
Well I mixed up the brine today...couldn't get any Foat Wurth tap water..and I substituted the Kutas amounts of insta cure and salt...but added the rest of the stuff from your recipe....If'in it tastes as good as it smells I reckon I'm going to be one happy dog....I'll let ya know in 5 days

Could have just used toilet water, same stuff.

:ROFL that's a good one
 
Dang them yankees like to use some odd fractions and measures huh? Hard to imagine why it take such a copious amount of insta cure. Aint bought the stuff in years..but thinking a Tablespoons or two should be sufficient per gallon of water as the stuff is much more endowed with nitrates than is TQ and the object is simply to give the meat a nice red color. Course Rytek was in the bizness to peddle the stuff so maybe that why he like to use plenty:) It should fling a nice hard cure on them briskets to say the least. Suspect as long as the salt and insta cure (which is mostly salt) got themselves matched up with a near equal amount of sugar you gonna have some fine grazings.

bigwheel


wittdog said:
The Kutas book calls for 5 qts of water...3/4 cup of salt, and 2/3 cup of insta cure #1 that's for curing 25lbs of Pastrami
 
bigwheel said:
Dang them yankees like to use some odd fractions and measures huh? Hard to imagine why it take such a copious amount of insta cure. Aint bought the stuff in years..but thinking a Tablespoons or two should be sufficient per gallon of water as the stuff is much more endowed with nitrates than is TQ and the object is simply to give the meat a nice red color. Course Rytek was in the bizness to peddle the stuff so maybe that why he like to use plenty:) It should fling a nice hard cure on them briskets to say the least. Suspect as long as the salt and insta cure (which is mostly salt) got themselves matched up with a near equal amount of sugar you gonna have some fine grazings.

bigwheel


wittdog said:
The Kutas book calls for 5 qts of water...3/4 cup of salt, and 2/3 cup of insta cure #1 that's for curing 25lbs of Pastrami
BW if I smoke the Pastrami per Ryteks book...I will be smoking at below the safe levels (temp wise) I would hate to do that with out the recomended amount of cure...BTW the insta cure also changes the flavor profile of what ever it is used to cure.....It does a little more than making the meat red....What type of wood should I use to smoke it with..and don't tell me post oak or mesiqute...cuz that's what cagey Texans sell to people from Ohio to convice them that they is making real Texus Q
 
Well missed this post when it first come out for some reason. Apparently whtuever wood you used turned out purty good. If I was doing some of that stuff tomorrow I would use Kingsford Mesquite flavor briquetts and pee can shells. Now I got a feeling you can get the shells in the form of mulch from the landscape store..but I cant make no ghurantees. I normally make the warden get the shells from the backyard trees when she is shelling nuts and getting ready to make me some brownies etc. Course I am sorta like Algore..in that I am the Alpha Male at my house. I tell wimmen folks to jump and they say..yessir..how high how far etc. Now unlike him I never had to take lessons.

bigwheel
 
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