It’s glorious, that first bite of a warm pastrami sandwich on freshly baked rye. If you’ve ever eaten pastrami at a great Jewish deli, you know what I’m talking about. That moist, tender meat topped with spicy mustard is enough to make almost anyone swoon.
When my husband and I took the Queen Mary from London to New York several years ago, we docked at 6:00am and found that we were hungry. Our first stop? Katz’s Deli for a pastrami on rye. It didn’t matter that the sun was barely up. Pastrami is good any time, day or night. When the appetite strikes, you must feed it. Trouble is, many of us don’t live close to a great Jewish deli, and mediocre pastrami can be SO disappointing. What can you do? Make it at home, that’s what!
I’ve tried my hand at homemade pastrami several times with varying degrees of success. It wasn’t until a publisher sent me a review copy of The Artisan Jewish Deli at Home that I finally found a recipe worth blogging about.
In their fabulous cookbook, authors Nick Zukin and Michael C. Zusman give workable home kitchen recipes for many Jewish deli favorites. In addition to uncovering the secrets of making these classic recipes at home, Nick and Michael delve into the traditional techniques used in deli kitchens. They also include nostalgic profiles of the most famous deli establishments in North America, including Katz’s in New York and Mile End in Montreal.
Nick Zukin helped to open Kenny & Zuke’s Delicatessen in Portland, one of the first Jewish delicatessens “focused on producing artisanal eats.” Michael C. Zusman is a state court judge who also does freelance food and restaurant writing. His bread recipes are currently used at Kenny & Zuke’s.
Deli-style pastrami emerged in New York during the late 19th century and remains a best seller on most deli menus. Because of its lengthy and laborious process, very few delis still cure and carve their own pastrami. Zukin and Zusman have whittled down the process to a very simple, doable recipe that requires relatively little effort.
After making a simple brine the meat cures in the refrigerator, then it’s rubbed with a spice blend and left to cook in a slow oven for a few hours. According to the authors:
“Delicatessen aficionados might cringe at the idea of making pastrami in the oven, since wood smoking is supposed to be the customary cooking method. At least that’s what they think. In truth, some of the most lauded pastrami and smoked meat involve no wood smoke at all. In his must read chronicle, Save the Deli, David Sax reveals that the smoky flavor in commercially produced pastrami comes from fat dripping down and sizzling on the gas element of the large ovens that are used.”
Side note: I love Save the Deli, I actually covered it on the blog a few years back.
To add that smoky flavor to the brisket, Zukin and Zusman use a hefty dose of smoked paprika (one of my favorite spices!). The result is delicious, quality pastrami hot and fresh from your own oven. My house smelled just like a deli while it was cooking. The flavor and texture were delightful– tender and flavorful. I tested the recipe multiple times just to make sure it wasn’t a fluke. It’s not. This is some killer pastrami.
I stayed pretty true to Zukin and Zusman’s recipe, though I did adapt it slightly by cutting back on the salt. My first test round was extremely salty– good for a bite or two, but if I’d eaten a few slices I would have puffed up like a balloon. The next testing round I cut the kosher salt in the brine in half. I thought it might be too much and that I’d have to add some back in, but half the salt actually provided the perfect flavor. My five dinner guests taste-tested it for me, and they all agreed that the lower sodium brine it was plenty salty. So I present the recipe with the kosher salt halved; if you prefer to try it as written in the cookbook, use 2 cups of kosher salt in the brine.
Update: Nick Zukin let me know in the comments that they used Diamond large crystal kosher salt, which has less salt per cup than Morton’s. I didn’t realize that salt content varies from brand to brand. I am updating my recipe instructions to reflect the brand of salt we used. Thanks to Nick for the heads up!
Don’t be daunted by the long prep time, the preparation is actually very simple. Most of the time here is spent on curing the pastrami in the refrigerator. After that it’s no more difficult than roasting a brisket on a rack. The results are totally worth the wait.
I have to hand it to Nick Zukin and Michael Zusman, this is a genius recipe. Their book has a lot of other great recipes for Jewish deli classics including Classic Deli Sandwich Rye, Onion-Poppy Seed Bialys and Cabbage and Smoked Meat Borscht. If you love deli food like I do, check out The Artisan Jewish Deli at Home. You’ll be glad you did!
What’s your favorite place to get a hot pastrami on rye?
Recommended Products:
We are a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for us to earn fees by linking to Amazon.com and affiliated sites. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.
Homemade Pastrami
Ingredients
- 3 quarts water
- 3/4 cup Morton's coarse kosher salt (178 grams) OR 1 1/3 cup Diamond Crystal Kosher Salt (181 grams) - these two brands are NOT interchangeable, the same weight provides two very different cup measurements
- 2 teaspoons pink curing salt (12 grams) - Pink curing salt is also known as Prague Mix #1, Instacure #1 or Curing Salt #1 - NOT Himalayan pink salt. See safety note below.
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- 2 tablespoons pickling spice
- 1 tablespoon whole coriander seeds
- 1 tablespoon whole yellow mustard seeds
- 4 cloves garlic (minced)
- 5 pounds beef brisket
Spice Rub Ingredients
- 1/4 cup ground coriander
- 2 tablespoons freshly ground black pepper
- 2 tablespoons smoked paprika
Instructions
- To make the brine, fill a medium to large stockpot with 3 quarts water. Add the kosher and pink salts, granulated sugar, pickling spice, coriander and mustard seeds, and garlic. Bring to a boil over high heat, stirring often to fully dissolve the salt and sugar in the water. Immediately remove the pot from the heat once the brine boils.Add 3 quarts ice cold water to a 2-gallon or larger food-safe container that will fit in your refrigerator (you can also use a strong sealing 2-gallon marination bag - double bag for extra insurance). Pour the brine into the container and place it uncovered in the refrigerator until completely cool. You can also divide the brine evenly between two separate containers so that it will fit better in the refrigerator.
- Trim the fat from the brisket until the fat layer is about 1/4 inch thick.
- If necessary, cut the brisket in half so that it will fit into your container(s).
- Submerge the brisket in the cooled brine.Allow the brisket to brine in the refrigerator for 10 to 12 days, flipping it daily top to bottom and stirring the brine. Make sure that if any of the brisket sides are touching one another you regularly turn them away from each other to expose all of the sides to the brine.
- To cook the brisket, pour 4 cups water into the bottom of a 12 by 15 inch roasting pan. Set a rack inside the pan and place the brisket on the rack, fatty side down.
- To make the spice rub, mix together the coriander, pepper and paprika in a small bowl. Evenly rub 1/4 cup of the mixture onto the top of the brisket. Then flip the brisket and rub the remaining spice mixture onto the fatty side. Allow the brisket to come to room temperature, about 2 hours.
- Preheat the oven to 300 degrees with a rack low enough to fit the pan holding the brisket. Tightly cover the brisket and pan with a double layer of aluminum foil.
- Bake until the meat reaches an internal temperature of 200 degrees, about 1 hour per pound or 5 hours total. Start checking internal temp at 3 hours and periodically every 20-30 minutes or so to avoid overcooking.
- Without trimming the fat, carve the pastrami into 1/4 inch thick slices, or cut as thin as possible without the meat falling apart. Keep tightly wrapped, or in a sealed container in the fridge, for up to 1 week, or in the freezer for up to 6 months.
- SAFETY NOTE: handle the pink curing salt with care and keep it out of reach of children. It is used in pastrami and other cured meats to kill bacteria, prevent botulism and add flavor. However it is extremely toxic if ingested directly; in fact, it's colored pink to prevent people from mistaking it for regular salt. When used with care in recipes like this, it is very safe and necessary for proper flavor and food safety. That said, you should know the risks and keep the curing salt properly labeled and out of the reach of children.
NOTES
Nutrition
tried this recipe?
Let us know in the comments!
oh wow ! I used to live in Los Angeles, and go to Bevery Hills to Nate and Al’s Deli for Pastrami. Oh boy do I miss that place.
There are no delis where I live now, but I grew up in Brooklyn New York in a Jewish neighborhood, where there were many and that were excellent. Your recipe looks authentic and although it has never been a favorite, it is struck a childhood chord with me, and I am going to try to make it. Thank you for you work. I appreciate reading your recipes. Do you have a recipe for Kischka? I know it is not a healthy dish, but that was one of my favorites. It came with gravy and I loved it. Thanks.
This sounds sooo complicated and time consuming but does sound good! Me–I do not have the patience! LOL 🙂
Yummy!!!
It’s almost Corned Beef and Cabbage time. St. Patty’s coming up. I got mine in the freezer and ready to go.
yummy
This looks phenomenal! I’ll have to try this next month. (Got a brisket corning right now!) Thank you!!!
For the love of pastrami… this stuff is the escence of jewish cooking. Still working the Kishka, in the kitchen for that tomorrow!
Oy, I’m kvellingg!
My husband made it in December and it was phenom!
This shiksa says yummy!
Wow! Can I give this a triple thumbs up!!!
is the pink curing salt necessary? … If I treat it like roast instead of lunch meat and eat it up quick?
Curing salt has a profound effect on meat – for example, “ham” made without it is gray, not pink, and doesn’t taste ‘hammy’ at all. Nitrites, in reasonable doses are not to be feared. You get far more from eating spinach or celery than from your pastrami sandwich. And to those who would say, “Yes, but the nitrites in celery and spinach celery and spinach are ‘natural'” and therefore presumed to be less harmful than ‘chemicals’… Not true – a nitrite is a nitrite wherever it comes from. And the poison from Hemlock is equally toxic whether from the plant itself or synthesized in a lab.
Looks great and will be giving it a try. Obviously, it has worked well for you, but there are a couple of general rules with curing salt: 1. Don’t boil it with the brine, add it later (as it allegedly reduces its effectiveness) and 2. Don’t mix curing salt with metal, since it eats it and produces a black toxic substance…. I have experienced this before, drying out slabs of pork belly (on its way to becoming bacon) on wire racks (skin side down) after brining them for five days or so. The skin turns black where it touched the rack. No worries there, as I remove the skin anyway before smoking.
Just thought it might be worth noting. It is easy to just stir in the curing salt once it is in the plastic brining container.
On the subject of delis, any deli worth it’s salt in my time made it’s own mustard. They would roll it up in a cone of wax paper and you could pipe it onto your sandwich out of the wax paper cone. In the 60s, there were great delis everywhere in NY and in my neighborhood in Brooklyn.
Yummo!
Woman of the Year!!!
beautiful
As an ex-Brooklynite from the 60s, I am no stranger to good pastrami. I can make just about anything, but never had much luck with pastrami, the ultimate deli food in my opinion. Last time I had a great pastrami sandwich was at the Stage Deli in Manhatten about 10 years ago. Every recipe I have seen said to smoke it at a low temperature which made it kind of compicated. I’ll give this a try and will be eternally grateful to you if it works.
Now we just need a recipe for homemade swiss cheese. 🙂
Looks delish
Omg yes.Thank you.