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!
if you do want a bit of smoke….. place the cut(s) of meat on a rack or steamer that fits inside a heavy dutch oven lined with a couple of layers of aluminum foil over which tea has been sprinkled. place over a burner on the stove and light on high, then regulating the heat once the tea starts to burn and smoke… turn the heat off in a little while, and leave the meat in the smokey atmosphere, or turn the heat to low for an hour or two…
I love the trick of using smoked paprika to give it the right flavor without having to smoke it! I also would expect it to be a little juicier when it’s cooked in the oven.
I know this is addressed further down in the comments, but it’s worth bringing it to the top again… it does seem like 1/4 cup is probably too much pink salt for the recipe. I can’t find it right now, but there is a kind of standard percentage ratio for the curing brine of salt : sugar : pink salt, and this is a lot more than usual. I doubt that it’s at a toxic level, but seems like more than necessary.
Although you can leave it out, since you’re not really leaving it at unsafe temperatures for very long (it goes from refrigerator to oven and is cooked faster than it would in a smoker), it’s better with it. Most importantly, you’d probably end up with grayish meat instead of the nice pink color we expect in pastrami.
Hi Torey , I’ve made this 3 times now and my family and I love it. Keep up the good work!
Is 1/4 cup of Prague powder a bit too much?
1/4 cup of prague no. 1 powder is far too much . 2 to 3 tsp is about right.
My papa use to run the pastrami booth for our temple, and I’ve always missed that pastrami. I was skeptical of this recipe, because I tried one other previously and was very dissappointed. This however reminded me so much of my papa’s pastrami. I’ve made this many times now. My sister and I always fight over who get the leftovers..
Could you please tell me what a pastrami booth is?
On your homemade pastrami instead of oven can you do it in the grill
I use my Ole Hickory Smoker with Pecan wood. Cooking it to 205 degrees. It is tender but firm enough to slice thin as desired.
After starting the brining process I realized the amount of curing salt required in the recipe. Is 1/4 cup of curing salt the correct measurement?
Could you give me measurements in grams & milliliters for this recipe please? I’d love to make this but, as a Scotsman, I don’t work to well with “cups”! I thank you in advance.
Google and many other websites have imperial to metric conversions.
Hi Tori.
Do you have to dilute the brine after you make it in an additional 3 quarts of water. Maybe I am reading this wrong. We haven’t diluted it on our first two attempts and it turned out absolutely yummy. Or is it just to cool the brine in another container.
Hi Lorna, the cold water is added and yes it does dilute the brine a bit, but I think (if I’m not mistaken) the primary purpose of the ice water is to cool down the brine. I’ve only made it as written and have never tried it another way. This is Nick’s recipe, so I can’t say for certain whether a more potent brine is a problem.
I halved the brine exactly and still had plenty to brine a 4 to 5 lb piece of brisket. Dont be afraid of the cure amount. Its a brine and not all left in the meat like sausage making. Most of it is poured off in the brine. I did not rinse and followed the recipe exactly and loved it.
We’ll have to give this a try. We make our own corned beef at least once a year and this isn’t that much different from it. Thank you for sharing the recipe with us.
Glad to see this recipe, always wanted to make it as a well some Italian meats. Thanks
Thanks
Tory,
What size brisket did you use? The ingredients don’t include that little tid bit… :O)
Jennifer, it’s the last ingredient on the list before spice rub – a 3-4 lb. brisket. 🙂
Here’s a link to a New York Times article that discusses the differences for Morton’s kosher sale vs. Diamond Crystal kosher salt, as well as few other types of salt. http://dinersjournal.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/04/28/warning-measure-your-salt/?_r=0
Thank you for the salt-news, that is a huge difference for any recipe!
When the brisket is sitting in the container, brining for the 5 days, is it covered or uncovered?
Mine was uncovered. You could cover it with plastic wrap if you wish.
I’m looking to try this recipe but my only question is after it’s brined for 5 days does it need to be placed in a water bath to get the curing salt out of it. I’ve looked up many recipes and they all say to soak the meat thoroughly before slow cooking it. Thank you.
I recommend making it exactly as written for best results, Crystal.
Dont be afraid of the cure. Most of it stays in the brine that is dumped. Brinning is different than putting it in sausage as a dry ingredient.
Do you use the point brisket or flat brisket? (I am assuming it’s not a whole brisket, since it’s only 3-4 lbs). Thanks!
I use flat, Jo, but I think either could be used here.
Looks lovely and I’m going to try it! Just to be sure, 3 quarts of water for the brine plus another 3 quarts ice water, right?
Hi Torey,
I wanted to make a bunch and store it away in the fridge or freezer. Just wanted to ask if The 1 week to 6 month storage period is the time it is good for? During which it can be removed and consumed.
Thanks for the recipe. I found a recipe for pastrami published in the New York Times back in the late 1960s. That one did not call for submerged wet brining. You combined Morton’s tender quick cure (contains sugar, salt, nitrates and nitrites), crushed coriander (which is essential for the pastrami flavor), minced ginger, and garlic; rub that mixture into the meat and pressing the coriander into the meat. Place in a non-reactive shallow dish, cover and place in the fridge for up to five days, turning every so often. after five days drain off the liquid reserving the spices, and rub those back into the meat. Let air dry on a rack for several hours until a pellicle forms. I smoked my brisket for about an hour–depends how smoky you want it. Then simmer until tender, slice and enjoy.
Hi, this is the first time I have attempted anything like this, and I am very happy with the results. Thankyou for a simple recipe, easy to do, also delicious!!!!!