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 for 5 days, 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?
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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
NOTES
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.
Nutrition
tried this recipe?
Let us know in the comments!
Marian says
Wonderful recipe. Made it several times.
Lee Corbett says
Hi Tori,
I first made pastrami following this recipe in 2017. Its now a firm family festive favourite that I make each year. Just taken my 2021 pastrami out of the oven and it looks and smells as amazing. Looking forward to my Deli sandwich!!
Thanks for the recipe
Aline Winters says
I did make this! It was so amazing! We had pastrami at Katz deli in New York City and this recipe was just as good but at home ♥️. We had to order some of the ingredients from Amazon but they did have everything we needed. Thanks for this recipe.
Sam Lehman says
I am planning on making this (fourth time) for our Hanukkah party, probably will be doing two whole briskets (maybe 24lbs in total). Left overs go into vacuum sealed bags and freeze for a long long time and stay good. The difficult thing about the full brisket is cutting it, as the grain changes direction.
I think the new twist I might try is I will put in a smoker (Traeger Pellet) for the first hour at about 180 degrees while it is coming to room temperature, then switch to Tori’s oven method. I am hoping the short time is enough to get a bit of smoke flavor but not too much.
Paul says
My son and I are getting ready to open a breakfast restaurant. We are going to make our own pastrami. I made a batch following this recipe as closely as I could. Turned out awesome. like pastrami butter. Anyway I shared some with a friend of mine that own the bakery and he said it was the best pastrami he ever had in his life. His wife agreed with him and said it was not too salty also. She shared most pastrami is too salty for her. So my own tweak in the recipe was accidental, I had a little less than a cup of the curing salt. Also I had a five and a half pound brisket point. Other than that I followed the recipe and it came out totally totally awesome. Went by a friend of mine’s restaurants , slice of paper thin on the deli slicer and made Reuben’s. I fed her whole staff, at Jonie’s Pizza in St Louis
Alison Libby says
Just put the diluted brine in the fridge to cool. I just added the 2nd 3 qts. to my stock pot of hot brine and mixed. Then ladled into my 2 different sized containers to cool. I need cover them though because I don’t need that smell in my fridge. Will comment back in 5-6 days. I am so looking forward to a hot Pastrami sandwich.
Patty says
I understand cured meats have high sodium, but does this really have over 7,000mg of sodium per serving?
Tori Avey says
No. The recipe system on my site uses ingredients and number of servings to calculate the nutritional totals. Because the brine here contains a lot of salt, it’s interpreting that as sodium in the recipe… but most of the brine is tossed before cooking, which is where the salt resides. I am not a nutritionist, and unfortunately do not know how much sodium is actually absorbed by this particular recipe… but it’s definitely not 7,000mg.
Barbara Rose says
I bought my husband an electric smoker a few years back and the first thing he wanted to make was smoked pastrami. I gave him your recipe for pastrami and he proceeded to make it until it was time to cook, which he did in the smoker. He now makes this once every one to two months and it is absolutely delicious. I don’t do the smoking of our meats, so I can’t offer any advice there. We love your recipes Tori!
Alison Libby says
Can’t wait to try this recipe, ordering the curing salt as I write. I have one suggestion for you, start posting the weight (in grams) of your ingredients instead of the volume. There is just too much room for error. 1 cup can end up weighing 10 different amounts, but 265g is always 265g. It is almost required for baking recipes. This might clear up any confusion about the amount of salt to use in this recipe. I recommend every cook get a digital scale. And one last question, why do home cooks insist on changing recipes before they have even tried them?
Dave K says
Hi Tori, I was so excited to find your recipe! My wife loves a great Pastrami sandwich so I am trying this for the first time. I have a question regarding the brine and size of the Brisket. Your instructions for the brine are for a 3 to 4 lb brisket. Should I double the recipe for the brine for a 7 and a half pound brisket or leave it in the brine longer?
Thank you, Dave
Tori Avey says
Hi Dave, I have only tested this for the weight listed, so I’m not sure. Sorry I can’t be more helpful!
Sam Lehman says
Dave,
I have made this recipe 3 times and all three were successes. I am making with a packer whole brisket so usually 11-13lbs. I double the recipe ingredients for the brine and can usually get the brisket into the brine, the challenge is getting the right containers and having enough space in the refrigerator!
Tori Avey says
The fat is on the top in the recipe, not the bottom.
Valorie D Nelson says
This was the best pastrami I have ever eaten anywhere. The flavor is outstanding. It’s very easy to make and to turn into a great corned beef dish too. Think Rueben sandwich here I come. Thanks for the great instructions and recipe!
jeanne lawson says
Can I substitute a corned beef for the beef brisket?
Tori Avey says
I do not recommend this as the finished product will be extremely salty.
sam says
hi you can used corned beef, just desalinate it by soaking in water for a day or two prior, changing the water several times a day.
Roberta Lulov says
Made this once before & it was FABULOUS!
My current brisket is 7.5 lbs.
Should I brine it for additional days?
Can I double the spice rub ingredient amounts?
Must I cook it for 7.5 hours?
LMK – THX!
Dave says
When placed in the brine, can I cover the container with the lid?
Also after the 5th day, do I rinse the meat before placing in the oven?
Gary says
Sitting here on Feb 1 2020 in the midst of a fairly large snow-storm. I have been going to Katzs’ since I was a kid….so over 60 years. My wife and I go there once a month or so and then to Russ & Daughters for the best smoked salmon and other goodies. Since COVID we have cut back on that schedule. Came across your blog and this recipe. It does seem a bit daunting but I just may give it a go. Thanks for posting.
Victoria says
How did you get on with this recipe?
William J Creelman says
Good Morning:
I am wondering if I can substitute beef broth for all or a portion of the pastrami brine to add to the beefy flavor?? Thanks-Bill
Tom Jones says
Yes, you can substitute beef broth in the brine, but not for the brine. Just add the salts as set out in the recipe into your beef broth, then cure your meat in the resultant brine.
Karen says
I’ve made this recipe twice and both times, it was absolutely delicious!!
Lauri P says
Is it necessary to soak the brisket in plain water after brining? I don’t see this anywhere in the post, but have seen other recipes that call for this step. Thanks in advance – very excited to try this as we haven’t been able to find pastrami locally since Covid began!
Tori Avey says
This recipe does not call for soaking.
Lee Corbett (UK) says
Making this for the 4th Christmas running. A firm family favourite and always great results.
dan says
After brining, do we go straight to the rack for the rub, or do we rinse and/or dry the brisket first?
JON ABBONDANZA says
After the brine, you should soak the meat in regular water in the fridge for 2 days to expel the extra salt. After that rinse the meat again, do not dry, and use the dry rub (the moisture will help the rub stay put) Refridgerate uncovered for another two days, then smoke.