Making amazing pastrami comes down to three simple ingredients: pickling spice, a brine and a rub or seasoning. I have developed recipes for all three. When combined, the flavors are out of this world. And the cool thing is that they can be used to make pastrami out of virtually any type of meat.
Pickling Spice
The pastrami making process
For all pastrami recipes, you’ll need to start by selecting which meat you want to make pastrami out of. Brisket and beef navel are the most popular cuts in the U.S. Next, you’ll need to make your brine.
The brine contains the pickling spice along with kosher salt, brown sugar and pink curing salt. The curing salt is sodium nitrite, also called prague powder #1. It’s what gives pastrami it’s pinkish color.
The meat will soak in the brine for several days, depending on the type of meat you use and its weight. Check the recipe for guidelines.
Corned Beef Brine
Seasoning pastrami
After the brining process, rinse your meat with cold water. Then, you can add seasoning. You don’t need a rub with salt because the meat has already absorbed salt for several days.
When you purchase corned beef brisket at the store, it is already brined and usually comes with a seasoning packet. You can use that packet, but I prefer to use my own pastrami blend, which is great on any type of meat.
Pastrami Rub
Corned Beef vs. Pastrami
Technically, meat that is brined and seasoned can either be corned beef (assuming it’s beef) or pastrami. The main difference is that corned beef is usually boiled or slow-cooked. Pastrami is smoked.
Beef Pastrami Recipes
More Unique Pastrami Recipes
Pastrami Experiments on Social Media
@girlscangrill Pork pastrami #videorecipe #recipe #meat #pork #pastrami #fyp ♬ original sound – Girls Can Grill
@girlscangrill Pork belly pastrami 🧡 Check out girlscangrill.com to learn how to make homemade pastrami.
♬ original sound – Girls Can Grill
@girlscangrill Pastrami beef ribs!
♬ Hooligang – Joey Valence & Brae
