DivotMaker
New member
Last week, I started an experiment....pastrami, using both the SI and the Anova sous vide cooker! My thought process was that adding smoke to the corned beef, and then finishing in the SV, I would eliminate the need to steam the pastrami, and it will be very tender and moist. The meat will come out of the bath at 5pm tomorrow (48 hours), so we'll see together if this was a success, or not! I'm not afraid to post the "hits," and "misses!"
Saturday, 2/6/16:
I bought a 7.61 lb USDA Choice brisket flat from Sam's. To fit in my brining container, and then the SV bath, and cut it in half. If I were going to just smoke it, I wouldn't have cut it. I made a batch of Pork Belly's (Brian) Corned Beef Brine. Man, does this stuff smell good! The meat in the pool, and in the fridge for a week!
Saturday, 2/13/16, early morning:
The meat got a good, thorough rinse after the brine, and got coated with this rub:
3 Tbsp. coarse black pepper (half fresh-ground, and half McCormick's...not easy grinding 3 Tbsp. with one of those plastic grinders!
)
2 Tbsp. ground coriander (could NOT find whole seeds anywhere local!)
1 Tsp. mustard powder
1 Tbsp. paprika
2 Tsp. onion powder
2 Tsp. granulated garlic
(This recipe was posted by Sneaky Zebra, but he included brown sugar. I did not want sweet in this rub).
The two halves were re-sealed and back in the fridge for about the next 30 hours.
Sunday, 2/14/16:
I prep'd the #2 with 4-5 oz. of slivered cherry and one chunk of hickory. My goal was 5 hours of low-temp smoke, so I didn't weigh the wood; just wanted smoke the whole time. I used my #1 cold smoke plate above the wood box to keep the direct heat down. I was not trying to thoroughly cook the meat, just smoke it. No water pan, either.
The meat went in the smoker at 11 a.m, with the Auber set to 140. With the slivered wood, and a chunk, I was able to keep smoke going for the next 5 hours, without having to add or go too high on temp. Even at that temp, the meat hit 132 during the smoke. It smelled fantastic!
I removed the meat from the smoker, and let it rest while the Anova heated up to 149. I sealed the meat in FoodSaver bags, and plopped them in the hot tub, with time set to 48 hours.
Tuesday, 2/16/16: After 48 hours in the drink, I pre-heated the oven to 550°, and dried the 2 halves. They got a sear for about 8 minutes. It came out golden brown, which looks different (obviously) from a fully-smoked pastrami. I'm OK with that!
It sliced firm enough to hold together well, but was very tender! The slices (and chunks) broke apart very easily. I noticed that the halves did not shrink anywhere near what they would have, if I had left them in the smoker until done. To me, this is one advantage of the SV finish.
So how about the taste??? Very good! Brian's corned beef brine has a great taste, and the rub I used was flavorful...not overly-peppered, so it could be sliced a little thicker. One thing I will do next time is either cut the salt back a bit, or make sure I don't go longer than 5 days in the brine. It was almost too salty, but very good (notice I didn't say it was too salty). I think I would prefer just a bit less salty...but the wife said it was fine!
All in all, I think this was a success, and look forward to trying different cuts, and playing with the recipes!
Saturday, 2/6/16:
I bought a 7.61 lb USDA Choice brisket flat from Sam's. To fit in my brining container, and then the SV bath, and cut it in half. If I were going to just smoke it, I wouldn't have cut it. I made a batch of Pork Belly's (Brian) Corned Beef Brine. Man, does this stuff smell good! The meat in the pool, and in the fridge for a week!
Saturday, 2/13/16, early morning:
The meat got a good, thorough rinse after the brine, and got coated with this rub:
3 Tbsp. coarse black pepper (half fresh-ground, and half McCormick's...not easy grinding 3 Tbsp. with one of those plastic grinders!
)2 Tbsp. ground coriander (could NOT find whole seeds anywhere local!)
1 Tsp. mustard powder
1 Tbsp. paprika
2 Tsp. onion powder
2 Tsp. granulated garlic
(This recipe was posted by Sneaky Zebra, but he included brown sugar. I did not want sweet in this rub).
The two halves were re-sealed and back in the fridge for about the next 30 hours.
Sunday, 2/14/16:
I prep'd the #2 with 4-5 oz. of slivered cherry and one chunk of hickory. My goal was 5 hours of low-temp smoke, so I didn't weigh the wood; just wanted smoke the whole time. I used my #1 cold smoke plate above the wood box to keep the direct heat down. I was not trying to thoroughly cook the meat, just smoke it. No water pan, either.
The meat went in the smoker at 11 a.m, with the Auber set to 140. With the slivered wood, and a chunk, I was able to keep smoke going for the next 5 hours, without having to add or go too high on temp. Even at that temp, the meat hit 132 during the smoke. It smelled fantastic!
I removed the meat from the smoker, and let it rest while the Anova heated up to 149. I sealed the meat in FoodSaver bags, and plopped them in the hot tub, with time set to 48 hours.
Tuesday, 2/16/16: After 48 hours in the drink, I pre-heated the oven to 550°, and dried the 2 halves. They got a sear for about 8 minutes. It came out golden brown, which looks different (obviously) from a fully-smoked pastrami. I'm OK with that!
It sliced firm enough to hold together well, but was very tender! The slices (and chunks) broke apart very easily. I noticed that the halves did not shrink anywhere near what they would have, if I had left them in the smoker until done. To me, this is one advantage of the SV finish.
So how about the taste??? Very good! Brian's corned beef brine has a great taste, and the rub I used was flavorful...not overly-peppered, so it could be sliced a little thicker. One thing I will do next time is either cut the salt back a bit, or make sure I don't go longer than 5 days in the brine. It was almost too salty, but very good (notice I didn't say it was too salty). I think I would prefer just a bit less salty...but the wife said it was fine!
All in all, I think this was a success, and look forward to trying different cuts, and playing with the recipes!
Your process looks solid. Eager to hear the results so I can try it. I'm curious if the sous vide has a positive effect on the smoke permeating and mellowing, maybe like accelerated aging.
