Brisket may be the favorite meat of the Texas barbecue world, but long before that, it was a popular cut in Eastern Europe to turn into what we now call pastrami. One of the tougher cuts of meat, a whole brisket has two ends, a thin, lean end and a rounded, fatty end. The thinner end makes a leaner pastrami, the fat end a meaty, lush, New York Jewish deli–style pastrami. Many butchers sell just the lean end, but if you like a fattier and more marbled piece of brisket, ask them to include the fatty end. When prepping the brisket, trim the excess fat, leaving a thin layer on top, which mostly renders during cooking.
The pink salt called for in this recipe is known as curing salt, which just means it is a mixture of table salt and sodium nitrite. Sodium nitrite, which prevents the growth of bacteria and botulism, is dyed pink to prevent its confusion with normal salt. You can buy it at a specialty cooking store or on the Internet. Pickling spice is a mixture of whole spices, which may include mustard seed, allspice, coriander, cloves, ginger, bay leaf, and cinnamon. After a 7–10 day brining process, the brisket has technically become corned beef. Smoke is what turns it into pastrami. Slathering the brisket with mustard both seasons the meat and helps the rub of black pepper and coriander stick to the meat. No additional salt is needed, thanks to what’s in the brine and the mustard.
If you have a smoker or barbecue, smoke the brisket for 45 minutes per pound at 225 degrees F. If you don’t have a smoker, just cook it in an oven at 250 degrees F without smoke. It won’t exactly be pastrami, but it will be delicious.
SERVES: 8–10
FOR BRINING THE BRISKET:
1 piece well-marbled beef brisket (butt end), 4–5 pounds
2 quarts warm water
1 tablespoon plus 1½ teaspoons pink curing salt
½ cup sugar
¾ cup kosher salt
2¼ teaspoons pickling spice
2 large cloves garlic, halved
¼ cup honey
FOR PREPARING THE PASTRAMI:
1½ cups Dijon mustard
1 cup finely ground black pepper
1 cup finely ground coriander
Brine the brisket: Trim some of the external fat from the brisket. You want to get rid of the excess, but leave enough to baste the meat and keep it moist.
In a large nonreactive container, pour the warm water. Add the pink curing salt, sugar, kosher salt, pickling spice, garlic, and honey. Stir until the honey has completely dissolved.
Put the brisket into a container big enough to hold the meat and the brine; the brisket should be completely submerged. Place a piece of parchment paper or plastic wrap over the brisket and weight it with a large plate or platter.
Refrigerate the brisket for 7–10 days. When you take the brisket out at this point, you have corned beef. Now we’re going to turn it into pastrami.
Roast the brisket: Place the meat on a flat surface and pat dry. Coat the meat on both sides with the mustard, using all the mustard. Really slather it on.
In a bowl, combine the pepper and coriander. Lightly pack the mixture first on the top, then the bottom of both halves of the meat. Try not to leave handprints. The surface should be completely coated.
Preheat the oven to 250 degrees F. Place the brisket on a rack in a roasting pan. Cover the pan with foil and cook for 45 minutes per pound, about 3–4 hours. About 20 minutes before the end of the cooking time, take the foil off the pan and turn up the heat to 400 degrees F.