Home Made Pastrami

MMMMMmmmmmmm….pastrami……i was born an raised in New Yawk City where one could go to a good Jewish Deli and get all the pastrami one could eat. Now, living in a rural town in Florida,there’s not a single Jewish Deli around. the only pastrami you can get is from the deli at the grocery store……which IMHO isn’t REAL pastrami. OK….let me get a little technical here ( the butcher talkin now so pay attention).There WILL be a quiz !!! To me, real pastrami is made from the brisket. Yep….just like corned beef brisket, except a different cure is used. Most deli’s near me have pastrami, but it’s either TURKEY pastrami…..which is ok,,,unless you’re jonesing for pastrami from a good Jewish deli,or,they have pastrami made from “round”…bottom round…which might be ok also,but it just ain’t the real deal.So….let’s make some real pastrami…..shall we? This post is gonna be in at least 3 parts….coz it’s gonna take almost a week from start to finish,so bear with me.The picture above is what i hope the pastrami comes out lookin like,and i’ll post some pics as we go along.I searched the internet for pastrami recipe’s an ended up makin my own recipe from about 3 or 4 different recipe’s that i found.First, you need a FRESH brisket of beef.In the large box stores you can probably get a whole brisket which weighs anywhere from 8 to 10 lbs. Most likely if you go to a grocery store,they’ll have smaller briskets called a flat brisket.As opposed to the “point cut”. the point cut is the fatty end of the brisket and the flat cut is either the center cut or just the lean end of the brisket.You can use either end or both,just be sure to trim the fat to about 1/8″ thick so the cure can penetrate the fat.Brisket pictures on my next post…