Easily turn Corned Beef into Pastrami! Every year around St. Patrick’s Day supermarkets are full of corned beef for those looking to prepare the traditional holiday meal. However, don’t boil it- instead elevate it by smoking it on the Primo and turn it into delicious Pastrami.
Here are a couple of similar sized (about 3-4 lb) corned beef “flats”. You can choose to soak the corned beef in water for a few hours to overnight, changing the water 1 to 3 times, contingent on your preference for saltiness. It’s fine, in our opinion, not to soak them to pull salt out. Simply rub well with equal parts cracked black pepper, coriander, and garlic powder.
Prepare the Primo for smoking. For Pastrami we would recommend apple or cherry wood. Target a smoking temp of 250. Smoke for a few hours until internal temp is 160 to 165.
We like to keep tabs on the internal temperature with the Chef Alarm by Thermoworks.
To finish the cook, put a very small amount of water in the bottom of a pan (1/4 to 1/2 cup or so) and cover the pan with foil. Continue cooking until internal temp hits 200.
Letting the Pastrami “steam finish” makes it extra tender.
A Thermapen MK4 is a helpful tool to confirm you’ve hit your target tempature.
Let it rest for a few minutes and slice to enjoy while hot! This beats boiled corn beef any day.
You could also choose to put the Pastrami in the fridge to cool it down and shave it thinly like you would buy it at a deli. (great if you have a meat slicer) If looking to reheat it, we would recommend steaming it again (covered pan with a touch of water) in a 250 degree oven or grill.