How to make Pastrami

Here we will go over How to make Pastrami at home, using a corned beef brisket. It is easy to do with a little patience and little active work. It starts with a homemade pastrami rub and ends with delicious!

I was extremely satisfied with I started to develop this recipe. And while it takes time to cook, it only takes 5-10 minutes to prepare and the rest is totally inactive cooking time.

And before you dig in, I know pastrami is typically smoked, but when you taste this, you'll have no clue it wasn't, all it is, is 100% delicious. That said, some may also call this "Red Pastrami" because of its cooking method.

Ingredients

This is an easy version of homemade pastrami that you can make in your oven with no need for a smoker. The corned beef brisket has all the same values as the cut of meat that would traditionally be used to make pastrami, it just needs its own homemade pastrami spice rub on it.

Whole peppercorns, coriander, and mustard seeds offer tons of flavor and spice to the cured brisket that will have you second guessing if it was smoked or not.

And seek out the sweet smoked paprika and roasted garlic powder, they are my secret ingredients to making this pastrami taste like it was smoked even though it isn't.

Use the JUMP TO RECIPE button at the top of the post, or scroll to the bottom of the post to see the full recipe card with ingredient measurements and instructions.

Method

First, make the pastrami dry spice rub. I start by quickly pulsing the whole peppercorns and seeds in a spice grinder, being sure they stay very course. Then mix them together in a bowl with the other spices and sugar.

Coat the brisket ALL OVER and really rub in the spice blend. Then wrap it in foil, twice. Poke a few holes in the bottom of the brisket to any fat and juice can be released. Place the seasoned and wrapped brisket on a foil-lined sheet pan lined with a wrack or in a roasting pan.

Cook the seasoned brisket in the oven at 225˚F for 6 hours, then turn off the oven and let it cool for a few hours before transferring it to the fridge to cool completely overnight. Then unwrap the brisket, now pastrami, and place it back on a pan with a rack and bake to set the crust. The crust will darken in color and turn almost black during this second cookie time.

The pastrami is now ready to slice and eat. I like to cool mine and refrigerate again after the second cooking just to get really clean slices out of it, but you can slice and reheat immediately after the second cook if you like.

To fully reheat the pastrami, after slicing, place your desired amount in a skillet that has a lid, with some of the reserved liquid that you saved from roasting. Simmer on low heat till warmed through.

You can then use the meat any way you like, but I like to make Pastrami Reuben Sandwiches with it. It makes a killer sandwich you will want to eat EVERY DAY!

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📖 Recipe

Yield: 4 pounds

How to make Pastrami at Home

Prep Time: 10 minutes

Cook Time: 6 hours

Total Time: 6 hours 10 minutes

Here we'll go over How to make Pastrami at home, using a corned beef brisket. It is easy to do with a little patience and little active work.

Print

Ingredients

• 2 tablespoons Whole Peppercorns
• 1 tablespoon Whole Coriander Seeds
• 1 tablespoon Yellow Mustard Seeds
• 1 tablespoon Brown Mustard Seeds
• 1 tablespoon Light Brown Sugar
• 1 tablespoon Sweet Smoked Paprika
• 2 teaspoons Roasted Garlic Powder
• 2 teaspoons Onion Powder
• 1, 4-5 pound Corned Beef, rinsed

Instructions

1. Preheat the oven to 225˚F.
2. Place the peppercorns, and other seeds in the cup of a spice grinder. Pulse it together 6-8 times just to crack all the seeds, the goal is to NOT make a powder, just crush them up.
3. Place the peppercorns and seeds in a bowl with the sugar, paprika, garlic, and onion powder and stir to combine.
4. Pat the beef dry then rub the spice mixture into on all sides.
5. On a large sheet of aluminum foil, lay the seasoned beef fat side down and fold the foil around to wrap tightly. Turn the beef fat side up and wrap in a second piece of foil.
6. Place the wrapped beef, fat side up, on a sheet pan that is lined with a wire rack. Poke 4-6 holes in the bottom of the foil so the juices can release.
7. Pour about ½ cup water into the bottom of the pan, then cover with a third piece of foil.
8. Bake in the preheated oven for 6 hours. Let rest in the oven till cool enough to touch the pan without a towel, 2-3 hours.
9. Remove the cooled wrapped beef to a plate or dish to collect any juices that may fall out and place it in the fridge till completely cool, overnight.
10. Save any juices in the sheet pan to a container in the fridge separately.
11. When ready to eat, unwrap the beef and place it on a sheet pan with a rack again. Bake in a 350˚F oven for about 30 minutes to set the crust on the outside of the beef. It will darken and almost blacken during this second cook.
12. It will still be slightly cool in the middle at this point, remove it from the oven and slice while still firm. You can also cool again and refrigerate till you want to eat it and slice directly from the fridge.
13. Place the sliced pastrami in a skillet with some of the reserved cooking juices and heat it over low heat with a lid on till warmed through. Don’t disturb the beef, just let it warm gently for about 10 minutes.
14. The beef is now ready to eat, either on its own or to make Reuben sandwiches with.

Notes

Notes & Tips

You may be wondering what is the difference between corned beef and pastrami. Typically corned beef is boiled or simmered slowly for a long time and pastrami is usually smoked. Pastrami can also be made with a different cut of meat, beef deckle, or navel, but is often made with brisket in the U.S. today.

That said, corned beef and pastrami are typically cured the same way before their final cooking. This makes using corned beef to make pastrami at home a great, easy option.

I do keep the tradition of steaming the pastrami before cooking, this would be done with smoked pastrami as well, with the method I am offering most of the smoked flavor comes from the seasoning instead of using an actual smoker. But the flavor is so close I don't miss the smoker for a second!

Be gentle to only pulse the peppercorns and seeds together a few times. They should be left fairly coarse and not be a very fine powder.

Really press and rub in the spice blend. It should be thick and evenly coat every surface of the corned beef.

When you open the corned beef brisket. Discard the packet it comes with and rinse it off with water in the sink. Then pat it dry so the rub will adhere well.

After roasting in the oven for 6 hours, I typically turn the oven off and leave the brisket in there till cool, 2-3 hours. This lets it cook a little longer and cool down slowly. When cool enough to touch and it is not hot, transfer directly to the fridge overnight.

Use this Pastrami to make Reuben Sandwiches, they are amazing!

Substitutions

I keep a melange peppercorn mix in my pantry and that is what I used for this recipe, you can use straight black if that is what you have.

If needed you can use ground coriander. Replace the whole seeds with only two teaspoons of ground.

If you can not get your hands on both kinds of mustard seeds, you can use all of one color if needed.

Light brown sugar is what I call for in the recipe, if need you can also use dark brown sugar.

Seek out the sweet smoked paprika for this recipe, it is what brings the flavor of a smoker since we are not using one. Hot smoked paprika can also be used for a spicy flavor if desired.

Roasted Garlic Powder is my secret weapon in my kitchen, use it anywhere a recipe calls for garlic powder and everyone who eats your food will ask why it's so good! If you can not locate it, use regular garlic powder, but roasted is better!

Pastrami can also be made with a different cut of meat, beef deckle, or navel, but is often made with brisket in the U.S. today. But you will need to cure those cuts, the same way a corned beef brisket is, so using a storebought one makes the process much easier.

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Nutrition Information:

Yield:

12

Serving Size:

1
Amount Per Serving: Calories: 488Total Fat: 36gSaturated Fat: 12gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 19gCholesterol: 185mgSodium: 1869mgCarbohydrates: 4gFiber: 1gSugar: 1gProtein: 35g

This is an estimated caloric value, actual numbers may differ based on the ingredients used.

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