Corned Beef Pastrami

This recipe was updated on 23 Jul 2014. I updated the instructions and method to cook this dish after trying a new way to setup the charcoal grill. I not only used this method to remake this dish, but originally tried the method using the Grilled Dry Rub Pork Baby Back Ribs recipe.

Instead of making the usual boiled corned beef, you can use your barbeque to make smoked corned beef pastrami. You have to soak the corned beef in water overnight to reduce the salt from the brine used to make the corned beef and then use a dry rub to season the corned beef before smoking. I used a corned beef brisket to make the pastrami.

Enjoy!

Ingredients

4-5 lb.	2-2.5 kg.	Packaged corn beef brisket or round
		Water to soak the corned beef
1 Tbs.	15 ml.	Whole cumin
1 Tbs.	30 ml.	Whole coriander
1 Tbs.	30 ml.	Whole black pepper

 

Equipment

14 in.	35.5 cm.	Wok or pan
8 qt.	7.5 L.	Pot
		Spice or coffee grinder
		Smoking wood (oak, apple, or other wood)
		Charcoal chimney
2	2	Disposable aluminum trays
		Barbeque thermometer
22.5 in.	57 cm.	Covered charcoal grill (or larger)

 

Preparation Instructions

1. Toast the cumin, coriander, and pepper in a small pan until fragrant. Remove the spices from the pan and allow to cool. Grind the cooled toasted spices in a spice or coffee grinder. Since the corned beef already has enough salt, I omitted the salt that usually is added to the spice rub.
2. Remove the corned beef from the package and discard any excess liquid and the spice packet. Wash the corned beef under cold running water. Trim any excess fat and/or silver skin from the corned beef. You don’t want to remove all the fat from the corned beef, in fact you want a layer of fat on top of the corned beef.
3. Place the corned beef into a (covered) pot. Add enough cold water to the pot to cover the corned beef and place the covered pot into the refrigerator. Every day, remove the pot from the refrigerator, drain the water from the pot, and then recover the corned beef with fresh cold water, and place back into the refrigerator. You can do this over 2-3 days, and the water should be changed at least two times.
4. Remove the corned beef from the refrigerator and discard all the liquid. Pat the corned beef dry with paper towels, spread and rub a generous amount of the dry rub on the corned beef, and place it into a covered container overnight in the refrigerator. Any excess dry rub can be stored in a sealed container. Take the dry rubbed corned beef from the refrigerator at least one hour before grilling. Soak any smoking wood for one hour before cooking, if desired. I do not soak the wood and use it dry.

Cooking Instructions

Charcoal Grill Setup

1. Prepare the grill for indirect cooking. Place one of the disposable aluminum trays into the bottom of the grill where the charcoal will be placed. The tray should take up no more than half the space and will later be filled with water. Fill the charcoal chimney with charcoal and then pour the unlit charcoal into the other half of the grill opposite the aluminum tray. Build a semi-circular wall of unlit charcoal with a crater in the middle (see the picture on the right). Lit charcoal and the smoking wood will be placed into the crater, so make sure the crater is deep enough so that the cooking grate can easily be placed on top. Fill the aluminum tray with water.
2. Light 8-12 pieces of charcoal in the charcoal chimney. When the charcoal is ready (about 10 minutes), pour the lit charcoal into the charcoal wall’s crater. Place one chunk of the smoking wood into the crater on top of the lit coals. Place the cooking grate onto the grill. Place the second aluminum tray, filled with water, on the coking grate over the lit coals.
3. Place the corned beef over the aluminum tray with water. Cover the grill and close the dampers half-way (both top and bottom). Use a barbeque thermometer to monitor the temperature and adjust the dampers to keep the temperature between 250⁰F (120⁰C) to 300⁰F (150⁰C) during the 4-6 hour cooking time. You may have to totally close the bottom damper to keep the temperature within the cooking range. Add another chunk of smoking wood and fill the second aluminum tray (the one over the lit coals) with water as needed (the first aluminum tray – next to the coals – will likely never need refilling). Since there will be limited oxygen due to the dampers being mostly closed, a single wood chunk should last about 2 hours.
4. Put the corned beef pastrami into a serving dish and cool for 15 minutes before slicing. You can also refrigerate the corned beef pastrami whole and slice it the next day. It’s actually easier to slice the corned beef pastrami thinly after overnight refrigeration.

Notes

1. Since this is an involved process, I sometimes cook more than one corned beef at a time. You’re limited by the number and size (i.e. can you cram all the corned beef into the soaking pot) of your covered pot(s), and the space on the cool side of your grill.
2. A barbeque thermometer is a necessary tool to control the temperature of the barbeque kettle. I put the thermometer into the mostly closed upper damper on the lid. The bottom damper is used to control the temperature and may have to be closed completely after some of the coals in the charcoal wall become lit. If this happens, there should be enough oxygen coming in from where the lid meets the kettle, and the upper damper to keep the charcoal lit. If there are too many lit coals, the temperature can increase beyond the desired range, so it is important to control the temperature with the lower damper. You will have to experiment with your grill to maintain a stable and desired temperature.