Easy Homemade Pastrami - Video Recipe

My Easy Homemade Pastrami is made in two basic steps. First, I boil a Corned Beef from the package until tender. The second step is to do quick smoking of cooked Corned Beef on a gas grill with indirect heat. Read on and I will take you through the simple steps with illustrated photos and text directions.

I get nothing but praise for my Easy Homemade Pastrami, especially when I make Rachel and Reuben Sandwiches with fresh-smoked beef. Click on sandwich names above to see all the tasty directions to build your own.

Rachel Sandwich

Reuben Sandwich

Here in Los Angeles some of the best Pastrami come from Canter's Deli and Langer's Delicatessen which cost about $20 bucks for a Pastrami Sandwich! Whew...I can get a whole three-pound Corned Beef for half that price during St. Patrick's Day week when they are on sale. And using a beef brisket that is corned and ready to cook is my preferred shortcut.  

Click on any photo to see it larger.

I guess the trickiest part of a Homemade Pastrami is the smoking stage. I've developed an easy and quick method using my small patio gas grill. 

I have a fire only under the wood chips so the cooked Corned Beef stays moist. I smoke the meat for about an hour. Because the Pastrami is fresh-smoked, it is almost as intense in flavor as a Pastrami from the best Deli in town!  

My Homemade Pastrami is as delicious as a Jewish deli version. And all you have to do is follow my simple directions below.

Easy Homemade Deli Pastrami - VIDEO

Play it here. Video runs 2 minutes, 42 seconds.

To view or embed from YouTube, click here.

Ingredients

1 Corned Beef - I get packages of beef that are raw and corned, ready to cook.

Water - enough to cover the Corned Beef.

Wood Chips - for smoking the Corned Beef.

Metal Pan - to hold wood chips.

Dry Rub for Smoking

Black Pepper - 2 tablespoons. Okay to add as much or as little as you like on boiled Corned Beef.

Ground Coriander - 1 tablespoon. This is optional. I have smoked Corned Beef without it. 

Directions
Just take out the corned beef from the package. Add Corned Beef to a large pot with a cover. Add enough water to cover the Corned Beef.

Add the contents of the herb and seasoning package that comes with the Corned Beef. Sometimes the herb package is not included, but the beef is still corned. 

Bring water to a boil then lower heat to a simmer.  Cover the pot and simmer for about 3-4 hours until tender. When done and tender, remove cooked Corned Beef from the water.

Coat both sides of cooked Corned Beef with ground black pepper and coriander. I've smoked Corned Beef without coriander.

Now time to smoke Corned Beef. 

There are several ways, you mainly need an outdoor grill with a cover. I have a 2-burner gas grill. The object is to smoke the meat with indirect heat. That is, place the meat as far away from the flame as possible. The meat is already cooked, so you just want to smoke it at this stage. 

If you have a simple outdoor charcoal BBQ grill then build a fire way off to one side.

The flame is for a pan of wood chips. You could even loosely wrap a large handful of chips in aluminum foil and place them over hot coals or the gas flame. Leave some space between the flame and metal container with wood chips or the wood will catch fire - you want the wood to only smoke. Keep a water spray bottle nearby to put out any flare-ups.

Depending on how hot the flame is, the wood chips should start smoking in 5 minutes. When the smoke starts, place the boiled brisket as far away from the flame as possible and cover the grill tightly. Check every 15 minutes or so and replace the wood chips with fresh ones as they cook away if needed.

I smoke Corned Beef for an hour. Even a half-hour of smoking will still give you a great smokey flavor.

If you have a large enough grill with an extra rack, then add a few links of cooked sausage or hot links around and above the Corned Beef -- no sense wasting any of that smoking space!

When ready to serve, cut the Pastrami "across the grain" into large slices.

Hindsight

You have to get corned beef from a kosher deli or grocer for a Jewish-style Pastrami. For the final smoking of Pastrami, it's okay to use any favorite local small wood chips or twigs.