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Over-cured my corned beef


adegiulio

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So I put a brisket into a nice flavorful brine two weeks ago and promptly forgot about it until yesterday. I made pastrami with it, and once I took it out of the smoker I tasted it. It's clearly too salty to make sandwiches out of. I would hate to waste it. Has anyone tried slicing it and drying like jerky?

"It's better to burn out than to fade away"-Neil Young

"I think I hear a dingo eating your baby"-Bart Simpson

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I was thinking soak and drain, but then you loose all that pastrami smoked and seasoned goodness.

Jerky may be the only hope. It may seem like a waste, but pastrami jerky is pretty darned good.

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I thought about that, but since I already smoked it for 6 hours, I thought cooking it even more would not be so great, even if it was a moist cooking...

"It's better to burn out than to fade away"-Neil Young

"I think I hear a dingo eating your baby"-Bart Simpson

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So I put a brisket into a nice flavorful brine two weeks ago and promptly forgot about it until yesterday. I made pastrami with it, and once I took it out of the smoker I tasted it. It's clearly too salty to make sandwiches out of. I would hate to waste it. Has anyone tried slicing it and drying like jerky?

Is it a bit too salty (as in "if this were just 10-15% less salty it would be palatable") or is it an order of magnitude too salty? If it is just a bit too salty, you may want to try steaming it, which is fully normal and traditional for pastrami after smoking. It should help it plump up a bit (absorb some water) which will help drop the saltiness, and it may bring some of the salt to the surface. Also, you might try soaking just a portion of it to see what happens; It will prob wash away some of the smokiness, but you would be surprised by how tenacious smoke flavor can be.

BTW, what recipe did you use for your brine?

-B

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So I put a brisket into a nice flavorful brine two weeks ago and promptly forgot about it until yesterday. I made pastrami with it, and once I took it out of the smoker I tasted it. It's clearly too salty to make sandwiches out of. I would hate to waste it. Has anyone tried slicing it and drying like jerky?

Is it a bit too salty (as in "if this were just 10-15% less salty it would be palatable") or is it an order of magnitude too salty? If it is just a bit too salty, you may want to try steaming it, which is fully normal and traditional for pastrami after smoking. It should help it plump up a bit (absorb some water) which will help drop the saltiness, and it may bring some of the salt to the surface. Also, you might try soaking just a portion of it to see what happens; It will prob wash away some of the smokiness, but you would be surprised by how tenacious smoke flavor can be.

BTW, what recipe did you use for your brine?

-B

I used the recipe from Ruhlmans book. For the pickling spices I used bay leaf, juniper, coriander, cloves, and peppercorns.

If you dont have his book, let me know and I'll send you the recipe...

"It's better to burn out than to fade away"-Neil Young

"I think I hear a dingo eating your baby"-Bart Simpson

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Is it a bit too salty (as in "if this were just 10-15% less salty it would be palatable") or is it an order of magnitude too salty? If it is just a bit too salty, you may want to try steaming it, which is fully normal and traditional for pastrami after smoking. It should help it plump up a bit (absorb some water) which will help drop the saltiness, and it may bring some of the salt to the surface.

When I made the pastrami from "Charcuterie" I steamed it for a couple of hours after smoking, which I can attest did in fact draw out a good bit of salt and tenderize the pastrami (which after a good long smoking session was a bit dry around the edges). It was *fantastic*. I was eating pastrami with every meal for a couple of weeks.

The drippings at the bottom of the roasting pan I steamed it in were fantastic as well. It did not go to waste. Along with more mundane uses, I also happen to be playing with sodium alginate that weekend with a buddy. I made pastrami dripping (fat removed, obviously) caviar and blobs and such. We made a bunch of different flavors of blobs that day and pastrami jus was definitely the best. As an appetizer for dinner I pan fried small rounds of homemade rye and layered on some pastrami and topped with the caviar. Odd? Sure. Delicious? Oh yes.

-Dan

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