Pastrami, pastrami, everywhere. For days.
eGullet steered me right again, pastrami was the way to go. Delicious!
Mine was a basic recipe, 6 lbs corned beef, 2 T black pepper, 1T ground coriander, 1T powdered garlic.
Smoked for 3 hours till internal temp was 155F.
It was delicious. So flavorful. I can't wait to make sandwiches and hashes all week. Or I'll just eat it straight from the fridge!
My only comment, smoking the meat was not as tender as braising it. It had a chewy quality that I enjoy, kinda like soft bacon. The pastrami had to be cut against the grain and very thin to be palatable in my sandwich. This could be user error, the meat cooked much too fast, most recipes recommend 4-6 hours, I cooked mine in 3. I'll keep a better eye on my smoker next time.
Can't beat the flavor. Yum! Feel sorry for people who have to buy the packaged stuff.