With St. Patrick’s day just past, I though I’d would try to make some homemade pastrami for the first time. Since store bought corned beef was on sale for the holiday, I picked up a couple of flats and gave it a go.

For the spice rub:

• 1 part ground black pepper
• 1 part ground coriander seeds
• 1/2 part onion powder

Cooking the pastrami in the smoker with some pecan wood for flavor,

1. Rub the corned beef with the spice mixture let sit for 12 hr or more. (Mistake #1 – I neglected to let the rub sit on the meat for a extended period of time)
2. Place on the smoker at low heat (225-250 F) cook till an internal temperature of 185F was reached.
3. Let the pastrami rest for 10 min.
4. Cut thin slices perpendicular to the grain of the meat and serve.

Mistake #2 – Used a whole new firebox in the old UDS, lets just say I was not the master of my pit on this day. Temps were way to hot, didn’t achieve the dark bark I was going for in the meat and ultimately finished it off in the oven (“Pit Masters” walk of shame).

The good news, even a sub-par homemade pastrami is far better then anything you get in the supermarket. Ruben sandwiches were made and the family was happy, life is good.

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