Food - Drink
The Lengthy Downside To Making Your Own Pastrami
By AUTUMN SWIERS
Pastrami is a cured, spiced, smoked deli staple that tastes like it came straight out of a foodies’ dreams, but it doesn’t come without work. For intrepid home cooks who can't get enough of meaty sandwiches and other deli fare, it is possible to make pastrami yourself, but prepare to surrender a whole day or longer to the process.
Making homemade pastrami requires three days of soaking in brine in the fridge, says Food Network, plus another day of curing. Achieving the cold cut's deep, smoky flavor also means you’ll have to actively monitor a smoker for up to eight hours — after that, the beef also gets steamed in the oven for multiple hours.
Meanwhile, Katz’s Delicatessen has been cranking out world-famous pastrami in NYC for over 125 years, and owner Jake Dell says their pastrami cures for two to four weeks and smokes for two to three days. Your homemade pastrami may not take as long, but if you don't want to wait, eating at the deli takes an hour max.