This is an easy homemade Pastrami for all the poor sods like myself who don’t live around the corner from a New York Jewish deli. Tender, juicy and with the signature pastrami spice crust, this is astonishingly straight forward to make – and is outrageously good!
Use it to make giant pastrami sandwiches on rye, or Reuben sandwiches!
Homemade Pastrami recipe
If Katz’s Deli isn’t my first stop when I land in New York, it’s my second or third stop – and probably only because I had a prior dinner commitment.
Yes, I’m that obsessed with pastrami sandwiches.
Let’s be clear about one thing here – this is not a pastrami sandwich as many people know them here in Australia. The pastrami piled high in these sandwiches are light years away from the cold, slippery cuts we get over the counter at delis.
The pastrami you get at Jewish delis in the States is tender, juicy, fall apart and loaded with that wonderful earthy spice flavours of the pastrami crust with the obligatory black pepper kick.
It’s outrageously good. OUTRAGEOUSLY!!
I have searched high and low, but the sad fact is that there is simply nowhere in Sydney that has pastrami that is anywhere near Katz’s. So I decided to take matters into my own hands and make my own pastrami.
Real pastrami is smoked for days. Days, my friends. I’ve read that the Katz’s smoker is the size of an apartment. Pastrami is serious business!
Mine is a somewhat more achievable home version – made in the slow cooker or pressure cooker.
How do I make pastrami? (The easy way!)
Start with store bought corned beef*
Make our own homemade pastrami spice mix which is made with everyday spices and loads of cracked pepper
Coat beef in Spice mix, wrap in foil
Slow cook or pressure cook until tender.
Cool for ease of slicing before baking briefly just to seal the crust, then slice thinly, and pile high on rye bread.
* Corned Beef is beef that’s been brined, either brisket or silverside beef cuts. An economical cut sold in the fresh meat section of supermarkets. It’s called Salt Beef or Pickled Salt Beef in the UK.
Here are the spices you need for pastrami. You can buy coarsely ground cracked pepper but it’s better to grind your own if you can.
Is it as good as Katz’s?
No. And no homemade version ever will be.
But it is so darn good. So SO good. A billion times better than the stuff you buy over the counter at everyday delis. This pastrami that money can’t buy – certainly here in Australia at least, except at speciality stalls at some weekend markets.
So when you need a pastrami or Reuben sandwich fix, this will go a long way to curb your craving – until your next trip back to NYC! – Nagi x
PS If you’d like to try your hand at a real pastrami made in a smoker, I recommend this one from my friend Kevin at Kevin is Cooking.
How to make a Pastrami sandwich
Lightly toasted dark rye bread slathered with butter then mustard then piled high with lots of thinly sliced homemade pastrami. Melted cheese is optional (mandatory in my books!).
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WATCH HOW TO MAKE IT
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Homemade Pastrami Without a Smoker
Ingredients
- 4 lbs / 2kg good corned beef, with a thick fat cap (Note 1)
Spice Mix:
- 4 tbsp fresh coarsely ground black pepper
- 2 tbsp coriander powder
- 1 1/2 tsp mustard powder
- 1 tbsp brown sugar
- 1 tbsp smoked paprika
- 2 tsp garlic powder
- 2 tsp onion powder
- 2 tbsp liquid smoke (optional)
Instructions
- Mix Spice Mix and spread out on a tray. Pat beef dry then roll in Spice Mix, coating well all over. Sprinkle with liquid smoke it using (I rarely use this).
- Place beef fat cap side down and wrap in a large sheet of foil. Repeat again with another sheet of foil and flip the beef so the fat cap is on the top.
- Place rack in slow cooker (Note 2), place beef on rack. Slow cook for 10 hours on low or electric pressure cook for 1 hour 40 minutes (see notes for oven).
- Remove beef, cool then refrigerate for 6 hours +. Reserve juices in slow cooker.
- Unwrap beef. Place rack on tray, place beef on rack. Bake 30 minutes at 180C/350F until spice crust is set.
- Remove from oven, slice thinly – pastrami will be tender. Place some pastrami in a dish, spoon over a bit of reserved juices. Cover and microwave to warm (I like to add a slice of Swiss cheese).
- New York Deli style Pastrami Sandwich: Pile high on toasted rye bread slathered with plenty of mustard of choice. Serve with pickles on the side! Plus plain potato crisps (for the full deli experience!)
- Rebuen sandwiches – see this recipe.
Recipe Notes:
Electric Pressure Cooker –you don’t need to add liquid because corned beef is plump with extra liquid it has absorbed from the brining process so it drops liquid as it heats up, and it’s that liquid that creates the steam that creates the pressure cooking environment. If for some reason it doesn’t come to temperature (ie that whistling noise never occurs, pop in 1/2 cup of water – but I’ve never had to do this). You end up with the same amount of liquid at the bottom of the pot whether you slow cook or pressure cook.
Stove top pressure cooker: add 1/2 cup of water.
Oven – I haven’t tried this myself, but this is what I would do: wrap with foil one extra time, add 1/2 cup water in pan, put wrapped beef on rack in pan, cover pan tightly with foil. Recipe I reference (see below) says 110C/225F for 6 hours which sounds about right compared for the slow cooking time I use. 4. General notes: The slow cooking part tenderising the meat and allows the spice flavours to infuse. The cooling in the fridge makes it easier to slice thinly – if you try to slice hot corned beef, it crumbles. The baking seals the crust – it doesn’t heat through, you want the centre cold for easier slicing. 5. SERVINGS: The corned beef will shrink by about 30%, so 2kg/4lb yields about 1.4kg/2.8lb cooked meat. Allow 300 g / 10 oz per serving for large pastrami sandwiches, as pictured. 6. Recipe loosely guided by this Allrecipes.com pastrami recipe. 7. Store leftovers for up to 5 days in the refrigerator. Reheat slices per recipe. Originally published May 2014, recipe updated June 2018 with a more streamlined, better recipe.
LIFE OF DOZER
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Making this today in my Crockpot Express electric pressure cooker. Hasn’t cooked a lump of meat in it before so followed your instructions not to add water. I never thought to look up the manual. I kept getting an E6 error. When I looked it up, this cooker requires a minimum of 1 cup of water or it gets an overheating heating error. Might pay to add in your notes to check the manual for your cooker before starting. It may seem obvious in hindsight but I just assumed it would work as per the instructions. Looking forward to the end product now the pressure cooker is working.
I had the same issue, it must have water in the crockpot express!
Tried this when it was cooked and the heat was overpowering. Too much black pepper, I thought. Tried it on a slightly modified Reubens sandwich, I didn’t have any sourcraut and don’t put a lid in it but what a difference. The Russian mayonnaise and the cheese were a game changers. Really nice and heat disappeared. I’ve never had a Reubens sandwich but I would if it was as nice as this was.
I am using a 2 lb brisket, so cooking times will vary but I am guessing I am still looking for an internal temp of about 200-205°? Would I be correct?
Hi,
When making no smoker pastrami, is it ok to leave in fridge overnight instead of 6 overnight once cooked in slowcooker please?
WOW!!!! You did it again Nagi! First time, fabulous. Not a corned beef lover, but this is gorgeous. Juicy. Flavour. Crusty. My husband made this in slow cooker, finished in airfryer. Reuben’s for lunch. Can’t wait. Thank you again Nagi. 💓
this looks amazing. there’s no halal corned beef available to me in the UK – is there a chance you could give information on how best to brine the meat Nagi? This looks amazing!!! Recipes I find online are a bit complicated & I’m not sure if I’m using too much/little salt/water.
Thank you!
I know this recipe was posted a while ago but we made it yesterday & today. Amazing! Absolutely amazing.
I made this the first time and all the juices pooled in the tin foil, steaming/boiling the meat. It still tasted good but the spice coating totally fell off. The second time I poked holes in the tin foil at the bottom with a toothpick. It came out perfect, and the juices all drained out into the slow cooker.
It’s now one of my most oft-requested meals from my regular dinner guests, and was a major major hit at Xmas with three different groups of dinner guests. Win win win!
The best use I’ve found hands-down for my corned silverside.
I agree, I love this, however, I don’t like cooking in alfoil, so I wrap in baking paper. Came out superb, but still need drain holes.
Rats, sorry, forgot the star rating. Six out of five! 😀
Hi Nagi,
Looking forward to trying this.
Quick question…
If I double wrap corned beef in aluminum foil and suspend it above bottom of crockpot, how do the juices get out? Should I perforate the foil?
Wow 🤩 amazing 😻 will never have normal silverside again 💚💚💚💚💚
This is a family favorite! Could I make a couple and freeze one?
I am blown away with this recipe! Just made the pastrami this weekend following your slow cooker recipe to the teaspoon. And wow!! The pastrami was amazing – tender, juicy, and delicious. It was eye-popping lay good. Absolutely as good as Katz’ when you can’t be in NYC. Even my adult son who has lived in New York and ordered Katz’ pastrami regularly agreed. Thank you for sharing this incredible and easy recipe and for enabling me to recreate such a delicious NYC deli experience right here at home in Pennsylvania. I can’t wait to make it again.
My pastrami is in the slow cooker for a few more hours. I have so many questions. How do the juices get out of the foil into the slow cooker? Do I do the initial cooling in the foil in the cooker? Am I unwrapping the foil for the fridge cooling and bark set?
Thank you for a great recipe, best piece of corned beef ever.
The rub is perfect, would love to try it with a smoker on bbq. Made the Rueben sandwich,
delicious 😋
Easy & delicious – as always, thank you Nagi. Next time I will reduce the pepper to maybe two tablespoons, just because I am a bit of a woose (not sure how it’s spelt) – but otherwise, it was perfecto!
Hahah Cheryl, I am the same, although once in the sandwich the peppery taste seemed to be perfect. Beautiful flavour and really easy, tasty, moist recipe Nagi. I was so surprised at how moist it was considering it appears dry and hard at the end. Thank you once again.
OMG!!! Made this and the Reuben sandwiches from it. Got 5 stars from my husband and I. Used Sauerkraut from my local health food shop which was delicious. I’ll be making this regularly for sure!
How is this so simple ! Made it twice already , its sooo darn good !
I have made this 6 times! I go a bit lighter on the rub, one family member a bit fussy. But easy and classy and delicious
Hi
I love your recipes guides because of the videos which go with them, which are always fantastic. I just made this today after cold brining my own piece of brisket for 7 days in the fridge. Following your instruction from there, I got the perfect pastrami much cheaper then the 3 slices sold in UK supermarkets for £4!
Stuart
Made this yesterday OMG it was soooooo good. Can’t believe it was that easy.
It was a little salty for me but that was because I got the silverside from woolworths. Would simmering it before remove some of the salt. Hope someone can help on how to reduce salt. May just have to go to a special butcher.The spice mix was on point ! Delicious.
I’m midway through this recipe; will report back.
I soak my (homekill) corned silverside in a big bowl of water in the fridge, changing it every 6 – 12 hours, for two days. It cuts down the saltiness appreciably.
soak the raw joint salt beef in running cold water for 10-15 minutes to get rid of excess salt.
Hi Nagi, I have fresh silverside from a farm, could I use it for this recipe without brining it first?
Ps. you’re my go to recipe wizz for everything I ever cook!
Salt beef is a beef joint that as been in a cold salt brine. If you don’t brine first or buy it already done then you are just roasting a meat with the pastrami rub. The brine soaks into the meat and plumps the meat up making it softer and tender.
BRINE
• 200 g table salt
• 100 g brown sugar
• 30 g preserving salt, (optional)
• 1 bunch of fresh thyme, (20g)
• 1 tablespoon mustard seeds
• 1 tablespoon red peppercorns
• ½ tablespoon allspice
• 2 cloves
• At least 2 days – but ideally up to a week – before you would like to serve the salt beef, make a start on the brine. Place all the brine ingredients in a large pan on a medium heat. Pour in 2 litres of cold water and bring to boil, then reduce to a simmer for 5 minutes until the salt has dissolved. Set aside and allow to cool completely.
Thanks for the clarification and the recipe for the salt brine Stuart. Would this same brine work for pork leg to produce gammon? I can’t get a gammon joint here in Australia to make ham at Christmas and am looking for a brine recipe.
Hi
You need pink curing salt for a pork to gammon brine. The recipe we use in our kitchen is as follows. I made the recipe in cups this time instead of UK grams!
Brine (wet-cure) for fresh ham
Have fresh pork you’d like to turn into ham? Here’s how to make it happen!
Ingredients
• 2 1/4 cups kosher salt
• 2 cups brown sugar
• 2 1/2 Tbsp. pink curing salt
• 1 Tbsp pickling spice
• 1/4 cup molasses
• 6 quarts water (divided)
• 7 pounds pork roast (adjust recipe if using more pork)
Instructions
1. Place salts, sugars, spices, and molasses in large food grade bucket.
2. Bring TWO quarts of the water to a boil and then pour over the dry ingredients in the bucket. Stir to dissolve.
3. Then pour FOUR quarts of cold water into the bucket. Stir until well combined.
4. Carefully place your pork roast(s) in the brine filled bucket. Turn a plate upside down and place on top of pork roasts to keep them completely submerged.
5. The pork needs to brine ONE day for every TWO pounds of pork. (7 lbs of pork = 2.5 days) and needs to be refrigerated that entire time.
6. When brining is completed, you need to rinse the roast(s). You can rinse the pork in cold water for several minutes (saltier ham). Or put pork back into a clean bucket with fresh water and let it sit overnight (less salty ham).
7. Blot ham dry, or dry on racks with a fan.
8. Smoke (electric smoker or smokehouse) until internal recipe reaches 150-160.
9. Don’t have a smoker? The ham should be blotted dry, brushed with liquid smoke, and then baked at 325 for 30 minutes per pound, or until the internal temp of the ham reaches 150 degrees F.
Perfect! Many thanks Stuart.