Nice write up. I know because my mouth was watering when I read it.

"Robert" > wrote in message
...
> 1 picture on alt.binaries.food, same Subject
>
> Decided to have a go at pastrami on my Dad's Traeger Lil Tex
> (pellet smoker-grill). The recipe on the virtual weber site
> was my guideline. Steps as follows:
>
> 1) trip to Penzeys for fresh peppercorns, coriander,
> granulated garlic (Mpls uptown).
> 2) stopped at my local butcher in a search for curing
> salts. He ended up just giving me a 1/2 cup from the back
> room. Gotta love the butcher shop.
> 3) Drove to Duluth for the weekend (Dad & Sister live there)
> 4) pick up a 6# brisket flat at Mt Royal Fine Foods (Duluth
> neighborhood). At least I think it was a flat, it was more
> rectangular than triangular.
> 5) The brisket appeared to be in pretty good trim already,
> so I put together the dry cure (curing salts, black pepper,
> coriander, dark brown sugar, granulated garlic).
> 6) coated the brisket, double zip-locked it, and set it in
> the lowest back corner of little Sisters spare refrigerator
> in her basement.
> 7) extensive training of the sister and nephew on the
> twice-daily turning of the brisket.
> 7a) post several 'TURN THE BRISKET' signs throughout the
> house.
> 8) went home, came back a week later.
> 9) rinse, soak, rinse, soak, rinse, pat dry
> 10) rub the now-cured brisket. Cracked black pepper, ground
> coriander, granulated garlic, thyme. Those blade type
> coffee grinders that are only OK at grinding coffee are
> GREAT for pepper and coriander. little Sister's kinda mad
> at me, though.
> 11) Up the hill to Woodland (yet another Duluth
> neighborhood) to Mom & Dad's. Load up the hopper with
> Alder, fire it up on high. Once the dome temp gauge cruises
> thru 220, flip it to smoke (the lowest setting).
> 12) outside temp today is mid 60's, not windy, the Traeger
> is fairly stable swinging between 190 and 210 all day
> (according to the dome thermometer). Every couple of hours
> or so, you have to smooth over the pellets in the pellet
> hopper, it is a gravity feed to an auger, and tends to
> develop a caldera. We're only burning about 1/2 pound an
> hour, but I usually top off the hopper anyways (hey, there
> isn't much else to do with these things)
> 13) I have the Taylor temp probe gadget in the middle of the
> flat and the alert temp set for 165. I'm moving about 10
> degrees an hour until I hit 159. Big plateau. Took a full
> two hours to start moving again.
> 14) It finally hit 165 at 5pm, seven hours pretty much to
> the minute, took it off, double foiled it, stuck it in my
> big styro cooler.
> 15) First slice at 7pm. Gorgeous. Succulent. Intensly
> flavored. Everyone praises me. I am a genius.
> 16) Leave token amounts with little Sister and Mom & Dad and
> abscond with the rest to the Twin Cities.
> 17) This barbecue stuff is easy.
>
> robert