Late because I've neglected rfc for a while, but just to prove Sheldon
wrong about Texas:

Ruhlman and Polcyn's recipe:

Brine:

1 gallon of water
1 1/2 cups kosher salt
1 cup sugar
8 teaspoons pink salt
1 Tblspoon pickling spice
1/2 packed cup dark brown sugar
1/4 cup honey
5 cloves garlic, minced

Meat:
One five-pound beef plate or brisket (I used brisket)

Rub:
1 Tblespoon coriander seeds, lightly toasted
1 Tblspoon black pepper corns, lightly toasted

Combine the brine ingredients in a pot large enough to hold the
brisket and bring to a simmer, stirring to make sure the salt and
sugar are dissolved. Remove from heat and cool to room temperature,
then refigerate until the brine is chilled.

Put the beef in the brine and put a plate on top of it to make it
submerge completely. Refrigerate it for three days.

Remove the meat from the brine and discard the liquid. Rinse and dry
the meat.

Combine the coriander and the pepper in a spice mill and pulse untill
coarsely ground. Coat the beef evenly with the mixture.

Hot smoke the meat to an internal temperature of 150 degrees
Farenheit. (I used pecan wood because I have a ready supply of it)

To prepare the meat for serving, place it in an inch of water in a pan
or on a rack above the water. Bring it to a simmer and put the pan
into a 275 degree oven for 2 to 3 hours untill it's fork tender.

Pix:
day one - brining: http://i37.tinypic.com/4rdxly.jpg
day three - in the smoker pit: http://i38.tinypic.com/2cdwpyv.jpg
(note: I put ice in the pit to keep the temp down at first)
almost gone: http://i34.tinypic.com/1zmhzsp.jpg
(I forgot to photograph it after it was done -- that's all that's left
now)
--

modom
** Posted from http://www.teranews.com **

"modom (palindrome guy)" > wrote:
>
> Pix:
> day one - brining:http://i37.tinypic.com/4rdxly.jpg
> day three - in the smoker pit:http://i38.tinypic.com/2cdwpyv.jpg
> (note: I put ice in the pit to keep the temp down at first)
> almost gone:http://i34.tinypic.com/1zmhzsp.jpg

Can't tell how it tastes from a picture but if you say it's good for
you then it is. To me it looks too rare/too red, and dry too, looks
like it would be tough to chew. Pastrami needs fat, well marbled, and
should be melt in the mouth tender.

http://melissamccart.files.wordpress...2/pastrami.jpg

On 2008-11-27, modom (palindrome guy) > wrote:

> Ruhlman and Polcyn's recipe:.....

Thank you for the recipe, Mo. Looks like a keeper.

nb

On 2008-12-01, Sheldon > wrote:

> Can't tell how it tastes from a picture but if you say it's good for
> you then it is. To me it looks too rare/too red, and dry too, looks
> like it would be tough to chew. Pastrami needs fat, well marbled, and
> should be melt in the mouth tender.
>
> http://melissamccart.files.wordpress...2/pastrami.jpg

Looks moist and marbled to me, but as you say, the proof is in the eating.
BTW, your pic of a pastrami on rye is just plain silly. No one could even
handle such a pile, let alone get it in their mouth. Give me a few more
slices of rye and some mustard and horseradish and I'd make short work of
it.

nb

On Mon, 01 Dec 2008 18:52:29 GMT, notbob wrote:

> On 2008-12-01, Sheldon > wrote:
>
>> Can't tell how it tastes from a picture but if you say it's good for
>> you then it is. To me it looks too rare/too red, and dry too, looks
>> like it would be tough to chew. Pastrami needs fat, well marbled, and
>> should be melt in the mouth tender.
>>
>> http://melissamccart.files.wordpress...2/pastrami.jpg
>
> Looks moist and marbled to me, but as you say, the proof is in the eating.
> BTW, your pic of a pastrami on rye is just plain silly. No one could even
> handle such a pile, let alone get it in their mouth. Give me a few more
> slices of rye and some mustard and horseradish and I'd make short work of
> it.
>
> nb

the pic is pretty ****ing absurd, unless you can unhook your jawbone like a
snake. i suppose with sheldon, that's possible.

your pal,
blake

On Mon, 01 Dec 2008 18:52:29 GMT, notbob > wrote:

>On 2008-12-01, Sheldon > wrote:
>
>> Can't tell how it tastes from a picture but if you say it's good for
>> you then it is. To me it looks too rare/too red, and dry too, looks
>> like it would be tough to chew. Pastrami needs fat, well marbled, and
>> should be melt in the mouth tender.
>>
>> http://melissamccart.files.wordpress...2/pastrami.jpg
>
>Looks moist and marbled to me, but as you say, the proof is in the eating.
>BTW, your pic of a pastrami on rye is just plain silly. No one could even
>handle such a pile, let alone get it in their mouth. Give me a few more
>slices of rye and some mustard and horseradish and I'd make short work of
>it.
>
>nb
Looks like the sandwich I had many years ago at the Carnegie Deli in
Atlantic City. 12 oz of pastrami between slices of bread. I ordered
two more slices of bread, the wife and I split the meat between the
two sandwiches. STILL too much! But it was awesome. Moist and
tender.

Best -- Terry

On Dec 2, 3:45�pm, Terry > wrote:
> On Mon, 01 Dec 2008 18:52:29 GMT, notbob > wrote:
> >On 2008-12-01, Sheldon > wrote:
>
> >> Can't tell how it tastes from a picture but if you say it's good for
> >> you then it is. �To me it looks too rare/too red, and dry too, looks
> >> like it would be tough to chew. �Pastrami needs fat, well marbled, and
> >> should be melt in the mouth tender.
>
> >>http://melissamccart.files.wordpress...2/pastrami.jpg
>
> >Looks moist and marbled to me, but as you say, the proof is in the eating.
> >BTW, your pic of a pastrami on rye is just plain silly. �No one could even
> >handle such a pile, let alone get it in their mouth. �Give me a few more
> >slices of rye and some mustard and horseradish and I'd make short work of
> >it. �
>
> >nb
>
> Looks like the sandwich I had many years ago at the Carnegie Deli in
> Atlantic City. �12 oz of pastrami between slices of bread. �I ordered
> two more slices of bread, the wife and I split the meat between the
> two sandwiches. �STILL too much! �But it was awesome. �Moist and
> tender.

Many here have never been to Noo Yawk Cidy, never tasted real
pastrami. There were once many NYC delis that built exactly
sandwiches like the one pictured... there really isn't all that much
meat in it, it's all piled in the very center with little at the edges
and each slice i sfloded to poof it up before it's cut in half, that's
why the toothpics, were the slices laid flat and distributed evenly it
would look normal. And deli rye breads are purposely baked long and
narrow so the slices are about 1/3 smaller than normal. There's
definitely an art to building a NYC deli sammiche to make it appear to
be much more than is there... normally a deli sandwich contains 6
ouces of meat, perhaps 8 ounces if it's a Club. For corned beef and
pastrami fressers 6 ounces of meat is considered a lech and a schmeck
(skimpy), that's why they'll accompany it with at least fries, a dawg,
and a k'nish.. not to mention a bowlful of half sours, a mountain of
slaw, and a couple Cel-Ray tonics. Years ago I'd eat at kosher delis
often with my father, we'd usually order three sandwiches, corned
beef, pastrami, tongue... we'd each eat a half of each. At one time
you couldn't walk 1,000 feet in NYC without bumping into another
kosher deli. There are very few kosher delis anymore, mostly of the
few remaining they are kosher style, a big difference. Very few
people alive today have ever eaten kosher deli.