beef short rib pastrami

This recipe was derived from Meathead Goldwyn’s pastrami recipe on AmazingRibs.com. Meathead’s recipe is based on the brisket pastrami found at Katz’s Delicatessen in New York City, widely renowned for serving up the best pastrami and Reubens going around. Short ribs are like meat candy on a stick, packed with flavour and super tender. The advantage they have over brisket is they’re relatively simple to cook.

There are a lot of steps involved in making pastrami and a lot of waiting, about 7 or 8 days all up. But have no fear, it’s worth it! The majority of the time is spent waiting for the meat to cure. This merely involves giving the container holding the ribs a shake each day to mix up the cure. As discussed in Meathead’s article it is important that after the curing process the meat is left to desalinate. If you don’t do this the meat will be too salty.

After desalinating it’s time to smoke. Do so in exactly the same way you would normally smoke short ribs. Aim to cook somewhere in the 250f/120c to 275f/135c range and to get the internal temperature of the ribs to around the 203f mark, or, until they probe with little resistance. You can eat the pastrami off the bone (it’s hard to resist!) or thinly slice it up and make yourself some tasty Reuben Sandwiches on rye with Swiss cheese, sauerkraut, pickles and a Russian style dressing.

ingredients

for the curing stage

• 1 rack of beef short ribs
• Distilled water, roughly 2 litres
• 1.5 tsp Prague powder #1
• 1/2 cup kosher salt
• 2 garlic cloves, crushed
• 1/2 cup brown sugar

for the desalination stage

• Distilled water, roughly 2 litres

for the pastrami stage

• Lane’s BBQ Q-Nami Rub

directions

for the curing stage

1. Cut the fat cap off the ribs and the silvery membrane underneath the cap. You can also remove the skin on the underside of the ribs.
2. Add the Prague powder, salt, garlic and sugar to 2 litres of the distilled water and whisk until dissolved.
3. Add the ribs to the water in an airtight container . Ensure the ribs are fully submerged. Don’t use a container that is too big, roughly 3 times the size of the rack of ribs.
4. Store in the fridge for 6 days. Give the container a shake every day to mix up the cure.

for the desalination stage

1. Once the meat has cured rinse with cold water and return to the (cleaned) container with another 2 litres of water. Do this for a minimum of 6 hours.

for the pastrami stage

1. Remove the ribs from the water, pat dry with paper towel and add the rub.
2. Fire up your smoker and aim for 250f/120c – 275f/135c.
3. Add the ribs to the smoker along with a few chunks of your favourite wood if cooking with charcoal.
4. Smoke as you normally would smoke short ribs, until the internal temperature of the meat reaches somewhere between 200f to 205f. Or, until the meat probes with little resistance. After the bark has formed, usually 3 to 4 hours, spritz the ribs with a 50-50 mix of apple juice or vinegar and water every 45 minutes until done.
5. Ideally, allow to rest for at least an hour.
6. Enjoy your beef pastrami shorties straight out of the pit or slice it up and use for Reuben sandwiches.

For our traditional smoked beef short rib recipe click here.