lamb shoulder pastrami… worth the wait!

This recipe brings together two of my favourite foods to cook, and eat… pastrami and slow smoked lamb. Beef shortrib pastrami is often curing away in our fridge and a lamb shoulder often finds its way into the Weber. So why not blend the two? The curing process of pastrami takes time, just over a week all told, but that merely involves it sitting in the fridge doing it’s thing.

Ask your butcher to de-bone the shoulder, roll it and tie with butcher’s string. Ask him not to use too many ties otherwise you will lose that precious bark when taking it off once it’s cooked. 4 or 5 ties is enough. It will lose it’s shape a little when cooking but that’s not a big issue.

Meathead from amazingribs.com has an excellent guide to curing discussing the do’s and dont’s as well has handy tips. You can read his article here.

One of the ways to serve pastrami is in a Reuben sandwich usually consisting of swiss cheese, sauerkraut and a Russian style sauce on toasted rye bread. Our interpretation of the traditional Reuben can be read here. For the lamb version I decided to mix things up by swapping the sauerkraut and Russian style sauce for kimchi… recipe here.

ingredients

for the curing stage

• 1 boned and rolled lamb shoulder (approximately 1.5 kg)
• 2 litres distilled water
• 1.5 tsp Prague powder #1
• 1/2 cup kosher salt
• 2 garlic cloves, crushed
• 1/2 cup brown sugar

for the desalination stage

• 2 litres distilled water

for the pastrami stage

• Your favourite lamb rub or a blend of the following…
• 2 tbsp coarse ground black pepper
• 1 tsp paprika
• 1/2 tsp garlic powder
• 1/2 tsp onion powder
• 1/2 tbsp ground coriander
• 1/4 tsp mustard powder
• 1/2 tsp dried thyme
• 1/2 tsp dried rosemary

directions

for the curing stage

1. If you’re de-boning the shoulder yourself once finished roll the shoulder and use some butcher’s string to hold it together in a neat roll shape. Don’t use too much string other wise you will lose some of that precious bark when removing the string after smoking.
2. Add the Prague powder, salt, garlic and sugar to 2 litres of the distilled water and whisk until the dry ingredients have dissolved.
3. Add the rolled shoulder to the water in an airtight container only slightly larger than than the lamb ensuring it is fully submerged. Add more water if necessary.
4. Store in the fridge for 8 days. Give the container a shake every day to mix up the cure.

for the desalination stage

1. Once the meat has cured take it out of the container then rinse with cold water and return to the (cleaned) container with another 2 litres of distilled water. Do this for a minimum of 8 hours to desalinate the shoulder so its not overly salty.

for the pastrami stage

1. Remove the shoulder from the water, pat dry with paper towel and apply the rub.
2. Fire up your smoker and aim for 275f/135c.
3. Add the shoulder to the smoker along with a few chunks of your favourite wood. We used cherry.
4. Cook until the internal temperature of the meat reaches somewhere between 200f to 205f. Or, until the meat probes with little resistance.
5. Allow to rest for an hour.
6. Enjoy your lamb pastrami straight out of the cooker or slice it up and use it for Reuben style sandwiches.

You can find our other lamb ideas here.