Modu Recipes

Seungwoo Dad's Pastrami

A week-long process of brining, sous vide, and oven roasting yields homemade pastrami barbecue with incredible tenderness and smoky flavor.

🙋 Recommended for

  • ⭐ Those who want to experience overwhelming satisfaction and quality from a week-long cooking project
  • ⭐ Those who want to use both sous vide and oven to achieve the ultimate crusty exterior and juicy interior in homemade barbecue
  • ⭐ Those who want to recreate authentic American-style pastrami for sandwiches at home

Ingredients needed 🛒6 servings

  • Frozen beef brisket (point cut)
  • Water (for brine)
  • Salt
  • Sugar
  • Prague powder (pink curing salt)
  • Pickling spice mix and various spices
  • Spice rub for exterior (crushed pepper, etc.)

Recipe 🍳

  1. Thaw the frozen brisket in the refrigerator for two days, then trim off tough connective tissue and excess fat from the surface to improve the final result [00:00:16].
  2. Prepare a brine by mixing water with salt, sugar, Prague powder, and a variety of spices in the correct proportions to enhance the meat's flavor [00:00:41].
  3. Submerge the trimmed meat completely in the brine, weigh it down with a heavy object to keep it submerged, and cure in the refrigerator for 120 hours (5 days) [00:01:34].
  4. After 5 days, remove the meat and rinse it thoroughly under cold running water to wash away excess salt and spices from the surface [00:04:39].
  5. Pat the meat dry, place it in a vacuum bag, seal tightly, and cook using a sous vide machine at 81.3°C (178°F) for 11 hours [00:05:00].
  6. After sous vide, remove the meat and let it cool completely in the refrigerator for 12 hours to stabilize the juices and texture [00:09:42].
  7. Once stabilized (now corned beef), generously coat the surface with a barbecue spice mix including crushed pepper, ensuring even coverage [00:10:05].
  8. Place the seasoned meat in an oven preheated to 110°C (230°F) and roast slowly for 12 to 24 hours until the exterior is dark and dry, aging to perfection [00:10:17].
  1. Trim the brisket neatly and cure it in a spiced brine for 5 days in the refrigerator [00:00:16].
  2. Rinse the cured meat, vacuum-seal, and sous vide at 81.3°C for 11 hours until tender [00:05:00].
  3. Chill in the fridge for 12 hours, coat with spice rub, then roast at 110°C for 12–24 hours [00:09:42].

Cooking tips 💡

  • Since the brisket point has ample internal fat, trim away thick external fat and connective tissue before cooking for a more tender texture [00:00:31].
  • Prague powder is essential for maintaining an appetizing pink color during long cooking; without it, the meat may turn gray [00:00:49].
  • During sous vide, if the vacuum bag floats, heat distribution will be uneven; weigh it down with a heavy object [00:05:15].
  • The darkening of the exterior during oven roasting is not burning, but a normal barbecue reaction where spices bind with proteins at the low temperature of 110°C [00:10:38].

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Beef brisket (point cut)SaltSugarCuring saltSpices