BBQ recipes, product reviews, & how-to's
This smoked brisket recipe has been a work in progress over the years. After many experiments of successes and failures, this smoked brisket recipe has become my go-to. This post is perfect for smoked brisket for beginners. Ah, brisket. The cut of beef I was…
If you’ve seen other posts besides that popular one here on my blog, then you’ll notice that I love me some tri-tip. My favorite way to cook up some tri tip is to rub it, smoke it, and then sear it in a cast iron…
This post is sponsored by the Certified Angus Beef ® brand in conjunction with a social media campaign through Sunday Supper LLC. All opinions are my own.
Are you interested in making homemade brisket pastrami? Or looking for a new recipe? I’m guessing its either one, otherwise you might be here because you are either a super loyal fan (hi mom!) or a bot. Anyway, making this recipe for homemade brisket pastrami was a fun process from start to finish, from making the brine to that glorious moment when you slice into the finished product five days later.
Pastrami and corned beef look similar, usually come from the same cut of beef (brisket), and go through a brining process. But the main difference is how they are cooked. While corned beef is usually boiled then simmered until done, pastrami is smoked (and, as in this recipe, wrapped near the end and cooked on a higher heat).
Most recipes call for a five pound brisket flat. I tend to find them to be bigger at my local butcher who sells Certified Angus Beef. The one I used for this recipe (and in these pictures) was close to nine pounds! That just meant more homemade brisket pastrami for me!
Not a ton of trimming to do on this one, just trimming off the silver skin on one side (which can take a little while) and leaving the fat side mostly the same, which mine came trimmed down to 1/4 inch mostly (if you want details on how to trim a brisket, check out this blog post).
The process of curing the meat starts with making an awesome brine. A simple brine consists of kosher salt and sugar mixed in water, but brining for homemade brisket pastrami requires more ingredients to help with the curing process. For this brine, I use kosher salt, sugar, brown sugar, honey, Prague powder #1, ground black pepper, garlic, and pickling spice. Speaking of pickling spice…
If you have researched other homemade brisket pastrami recipes, you will see a lot of them have coriander seed, mustard seed, allspice, peppercorn, chili peppers, and bay leaves. Pickling spice combines all of these ingredients, saving you from the need to buy all of these spices separately. If you can’t find this at your local grocer, you can always head to Amazon like I did.
Combine all of these ingredients with two quarts of water in a large pot and heat to a boil. Keep it this way until the salt and sugars have dissolved, which should take about five minutes. Once those two ingredients have been dissolved, add two quarts of ice water to the pot to cool it down. We do this so the meat doesn’t cook while brining, thus ruining the whole dang thing. Experts say the water should be about 40 degrees Fahrenheit, so it’s a good idea to aim for a temp in that range.
Pour the brine into your bucket or whatever container is large enough to submerge your brisket in a gallon of brine. While I do have a standard, five gallon bucket I use for brining poultry, I went to the store and bought a flat, rectangular storage bin that was big enough to hold a brisket flat and it worked great. Keep the brisket in the brine for five days, flipping over each day.
Now that you have exercised patience over the last five days, the time has come to exercise more patience and smoke this brisket pastrami! Preheat your grill/smoker to 275F using indirect heat. I used oak wood for this one because I like the flavor of that smoke with the brisket.
While the grill is heating up, make sure to rinse off the brisket thoroughly when you pull it out of the brine. When that’s done, pat dry with paper towels. Now smother some spicy brown mustard and apply a simple beef rub, even one that is a little heavy on the pepper. Once that is done, put on the smoker and let it ride for five hours or until the meat reaches an internal temp around 160F. I like to use the Thermoworks Smoke (as well as the Signals) to monitor temps while I am away.
When you’ve reached that point (five hours of smoke or internal temp of around 160F), get a large cutting board and lay out a couple of sheets of aluminum foil that are large enough to wrap the brisket. Take the cutting board with the foil sheets laid out to the grill, remove the brisket from the grill and place on the foil. Wrap tightly, crank up the heat to 325F, and place the wrapped brisket back on the grill.
Let cook until the internal temp reaches around 195F, then remove the brisket pastrami from the grill, place on your cutting board and open up the foil halfway, then let rest for about 30 minutes before slicing.
It is important to let meat rest after cooking so the juices can build up inside and enhance the flavor. To get the best bite, slice your homemade brisket pastrami against the grain, which will likely be at a diagonal angle as seen in the picture at the top of this post.
You can either eat the slices as they are or make some epic homemade brisket pastrami reuben sandwiches by taking said slices and putting them on a sandwich with thousand island dressing, sauerkraut, and melted Swiss cheese all in between a couple of slices of toasted rye bread. So. Dang. Good!
Making pastrami at home is so much better than store-bought! While it takes five days to brine, and another seven hours to cook, it's actually a fun process from start to finish. You'll be so glad you did!
Note: This New York strip steak and shrimp post is sponsored by the Certified Angus Beef ® brand in conjunction with a social media campaign through Sunday Supper LLC. All opinions are my own. When a special occasion like Valentine’s Day or Mother’s Day comes…
How To Trim a Brisket Ah, brisket trimming. The joyful moments that come cutting off fat and silver skin. While it may not be the most exciting part of prepping, knowing how to trim a brisket is very important. You trim a brisket for multiple…
I have never understood the obsession some people have with prime rib. I’m guessing it’s because the only time I’d see it was when I was a kid and my parents would take our family to some buffet restaurant and prime rib would be the main feature. And it usually wasn’t that great. As an adult I’ve had the desire to buy one to cook, but the price tag has been too high for me to try (especially with no prior experience cooking it before). Since I like to expand my horizons and try new things, I decided the Christmas holiday season was the time to give it a shot and do a smoked prime rib. And I’m so glad I did because it was AWESOME!
If you go to the butcher or meat department at your local grocery store, you may see a lot of rib roast or bone-in rib roast, but no cuts called prime rib. This is because the rib roast is usually described as the most desirable part of the rib section on a cow, or the “prime” portion. Hence, the name “prime rib”.
Nope. As described in the paragraph above, the term “prime rib” refers to the beef ribs in the “prime” section for meaty goodness, usually between ribs 6 through 12. But if you can find a USDA Prime rib roast, then it will have better flavor due to the increase in marbling (interwoven fat in the meat that renders when cooked).
To summarize, the rib roast IS prime rib.
I picked out a bone-in rib roast that had three bones and was a little over eight pounds. It came bound together with two strands of butcher’s twine (underneath the shrink wrap, of course). I asked the butcher to french the bones for me and they did it free of charge (keep in mind some butchers may charge a fee, so you may want to ask beforehand).
The “frenching” of the bones means to trim down some of the fat and meat around the bone to expose it and give it a more enticing look when cooked. This doesn’t affect the flavor of the meat, but it sure does look pretty.
Note that I got an eight pound prime rib (aka-rib roast) because I was feeding 10 adults and some kids (also note that I had some left over, too).
Before I started prepping the prime rib I set my grill/smoker to 225F over indirect heat using pecan wood. You may want to allot about 10-15 minutes to get up to temps. Once I tended to the meat, the first thing I did was cut off the butcher’s twine because I wanted to trim the fat off the outside portion. Some folks like to keep it there but I decided to trim if off as a personal preference. Either way, I applied a simple rub comprised of kosher salt, ground pepper, and garlic powder on the rib roast.
After that, I smothered the roast in a compound butter comprised of garlic, herbs, parmesan cheese, and butter. I like to place a couple of sprigs of rosemary on top because I love how it pairs with beef. Then I take a couple of strands of butcher’s twine and tie it back up how it was before, tying the twine over the rosemary sprigs, too.
Once the smoker is up to temp, I place the roast on the grill bone side down. I like to use a digital meat thermometer, such as the Thermoworks Smoke, to gauge the internal temps throughout the process, making sure I don’t overcook it. I put the probe in the middle of the thickest portion of the roast.
Keep in mind the cooking time will vary per roast. This eight pound roast took just over four hours at 225F to get to an internal temp of 120F. When it hit that temp, I took the roast off, got the grill up to a roasting temp of 400F, and wrapped the roast loosely in foil while the grill gets up to the desired temp.
Now that the grill is at 400F, I unwrap the roast and place it back on the grill until my Thermoworks Smoke shows I’ve reached an internal temp of 125 degrees, which is good for rare. If you want medium rare, aim for 135. I expect there to be a little bit of carry over temp after the meat is removed, meaning the beef will continue to cook internally for a few degrees more. I like my steaks and roasts at 135F internal, which is good enough for medium rare.
Finally, I let the smoked prime rib rest for about 10-15 minutes before I slice. I do this to let the meat rest and build up juices inside for a better bite. Some like to slice the bones off at this point, but I like to make things difficult on myself and kept the bones on there while slicing. Didn’t matter. It tasted amazing anyway!
In closing, I’m happy I took the chance and did this smoked prime rib. I hope you take my advice and go for it, as well. Follow this recipe and I’m pretty confident you’ll find it better than your local buffet. And if you want to smoke something else to pair with this smoked prime rib, I recommend my smoked buttery shrimp recipe.
Prime rib is the crown jewel to any holiday feast and adding some smoke flavor will help you win over any hungry crowd!
Nutrition information isn’t always accurate.
Ever since I got into smoking meat, I’ve been told that brisket burnt ends are the pinnacle of barbecue. To be honest, I never had much of an interest in making them. After waiting 12-14 hours of smoking a brisket, then letting it rest for…
What is a reverse sear? In case you need a refresher, a traditional sear is when you start out cooking food at a high heat, which usually begins around at 500F. Once the meat has been seared on both sides, then it is cooked in…
If you follow me on Instagram, you will see smoked tri tip show up on my feed often. It’s definitely in my top three of meats to barbecue. It is the first meat I ever smoked. I’ve prepared it in different ways and reverse sear tri tip is my favorite method. It also makes for some of the best street tacos!
Before I get into the process for this recipe, let me answer some questions you may have.
The tri tip is a cut of beef that comes from the bottom sirloin on the cow. It is boneless and tender. As with other cuts of beef, you will want to look for some good marbling (small streaks of interwoven fat) in the meat. There are two different grains in this cut, which can make slicing against the grain a little tricky if you only slice it the same direction the whole way.
This cut of beef gets it’s origins in Oakland, California where a butcher started selling it whole in the 1950s. Prior to this, the tri tip was usually grinded up into hamburger meat or sliced up for steaks. This cut became popular on the central California coast in the Santa Maria area.
With that, the preferred method of cooking this cut was to grill over an open flame from California red oak wood and finish at medium rare. There are deviations of how it is prepared nowadays and the reverse sear method is one of them.
Before we get into reverse sear, let’s make sure we cover what it means to sear. Searing is when you cook something over direct, high heat to get that nice, browned crust.
Once that is attained, then it is put in the oven to cook at a lower temp until done. Reverse sear is the opposite of that: you cook the meat low and slow first, THEN sear to finish.
In this smoked tri tip recipe, we are reverse sear by smoking the meat first to get that smoke flavor infused. After that, crank the high heat to finish the smoked tri-tip off with that nice, flavorful crust.
Let’s walk you through how to trim a tri tip. When you get this roast from the butcher, it may or may not come with a fat cap. Whether you leave that on or not is up to you, but keep in mind that fat is flavor.
Most tri-tip I get has it already removed, but if silver skin remains, then take a boning knife and remove any silver skin that exists on the meat. You will usually find silver skin on the bottom.
To remove, barely put the tip of the blade of the knife underneath the silver skin. Next, push across until the tip of the blade appears from under that surface. Proceed with a gentle, sawing motion down the length of the silver skin until it is removed. Keep in mind there will likely be more than one spot on the roast with a patch of this filmy substance.
Once that is done, simply take your favorite seasoning or rub and apply. For this smoked tri tip recipe, I recommend keeping it simple with a salt and pepper-based rub. There’s a Santa Maria seasoning from Susie Q’s that I love for this cut. I like to go light on the rub when it comes to this cut because I like the flavor to stand out and not be overpowered by seasoning.
Let the meat sit at room temp for a little while and let the spices sweat into the meat. Raw beef can sit out at room temperature for up to 30 minutes and still be okay.
If you are going keto, choose a rub with minimal to no sugar. A lot of beef rubs are like this, but check the label to be sure.
Learning how to smoke tri tip is simple. With your grill at 225 degrees on indirect heat with oak wood, simply put the meat on the grill, close the lid, and let it ride to 120 degrees internal temp. Since this roast cooks like a steak, make sure to monitor the temp regularly.
I prefer using my Thermapen ONE instant read digital thermometer made by Thermoworks. It gives me quick, accurate temps without having to stand over the a hot grill for long. A wired probe device, such as the Smoke X, allows me to track both temps in the grill and in the food.
Make sure when checking temps on any meat, that you go into the middle of the thickest portion. That way, you know it will be thoroughly cooked to the temp you desire.
Pull the smoked meat off when internal temp hits around 120 to 125 degrees and get ready to reverse sear.
When the meat is around 100 degrees, start to get a grill or stove top burner going and your cast iron skillet heated. Some folks prefer to do the reverse sear on the grill grates and get those nice grill marks, but I love to sear in a cast iron skillet. I want that Maillard reaction to take place on the whole surface of the meat, not just the parts that touch the grates.
When you reverse sear tri tip in a skillet, it also allows you to add more flavors to the crust of the meat. Use avocado oil, garlic, and rosemary in the pan and let it cook in. Avocado oil is ideal for cooking at high temps because of it’s 500 degree smoke point, which is why I recommend it.
For the finish, I like my steaks medium rare (and sometimes medium). With that in mind, I take the roast out of the pan (after searing on both sides) when internal meat temp hits around 125-130 degrees. Keep in mind that there will be some carry over cooking going on, meaning the meat will likely rise a few degrees while resting.
Let the meat rest about 10 minutes before slicing. Doing this will allow the reverse seared meat to relax and let the juices build up, meaning more flavor.
With any cut of meat, you’ll want to slice against the grain to get a more tender bite. Slicing tri-tip against the grain can be a little tricky, so this section will walk you through how to slice tri tip. As mentioned earlier, it has two different grains running through it. When slicing, the main section to watch for is by the corner opposite of the crook in the meat.
You should be able to see the grains switching directions around that way. Slice right down the middle of that as to separate the meat into two and slice against the respective grains. See my video at the beginning of this article for a visual!
And there it is: you now know how to prep, trim, smoke, sear, and slice it, too. If you want to try a variation of this recipe, I recommend you checking out my teriyaki marinated tri-tip!
Speaking of recommendations, this classic chimichurri recipe is the perfect pairing for grilled meats. It’s blend of herbs and garlic, oil and vinegar make it the best steak sauce!
Want some more inspiration for what to do with tri tip? Possibly have leftovers? Check these recipes:
Tri-tip is a roast that cooks like a steak, doesn't take too long to smoke and just might become your favorite cut of beef! Keto friendly, too!
Nutrition information isn’t always accurate.
Who doesn’t love a good breakfast? If you’re cooking up breakfast at home and want some sort of pork product to go with your pancakes and eggs, most folks make a choice between sausage or bacon. But why not both? You can have a complete…
