Smoked Pastrami From Corned Beef

Traditional pastrami takes 5–7 days of curing before the meat ever reaches the smoker. By starting with store-bought corned beef, you can skip that entire curing process and make smoked pastrami at home in a single cook.

After an overnight soak to remove excess salt, the brisket is coated in a simple peppery rub and smoked low and slow until tender. The result is smoky pastrami with a dark pepper crust and rich beef flavor.

It’s a BBQ twist on classic deli-style pastrami, perfect piled high on rye bread with mustard or sliced thin for sandwiches and platters.

Buying Corned Beef vs Making Your Own

Corned beef is usually made from brisket, most often the brisket flat. However, depending on where you live or what your grocery store carries, it may also be labeled as brisket point, silverside, or topside.

For this recipe, we started with a 4 lb corned beef brisket flat from the grocery store. Any of these cuts will work well for pastrami.

Starting with store-bought corned beef saves you from having to cure a brisket yourself, which normally takes 5–7 days.

The curing brine used to make corned beef contains sodium nitrite (curing salt), which prevents bacterial growth during curing and gives the meat its characteristic pink color. The same curing ingredient is also used in foods like bacon, sausages, and hot dogs.

You can buy a brisket flat and brine your beef in a mixture of salt, sugar, and spices for 5-7 days. We have another recipe if you want to learn how to brine your own beef for pastrami.

How to make Smoked Pastrami from Corned Beef

1. Soak the corned beef overnight

Place your corned beef in a large container and cover it completely with cold water, then refrigerate. Soaking overnight is usually enough to remove excess salt.

If you want to be extra safe and ensure the pastrami isn’t too salty, you can soak it for up to 24 hours, changing the water halfway through.

Once the beef has finished soaking, remove it from the water, rinse it briefly under cold running water, and pat it dry with paper towels.

2. Make the Pastrami Rub

Once the salt has been removed from the corned beef and you have patted the brisket dry, it’s time to season it up with a great pastrami rub. 

Pastrami is known for a flavorful rub with a heavy dose of black pepper. It is also important not to add salt to your pastrami rub. 

Most barbecue rubs contain salt, but since the corned beef has already been brined in a salt solution you do not want to add more salt to the rub, or you will run the risk of the meat being far too salty to enjoy.

Our homemade pastrami rub is a simple combination of fresh-cracked, coarse-ground black pepper, brown sugar, garlic powder, onion powder, and smoked paprika. Add all the ingredients to a small mixing bowl and stir them until well-combined.

Pastrami rubs typically also include coriander and mustard seeds. I went for a more BBQ-style rub, but feel free to include those as well, ground up coarse.

Season the beef generously with the rub mixture, so you can build up as much of that delicious, peppery bark that makes pastrami great.

Once your beef is well-seasoned, just let it rest on the counter at room temperature while you fire up your smoker and bring it up to smoking temperature.

3. Smoke the Corned Beef

The main difference between corned beef and pastrami is how the meat is finished. Corned beef is typically boiled or braised, while pastrami is coated in spices and slow-smoked.

This gives it a wonderful smoky flavor that really takes it to the next level. 

I smoked this pastrami on the Pit Boss Pro 1600 at 250°F.

I used the Bear Mountain Bold BBQ Blend pellets, which are made from all-natural Oak, Mesquite, and Hickory. This combination of wood offers an extra flavorful and bold punch of smoky flavor that pairs perfectly with a robust dish such as pastrami.

Traditionally, the pastrami is steamed prior to serving, but I have found that I can achieve the same result by wrapping it in butcher paper once it hits about 165°F. 

The butcher paper creates a steamy environment and allows the pastrami to retain moisture as it finishes cooking. Your pastrami will be done cooking when the internal temperature hits between 195°F and 205°F. 

Just like with a traditional smoked brisket, it is important to let the meat rest prior to serving.

Because this was just a small piece of brisket, I let it rest for about an hour at room temperature to allow all the juices in the meat to redistribute.

How to serve Pastrami

By far, the most traditional way to serve pastrami is in a Reuben sandwich with rye bread, Swiss cheese, and deli mustard.

You can serve the pastrami either hot or cold, but if you want a real New York deli experience, then the pastrami absolutely must be served hot.

You can add sauerkraut, coleslaw, or pickles to add a bit of freshness and acidity as well.

What condiments go best on a Pastrami sandwich?

1.     Mustard – mustard and pastrami pair wonderfully together, especially great spicy deli mustard. Even if you are just making a basic sandwich, the mustard adds a tangy element that really brings the flavors in the pastrami to life.

2.     Russian Dressing (or Thousand Island Dressing) – another popular condiment for pastrami is Russian dressing. If you want to make a Reuben sandwich, just add a bit of Russian dressing to each slice of rye bread, then layer on some Swiss cheese, your pastrami, and a bit of sauerkraut. You can also substitute Russian Dressing with Thousand Island dressing to achieve a similar flavor profile.

3.     Mayonnaise – mayo is also a popular condiment for a great pastrami sandwich. It can be spread in a layer on the bread to add a bit of flavor, and it will also help hold the sandwich together!