SmokeFire Pastrami

[MeBuff8Fan]

Had a 7 lb brisket flat in the freezer and decided last week to do pastrami. I put it in the brine on Saturday. Flipped it on Tuesday and took it out of the brine yesterday. Then I put it in water overnight to desalinate it a bit. Rubbed it this morning and tossed it on the SmokeFire at 225*. It took about 5 hours to get up to 160* and the stall. At that point I pulled it off and put it on a rack over hot water and tented foil over it. Put in the over at 325* for another 2 hours or so (until the temp was 197*). Took it out and wrapped it in butcher paper and placed into a cooler to rest. After 2 more hours took it out and sliced it for sandwiches. Also mixed up a Russian dressing for the Rye bread.

I'd never done pastrami before but I can tell you this won't be the last time. I have 5 vacuum sealed packs of the leftovers in the freezer now. I also put the brisket trimmings in the smoker and rendered the fat into smoked tallow for future use.