Sous Vide Thick Cut Pastrami Reubens

I've always been a fan of pastrami and I really enjoy making my own. The process takes a while but the actual work required is very small. Making your own also allows you to tweak the spices however you want, resulting in a bunch of fun directions you can take the pastrami.

When cooking pastrami, or any cured brisket like corned beef, the time and temperature combinations you can use are widely varied. For this pastrami I really like 145°F (62.8°C) for 36 to 48 hours, it creates the more traditional texture of pastrami while still being nice and moist. For a really moist pastrami you can do 135°F (57.2°C) for 2 to 3 days, or for a more traditional texture I recommend 156°F (68.9°) for 12 to 24 hours.

Sous vide corned beef reuben

Modernist Tools, Ingredients, and Techniques Used

If you would like more information about the modernist techniques, ingredients, and equipment used in the sous vide thick cut pastrami reubens recipe you can check out the following.

If you like this recipe you can get it and more than 85 other inspiring recipes to get you on your way to sous vide success. It's all in my best selling book Modernist Cooking Made Easy: Sous Vide - Get Your Copy Today!

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Sous Vide Thick Cut Pastrami Reubens

  • Published: June 03, 2015
  • By Jason Logsdon
  • Prep Time: 30 Minutes
  • Total Time: 42 Hours
  • Cooks: 145°F (62.8°C) for 36 to 48 hours
  • Serves: 6 to 12

Sous Vide Thick Cut Pastrami Reubens Ingredients

For the Brine

1 gallon water
1 1/2 cups salt
1 cup sugar
8 teaspoons pink salt
1 tablespoon pickling spice
1/2 cup brown sugar
5 garlic cloves, minced
1 tablespoon coriander seeds
1 tablespoon black peppercorns

For the Pastrami

3-4 pounds short ribs, brisket, or other tough cut (1350g to 1800g)

To Assemble

Rye bread, sliced
Swiss cheese slices
About 1 cup thousand island dressing
High quality Dijon mustard
Sauerkraut

Sous Vide Thick Cut Pastrami Reubens Instructions

For the Brine

At least 3 to 5 days before serving

To make the brine combine all the brine ingredients into a pot and bring to a boil. Reduce to a simmer for 5 minutes then remove from the heat and cool.

For the Pastrami

At least 3 to 5 days before serving

Place the brisket in a non-reactive container large enough to hold it. Cover with the cooled brine. Place in the refrigerator for 2 to 3 days, making sure the meat stays submerged the entire time.

Take your brisket out of the brine and smoke it. There are three normal methods for adding smoke to the pastrami, use whichever method you prefer.

1) Use a smoker or grill with wood chips to smoke the meat for a few hours before sous viding.

2) Grill the short rib meat quickly over on a hot grill to capture some smoke and charcoal flavor.

3) When sealing the meat in the sous vide bag add Liquid Smoke to it.

Once you have added the smoke to your short rib meat preheat your sous vide water bath to 137°F.

Seal the meat in a sous vide bag and place the bag into your water bath. Let it cook for 36 to 48 hours.

To Assemble

Remove the pastrami from the sous vide bag and slice thinly.

Brush one side of the bread slices with olive oil and toast them until browned. Place the cheese on the un-toasted side of the bread and toast in an oven or toaster oven with the broiler on until the cheese melts.

Add the thousand island dressing to half of the slices and the mustard to the other half. Pile the pastrami on the slices with the mustard and top with the sauerkraut. Place the two halves together and serve.

If you like this recipe you can get it and more than 85 other inspiring recipes to get you on your way to sous vide success. It's all in my best selling book Modernist Cooking Made Easy: Sous Vide - Get Your Copy Today!

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Jason logsdon headshot This article is by me, Jason Logsdon. I'm an adventurous home cook and professional blogger who loves to try new things, especially when it comes to cooking. I've explored everything from sous vide and whipping siphons to pressure cookers and blow torches; created foams, gels and spheres; made barrel aged cocktails and brewed beer. I have also written 10 cookbooks on modernist cooking and sous vide and I run the AmazingFoodMadeEasy.com website.
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