Sous Vide Pastrami

Name: Sous Vide Pastrami
Prep time: 20 min
Cook time: 2880 min
Total time: 2900 min
Ingredients: 3-4 pound corned beef brisket (rinsed and patted dry); 2 tablespoons coriander seeds; 2 teaspoons ground mustard powder; 4 tablespoons whole black peppercorns; 1 teaspoon garlic powder; 2 teaspoons smoked paprika; 1 tablespoon brown sugar

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Making pastrami at home is easy with this Sous Vide Pastrami recipe! It turns out tender and juicy with the classic pastrami crust and you don’t need a smoker.

Similar to this sous vide brisket or sous vide corned beef recipe, pastrami prepared using the sous vide method will take about 48 hours to slow cook to tender perfection.

Close up view of thinly sliced pastrami on a wooden board.

While you need a little patience, the recipe couldn’t be easier to pull together! You just need corned beef brisket and a few pantry staples to make a spice rub.

If you crave New York deli style pastrami sandwiches or reuben sandwiches, you’ll want to make a batch of this pastrami. We love it thinly sliced on rye bread with mustard, sauerkraut, caramelized onions and swiss cheese!

And don’t forget a side of parmesan truffle fries or potato chips to complete the meal!

Jump to:

What is Sous Vide?
More sous vide recipes
What is pastrami?
What’s the difference between pastrami and corned beef?
Why this recipe works
Ingredients
Step by step instructions
Expert tips
Common questions
Make ahead and freezing instructions
Serving options
Recipe
💬 Comments

What is Sous Vide?

Sous vide is basically a method of cooking using what is called an immersion circulator (i.e. the sous vide machine). This immersion circulator circulates water in a temperature controlled water bath at a certain temperature to perfectly cook your food every time.

Because the temperature doesn't change, and it keeps your meat (or dessert, veggies, etc.) at the same temperature, your risk of overcooking becomes very minimal.

To learn even more about sous vide cooking, head over and read "what is sous vide cooking and the benefits of sous vide cooking."

What is the Water Displacement Method?

The displacement method is where you slowly submerge a ziplock bag in water pushing the air out of the top of the bag (the bag should be slightly open at the top to allow air to escape).

Use a clip (I use sous vide magnets) to clip the bag to the side to keep it from floating and getting air and/or water inside.

Tools Used

You will also want to check out these posts on the best sous vide containers and the best sous vide bags for more information!

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More sous vide recipes

Pastrami sandwich cut in half and arranged on a plate.

What is pastrami?

Pastrami is a seasoned, smoked meat that’s normally thinly sliced and served on sandwiches. It can come from the naval area of the cow or from the brisket.

What’s the difference between pastrami and corned beef?

While they both undergo a brining process, pastrami is seasoned and smoked after it is cured, while corned beef is boiled (without additional seasoning).

Both pastrami and corned beef are delicious thinly sliced and piled high on sandwiches. We also enjoy corned beef in this Instant Pot corned beef and cabbage recipe.

Why this recipe works

It’s a short cut recipe. Instead of brining the brisket for the pastrami, we’re using corned beef brisket which has already been cured.
Corned beef is best cooked low and slow, so this recipe is well suited to sous vide cooking. After 48 hours in the water bath, the pastrami is tender and juicy.
The recipe calls for a 3-4 pound corned beef brisket, so once it’s thinly sliced, it makes a lot of deli meat for sandwiches. Great for meal prep!
While the cook time is 48 hours, it’s very little hands on time and the recipe is pretty simple. You just need a corned beef brisket and a few pantry ingredients to make the rub.

Ingredients

For the full list of ingredients and quantities, please see the recipe card below.

You’ll need a 3-4 pound corned beef brisket, rinsed and patted dry. There are two different cuts of brisket - flat cut and point cut. We’re using point cut for this recipe.

For the rub mixture, you’ll need coriander seeds, ground mustard powder, whole black peppercorns, garlic powder, smoked paprika and brown sugar.

For the best flavor, be sure to use coriander seeds (not powder) and whole black peppercorns. They will be toasted and ground before being mixed with the other spices.

For a smoky flavor, you’ll want to use smoked paprika, and not regular paprika.

Feel free to use coconut sugar in place of the brown sugar.

Step by step instructions

Heat a sous vide water bath to 145F degrees.

Toast the coriander and peppercorns over medium heat until fragrant.

Grind with a spice grinder or mortar and pestle.

Mix all the rub ingredients together and rub all over the corned beef.

Corned beef brisket coated with rub mixture.

Place the beef in a vacuum sealable bag and pour any remaining rub over top of it.

Seal and cook in the water bath for 48 hours.

Corned beef brisket coated in spice rub and sealed in a bag.

Pastrami cooking in a sous vide water bath.

Remove from the bag and lightly pat dry.

Slice and serve on rye bread with mustard, sauerkraut, caramelized onions (optional) and swiss cheese.

You can also place it in an ice bath for 15-20 minutes, then store in the fridge or freezer until ready to use.

Expert tips

Make sure you buy a corned beef brisket that fits the container you use for your sous vide water bath.
You’ll want to make sure to remove the air from the sealable bag to avoid bacteria entering the bag. This is an important step that shouldn’t be skipped.
If air gets in the bag while the corned beef is cooking, just cut open the sealable bag, remove the air and reseal it again.
Since the corned beef has a long cooking time of 48 hours, you’ll need to ensure the water level stays high in the water bath. If the water evaporates, just top it up with more water to cover the corned beef.
To try to prevent evaporation, you can also cover the water bath with foil.
Don't skip the step of rinsing the corned beef. This gets rid of excess salt and brine from the outside.
To ensure the rub mixture sticks to the corned beef, pat it dry after you rinse it.
For the best flavor, toast and grind your whole spices.
For extra smoky flavor, add 1 teaspoon of liquid smoke to the corned beef.
When slicing pastrami, make sure you cut against the grain.

Sous vide pastrami sliced on a wooden cutting board.

Common questions

What size corned beef brisket should you use to make sous vide pastrami?

This recipe calls for a 3-4 pound corned beef brisket. As briskets are large cuts of beef, you’ll want to make sure the size you buy fits your sous vide water bath container.

Do you need to soak the corned beef before cooking it?

You don’t need to soak the corned beef, but you’ll want to rinse it well to remove the excess salt and brine on the outside. Your pastrami will still turn out plenty flavorful as it will be generously coated with the rub mixture.

What temperature is best to make sous vide pastrami?

As you want your pastrami to easily cut into thin slices, you’ll want the texture to be tender but somewhat firm. To achieve this, I recommend setting your sous vide water bath to 145F degrees.

How long does it take to sous vide pastrami?

At 145F degrees, it will take 48 hours to cook pastrami using the sous vide. If you cook it longer, the texture will become softer.

Can you use frozen corned beef brisket for this recipe?

Yes, and since the corned beef is cooking in the water bath for such a long time, there’s no need to increase the cooking time.

Make ahead and freezing instructions

You can sous vide pastrami in advance and store it in the fridge or freezer.

To do this, make sure you let the pastrami fully cool down in an ice bath for 15-20 minutes. Then, place the sealed bag in the fridge for up to 5 days or in the freezer for up to 3 months. When ready to enjoy, thaw overnight in the fridge.

You can serve it cold or warm. To serve the pastrami warm, place it in a 145F degree water bath until warmed through. Then, slice and serve.

Serving options

We love this pastrami for sandwiches with sauerkraut, caramelized onions and swiss cheese. Here are a few of our favorite sides to go with it:

If you love this recipe, leave a comment below and let us know your favorite thing about it. We'd also love to connect on Instagram! Follow us at @went_here_8_this for awesome recipes and all sorts of fun food stuff 🙂

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