Pastrami Question

[jfsjazz]

I recently made pastrami from scratch and it turned out fantastic; a day or two later, still incredibly good.  I vac sealed and froze the leftovers.  When I thawed a couple of the frozen packets recently, the pastrami was very dry, leaving me to wonder if the vac sealer took out any remaining moisture that was in the meat.  

Should I have stopped the sealer as soon as the air was gone in the bags rather than let it go full cycle?

Your thoughts would be appreciated.

Joe

 

[oldschoolbbq]

Joe, I would have though it would still be juicy (it was when you froze it , wasn't it?) . I noticed you said you "recently" thawed some ; did that mean it had been in the Freezer a while

.

Can't imagine why anyone would freeze good munchies like that , but a stay in the ice stage will degrade taste after awhile.  Just MHO.

 

[boykjo]

The vacuum sealer should have locked in the moisture. Cold air would draw the moisture out and create ice crystals outside the meat and cause freezer burn if it was'nt vacuum sealed correctly and had air in it. Did you pull the moisture out while vacuum sealing and fill the reservoir up with liquids in the sealer...... Did you slice,seal then freeze or froze in sectional pieces.... I would steam the pastrami before serving

Joe