Hey you all, thanks a million for all the good words and support for my "great experiment". This seemed like a huge challenge at the beginning yet it's turning out to be smooth running.
I'd like to especially thank you all who make pastrami all the time and post those delicious results for all the rest of us to drool over!
I looked over your threads and gained a lot of insight...thanks for sharing.
Herky, I think Ronp answered that best, so I'll leave that be. I'm the novice here and he will give you the right info you need.
Thanks Dan; got a lot of oak, some pecan, can get some apple, and have a nice load of Alder from an exhange with DesertLites that I never have used yet. I wanted something mild, and ALX recommended alder for the smoke, so that's my plan. No maple but can get pecan if I need to no worries. What is pastrami "normally" smoked over? I have no clue! Just know I like it, and also would like to use what I've got. I'd appreciate any more info you can share, since I'm thinkin' this is gonna be a first of many pastrami's
Fire, if you can do that I'd say do it. Pick a good one, away from anything it can damage coming down and split it well and take care of it under cover during the seasoning. You'll have one heck of a lot of wood, but well tended you can sell some for those who burn fireplaces or woodstoves.