Wild game meat brined, cured, smoked and steamed is turned into a delicious lunch meat. This venison pastrami or elk pastrami is a perfect way to use your wild game in a unique way.
Step by step directions for making homemade pastrami.

Why make your own pastrami
We have freezers full of wild game meat in our house and I'm always looking for more ways to use it. This homemade pastrami is so tasty and is a perfect way to turn game meat into something a bit different.
Use this homemade pastrami as a lunch meat in sandwiches or on a meat and cheese platter at a party. We often package up the slice meat in freezer bags and then give as gifts for the holidays.
Making your own pastrami means you know exactly what goes into your food. It's fun to transform an ordinary cut of meat into extraordinary cured food.
Homemade pastrami takes several days for the meat to cure and then it's smoked and finally steamed in the oven. Because this process takes so long, we often do several small roasts all at once.
We store the pastrami in the freezer and pull out small packages whenever we like. Serve up this delicious sliced meat as an appetizer or use it to make a classic corned beef sandwich (with pastrami instead of the corned beef!)
Key ingredients
Meat
- Venison or elk roasts - you can also use beef if you prefer.
Brine
- Pickling spice - use your favorite mixture, homemade or store-bought.
- Kosher salt - you can also use canning salt
- Pink curing salt - also called Prague #1 powder. Curing salt is table salt with sodium nitrite used for preserving meats. The curing salt also helps with the coloring of the meat.
- Make certain this is Prague #1 powder, and not Prague #2 powder. Prague #1 is used for short cures that will be eaten relatively quickly. Prague #2 is for meats that require a long cure, like hard salami.
- Brown sugar
- Water - we use well water, but any filtered water is fine
Rub
- Coriander seeds
- Mustard seeds
- Black peppercorn
- Smoked paprika
- Garlic powder
Step by step directions
There are four basic parts to making pastrami - brine, rub, smoke and steam. Each step is outlined below.
Brine
- Mix pickling spice, kosher salt, pink curing salt, brown sugar and water in a large container.
- Stir until brown sugar and salts have completely dissolved.
- Place meat in a container and pour brine over the meat so it is fully covered. Discard any remaining brine.
- Cover and refrigerate for 5-7 days. The number of days is up to you and gives you a bit of flexibility.
- Turn meat halfway through the brining day on day 3 or 4.
- Remove meat from brine and discard brine.
- Rinse meat, removing all seasonings from the brine, and then soak in a tub of water for 2-3 minutes. Discard water.
- Place meat on a baking sheet. Pat meat dry on all surfaces.
Rub
- Create rub mixture by combining coriander seed, mustard seed, and black peppercorn in a spice mixer or a food processor.
- Pulse just until some of the spices break apart
- Add smoked paprika and garlic powder
- Rub spice mixture onto meat, covering all sides
Smoke
- Place meat on a grill in a smoker. Insert a thermometer in the center of the largest piece of meat.
- Set smoker temperature to 160°F and add one pan of wood chips. We used alder wood chips.
- After the smoke dissipates, add another pan of wood chips.
- Leave meat in smoker until internal temperature of meat reaches 145°. This will take between 4-6 hours, depending on your smoker and the size of your venison roasts.
- Once meat reaches 145°, remove from smoker and place on a baking rack
Steam
- Place rack on top of a baking sheet
- Preheat oven to 275°
- Carefully pour hot tap water onto the baking sheet. Fill pan about halfway up.
- Cover fully with tin foil. Wrap the meat tightly so the steam that is created won't escape.
- Carefully place in oven and bake for one hour.
- Remove from oven and let rest for 10-15 minutes. Remove foil, being careful of the steam.
- Once meat has cooled, slice and eat!
Recipe tips
- There are a lot of steps to this recipe. Be certain to read through the entire recipe prior to starting.
- We often prepare 4-6 small venison or elk roasts all at the same time. The amount of brine does not change.
- Plan ahead for the size of the container you'll need and the amount of fridge space needed.
- It may take a bit of time for the salt and sugar to fully dissolve in the brine. Once you stir it well, let rest for 5 minutes and then stir again.
- Brine for at least 5 days, but no longer than 7 days. This gives you a bit of flexibility on which day to smoke and steam.
- The actual smoking time will vary depending on your smoker and the size of your roasts.
- Use only 2 pans of smoke for the pastrami. We've experimented with 3 pans, but the smoke flavor was a bit too strong.
- When slicing meat, slice across the grain
Equipment
This is what we've used to create the pastrami. There are many different items you can use instead. Try to use what you already have on hand, if possible.
- 6 Quart covered container
- Round mixing container
- Mini grinder/food processor
- Smoker
- Wood Chips - Alder or Apple
- Thermometer
Recipe Faqs
Plan on consuming homemade pastrami stored in the refrigerator within 10 days.
Pastrami can also be stored in a deep freeze at 0° F will maintain its quality for 2-3 months. However, the meat will not go bad if properly stored for longer. It may lose some moisture if stored longer than 3 months.
Traditional pastrami is made with beef brisket. You can also use roasts from venison, elk, moose, antelope or bison.
Serving suggestions
Once sliced, this homemade pastrami is perfect eaten anyway you'd eat any lunch meat.
- Add to a meat and cheese tray
- Use on a breakfast sandwich
- Nibble with cheese and crackers
- Turn into a fabulous grilled sandwich with sauerkraut and Swiss cheese
More smoked recipes
If you like to smoke your own meats, you'll also want to check out these fabulous recipes!
If you make this recipe, I’d love to hear about it! Leave a comment below and snap a picture and tag me on Instagram @beyondthechickencoop
Be certain to check out all my wild game recipes!
Venison Pastrami
Equipment
- Smoker
- Measuring Cups
- Measuring Spoons
- 6 Quart Container
- Cookie Sheet
Ingredients
Meat
- 4-5 pounds venison roasts (can also use elk roasts, we use small several smaller 1 pound roasts)
Brine
- 1 gallon water
- 1 cup kosher salt
- ¾ cup brown sugar
- 3 tablespoons pickling spice
- 2 tablespoons pink cure salt (also called Prague #1 powder)
Rub
- 2 tablespoons black peppercorns
- 1 tablespoon coriander seeds
- 1 tablespoon mustard seed
- 1 tablespoon garlic powder
- 1 tablespoon smoked paprika
Instructions
Brine
- Combine water, kosher salt, brown sugar, pickling spice and pink cure salt in a large container. Stir until dissolved.1 gallon water, 1 cup kosher salt, ¾ cup brown sugar, 3 tablespoons pickling spice, 2 tablespoons pink cure salt
- Place roasts in a separate container and pour brine over the top so all meat is well covered.4-5 pounds venison roasts
- Cover and refrigerate for 5-7 days, turning roasts at least once on day 3 or day 4.
- Remove meat from brine and discard brine. Rinse meat removing all spices.
- Soak meat in fresh cold water for 2-3 minutes
- Place meat on a baking rack and let the water drain off. Pat meat dry with paper towels.
Rub
- Place peppercorns, coriander seeds and mustard seeds in a spice blender or food processor. Blend just until spices are broken up.2 tablespoons black peppercorns, 1 tablespoon coriander seeds, 1 tablespoon mustard seed
- Mix in garlic powder and smoked paprika1 tablespoon garlic powder, 1 tablespoon smoked paprika
- Rub mixed spices all over meat
Smoke
- Place meat on racks in smoker. Set smoker temperature to 160°.
- Place one pan of wood chips in smoker. We used alder wood chips.
- When wood chips stop smoking (approximately 1 hour) add a 2nd pan of wood chips
- Continue cooking in smoker until meat reaches 145°. This may take 4-6 hours.
- Remove meat from smoker and place on a baking rack over a cookie sheet
Steaming
- Preheat oven to 275°
- Pour hot tap water into cookie sheet, filling pan about half full. This will become your steam tray.
- Wrap meat and pan with foil so that no steam will escape during cooking
- Carefully move pan to oven
- Bake in preheated 275° oven for 1 hour
- Remove from oven and allow to sit covered for 10-15 minutes. Carefully remove foil.
- Slice when meat is cooled
Notes
- There are a lot of steps to this recipe. Be certain to read through the entire recipe prior to starting.
- We often prepare 4-6 small venison or elk roasts all at the same time. The amount of brine does not change.
- Plan ahead for the size of brining container you'll need and the amount of fridge space needed.
- It may take a bit of time for the salt and sugar to fully dissolve in the brine. Once you stir it well, let rest for 5 minutes and then stir again.
- Brine for at least 5 days, but no longer than 7 days. This gives you a bit of flexibility on which day to smoke and steam.
- The actual smoking time will vary depending on your smoker and the size of your roasts.
- Use only 2 pans of smoke for the pastrami. We've experimented with 3 pans, but the smoke flavor was a bit too strong.
- When slicing meat, slice across the grain
Nutritional Disclaimer:
Nutritional information is provided as a courtesy and should only be construed as an estimate rather than a guarantee. To obtain the most precise nutritional information in a provided recipe, you should calculate the nutritional information with the exact ingredients you are using when preparing the recipe using your preferred nutrition calculator.
Nutrition
Resources: The Meat Eater
Christy says
I cannot find the pink salt prague # 1 powder what can I use in its place?
Kathy says
Hi Christy,
You can use Insta Cure #1 or pink curing salt #1. I do have a link to Amazon for it. Just click on the item listed in the ingredients.
Kathy
Christy says
I have a masterbuilt sport elite smoker that I acquired from a deceased partner. Who always used it I don't have any experience with it. I do not have a manual for instruction. I do think I have all parts. Even though it's a smoker can I operate it without chips for your cooking instruction? It does have some Mesquite chips that I could use? Would mesquite be considered mild?
Kathy says
Hi Christy,
Mesquite chips are fairly strong, but if you like the flavor, you can use them. As far as the smoker, I'm not certain which cooking step you are asking about. You'll want to know the temperature of your smoker so you can monitor it. The meat is cooked on the smoker and then finished in the oven.
Kathy
Christy says
What flavor of smoking chips
Kathy says
We used alder wood chips. You can use any mild flavored wood.
Enjoy! 🙂
Leanne says
My venison is steaming right now, can’t wait!! How long will it last?
Thanks from Australia 😊
Kathy says
Yay!!! You're in for a treat. The meat should last for 7-10 days in the refrigerator. We fully cool, then slice and freeze in smaller portions in vacuum sealed bags. They last in the freezer for up to a year if well sealed and frozen in a deep freezer. We use it for sandwiches, appetizer trays and give away as gifts.
Be sure to let me know how it turns out!
Kathy 🙂
Thomas says
Thanks so much for this awesome recipe. I made mine with a Moose roast and added apple cider vinegar into the water when I steamed it, came out so juicy and tender. 10/10
Kathy says
Thank you! So glad you loved it! We love having another option to use up our game meat with a delicious recipe! I appreciate your comment!
Kathy 🙂
Dawn says
I bet this venison pastrami makes the most amazing sandwich!! Though, I bet it's also delicious on its own with some mustard. Love to give it a try! 🙂
Kathy says
You're right! Delicious sandwiches and totally tasty on it's own! 🙂
David @ Spiced says
I make my own pastrami each winter, but I've never tried doing it with wild game. This is a great idea given the excess wild game meat you've got, Kathy! I'm going to forward this off to my uncle who always has a deep freezer overflowing with venison! (He typically grinds it, but there is only so much ground venison you can use before you need to find a new idea!)
Kathy says
Thank you!!! I hope your uncle enjoys this recipe. We run into the same issue of ending up with so much ground burger. It's nice to find some recipes that work well with venison!
Kathy 🙂