Home-cured pastrami on rye

Cut the brisket down the middle so one piece carries both flat and point and fits the curing container. Trim the excess fat and sinew, leaving about half an inch of fat.

Combine kosher salt, pink curing salt, crushed bay leaves, coriander and mustard seeds, allspice berries, broken cinnamon sticks, peppercorns, cloves, arbol chilies, juniper berries, dark brown sugar and crushed garlic.

Whisk the cure into one and a half gallons of distilled water until dissolved. Starting with distilled water lets you skip boiling the brine.

Submerge the brisket, weigh it down with a heavy food-safe plate or bowl, and refrigerate five to ten days, flipping every other day.

Separate the flat from the point, trimming any remaining fat or silver skin, and rinse both thoroughly to desalinate.

Cover the point with a few inches of water in a large stock pot, bring to a boil and hold at a gentle covered simmer three to four hours.

Seal the flat in a vacuum bag, set the sous vide to 180 degrees and cook at least ten hours, until extremely tender but not falling apart.

Grind three tablespoons each of coriander seeds and black peppercorns until just cracked, and mix with a tablespoon of white sugar, a tablespoon of sweet paprika and a teaspoon each of garlic powder, onion powder and mustard powder.

Rub the mixture over the warm beef, top and bottom especially; run it under warm water for a few seconds if needed so the rub adheres.

Smoke at 225 Fahrenheit over cherry wood and hickory for one to four hours, depending on how much smoke and bark you want.

Rest at room temperature about ten minutes before carving.

Slice thin, stack high on two slices of untoasted Jewish rye with spicy brown mustard and pickles, and cut in half.