48-Hour Sous-Vide Wagyu Brisket Pastrami with Infused Rye Caraway Butter, Charred Cabbage, and Dill-Pickled Mustard Seeds

48-Hour Sous-Vide Wagyu Brisket Pastrami with Infused Rye Caraway Butter, Charred Cabbage, and Dill-Pickled Mustard Seeds

This is the pastrami that makes Katz’s look cute. Full packer A5 wagyu brisket gets a 14-day black-pepper-and-coriander cure, cold-smoked for 6 hours over cherry and hickory, then sealed and cooked sous-vide at 155 °F for exactly 48 hours until it’s so tender you can cut it with a stern glance. Sliced steaming-hot, piled on grilled rye that’s been slathered with a cannabis-infused rye-caraway compound butter, topped with charred cabbage and a spoonful of dill-pickled mustard seeds that pop like tiny fireworks. Served with a shot of ice-cold dill aquavit on the side, because balance.

Serves 12 very generous sandwiches  

Active time: 4 hours spread over 3 weeks | Total time: 21 days + 10-day infusion  

Dosage: 20 mg THC per sandwich (240 mg total in the rye butter)

Infusion (start 10 days ahead)  

Decarboxylation  

6.86 g cannabis flower testing 22 % THC  

240 °F for 40 minutes, cool in oven.

Infused rye-caraway butter (makes 2 cups, exactly 240 mg usable THC)  

1 lb highest-quality unsalted butter, softened  

¼ cup toasted caraway seeds  

2 shots rye whiskey (reduced to 2 tbsp)  

6.86 g decarbed flower  

1 tsp sunflower lecithin  

1 tsp kosher salt

Brown half the butter until nutty, add caraway and reduced rye, cool slightly. Blend everything (including raw butter, weed, lecithin, and salt) until smooth. Pour into mason jar, water-bath 185 °F for 2 hours, shaking every 20 minutes. Strain hot, whip fluffy while cooling. Chill solid until needed.

Pastrami  

1 whole packer wagyu brisket (12–15 lb)  

Cure (for 14 days):  

200 g kosher salt  

100 g sugar  

50 g pink curing salt #1  

⅓ cup cracked black pepper  

¼ cup coriander seeds, toasted and cracked  

10 cloves garlic, smashed  

2 tbsp pickling spice

Trim brisket lightly, cure in a vacuum bag or tightly wrapped for 14 days, flipping daily. Rinse thoroughly, dry 24 hours uncovered in fridge. Cold-smoke 6 hours. Sous-vide 155 °F for 48 hours. Shock in ice bath, rest overnight.

Charred cabbage  

1 head green cabbage, cut into thick steaks  

Neutral oil, salt, pepper  

Char hard in a screaming pan or over coals until almost burnt on both sides, still crunchy inside.

Dill-pickled mustard seeds  

1 cup yellow mustard seeds  

1 cup white vinegar  

½ cup sugar  

½ cup water  

Big handful fresh dill  

1 tsp turmeric  

Pinch salt  

Simmer until seeds are plump and tender, cool in liquid.

Assembly  

24 thick slices best dark rye bread  

Infused rye-caraway butter, softened  

Hot pastrami, sliced thin against the grain while steaming

Griddle rye in a heavy skillet with a thick layer of infused butter until deep golden and crisp. Pile high with pastrami, top with charred cabbage and a generous spoon of pickled mustard seeds.

Cut on a dramatic bias. Serve with half-sour pickles and that aquavit shot.

20 mg THC per sandwich.  

You might not speak for ten minutes after the first bite. That’s normal.