This turkey pastrami recipe is pretty straight-forward and easy to make.  The rub needs to be applied a day in advance for get the flavor deep into the turkey meat.  I got the recipe from my go to grilling book — How to Grill by Steven Raichlen.  I had to make a couple of adjustments because I didn’t have what everything I needed on hand.  Here’s my version:

Ingredients:

• 3 tablespoons of ground coriander
• 3 tablespoons of cracked black peppercorns
• 6 cloves of minced garlic
• 1 1/2 teaspoons of yellow mustard seeds
• 1/4 cup coarse sea salt
• 1/4 cup firmly packed brown sugar
• 1 tablespoon of sweet paprika
• 1 tablespoon of ground ginger
• 1 bone-in turkey breast (4-5 pounds)

Equipment:

• 9×13 pan
• grill set up for indirect grilling
• wood chips for smoking

Put all ingredients except the turkey breast into a medium bowl.

Mix all ingredients until evenly blended.

If your turkey breast has the rib cage intact, cut the ribs out with poulty shears. Spread 1/3 of the rub on the underside of the turkey breast. Spread the rest on top.

Place the turkey breast in a 9x13 pan and cover with plastic wrap. Place in the refrigerator for at least 24 hours to allow the rub to penetrate the meat.

Look how much moisture was pulled out of the turkey by the salt in the rub.

Set the grill up for indirect cooking. Put a pile of coals on each side of the grill and place a foil pan between the piles. Add a handful of wood chips to each pile of coals and place the turkey above the pan. Cover with the vents open.

After an hour, check the tempurature with an instant read thermometer in the thickest part of the meat. You want the thermometer to read 170 degrees. You may need to add more coals and wood chips at this point. Mine only took about 70 minutes, so I didn't need to add more.

When the turkey pastrami has reached 170 degrees, pull it from the grill and let it cool on the counter. Then place it in the refrigerator to chill completely.

Once chilled, it is quite easy to slice the turkey pastrami razor thin. At this point, you can eat it cold or warm it in a pan with a little water before making a sandwich with it.

Put a pile of turkey pastrami on some rye bread with swiss cheese, and brown mustard and you've got a great sandwich!

Coulda, Woulda, Shoulda’s:

• The original recipe called for coriander seeds.  I couldn’t find it, so I used ground coriander
• The original recipe called for 1/4 cup of sweet paprika.  I used all I had left.  It probably would have been better with more of it.
• I made 2 sandwiches to see which I liked best.  Honestly, I thought both were fantastic.  Here’s what I made:
• Turkey Pastrami with horseradish mustard, Swiss cheese, and coleslaw on marble rye bread.
• Turkey Pastrami with coarse ground mustard and Colby Jack cheese on grilled marble rye bread (grilled cheese sandwich style)
• You could also add sour kraut and/or Russian dressing.
• I should also specify that the wood chips I used were Jack Daniel’s Wood Chips made from old whiskey barrels. You could use hickory, mesquite, or oak.