Pastrami is IMHO harder to make than corned beef, because it has to be smoked and it generally uses a spice rub, too. A former business partner of mine lived in NYC for a while and got hooked on pastrami from Katz's Deli on Houston. (That's the one in "When Harry Met Sally".) He'd order a whole pastrami from them and pig out on it for a week.
I tried making some Montreal Smoked Meat a few years back, it is kind of an offshoot of pastrami, it wasn't quite as good as the stuff we had in Ottawa, but it was pretty good. If I had a real smoker it would probably have been better, but all I've got is a wood chip tray for my gas grill. I made it from some brisket.
A friend of ours it talking about opening up a food truck in a few years to do BBQ. I've been working with him some on menu planning issues. He's got a good smoker, I might try making some more MSM and have him smoke it for me.
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