Making Pastrami – The Navel in the Coffin
I was not planning on writing another post on pastrami so soon. The pastrami experiment was successful, however there was one thing that nagged me about my last two batches. It was flavorful and reminded me of the NYC Jewish delis I remembered, but there was something still missing…FAT! Pastrami is not diet food and it needs a certain amount of fat to be really good. What I made was the equivalent of diet pastrami. Not a sin, but not close to perfection.
So I started to do my research on who and what makes the best pastrami in the world. The who was easy, Katz’s Deli, 2nd Avenue Deli, and Carnegie Deli in NYC. The what was not so easy. When most of us think of pastrami, we think of the brisket or the round cut of the cow. The top deli’s use the beef navel plate. The beef what? Don’t worry about it, just order it. Oh wait, I tried asking the local supermarket for the beef navel plate and they looked at me like I was crazy. Go to a butcher who specializes in custom orders and has relationships with the local farmers. Those are the folks who are going to get for you the best cuts of meat. Since I live in the Seattle area, Rain Shadow Meats (Butcher) and Painted Hills Natural Meats (Farm) were the people who got me the beef navel plate. This beef was amazing and marbled like Kobe beef. You could eat thinly sliced pieces of this beef like sushi, if you wanted.
In a first for Weekend Food Projects, I am considering the pastrami project done. Of course, I am going to experiment with the recipe from time to time, but I am really satisfied with the results. Thank you, Eric Rivera for helping me source the beef navel.
Ingredients:
1 Beef navel plate (about four pounds and brined for a week)
2.5 tablespoons of coriander seeds
2.5 tablespoons of black peppercorns
Application:
After removing the brisket from the brine, soak for 30 minutes in cold water, rinse and dry thoroughly, and let rest for a hour in the refrigerator. While the navel is resting, toast the coriander and black peppercorns in a small, dry pan. Pour the spices into a spice grinder and grind finely. Remove the navel from the refrigerator and cover it with the spice mixture. Place the brisket in the smoker until the internal temperature of the navel reaches 140 degrees, about two hours. Once the brisket is done smoking, steam the navel for two hours (or until fork tender).
Note: My smoker runs so cold in that I often smoke my meat for two or three hours and finish it off in the oven at 225-250 degrees until the meat hits 140 degrees.
Notes from the Lab 1 (What is Ed Thinking?)
I have been busy at Weekend Food Projects working on new things to share with you all. I would put this in a notebook, but I really think that people would be interested in the thought process behind the food. I will not post recipes, but simply share what I have learned.
Bacon: Using a dry cured pork belly and adding a coriander/black pepper crust before smoking makes a wonderful fatty meat that is great in sandwiches or by itself. What I am still testing is whether steaming or slow roasting before serving is the best way to present the meat. (See above)
Pizza: I have learned that a 72 hour dough produces the best texture, flavor, and is easier to handle. 8oz of dough to 3oz of shredded cheese also seems to be a good dough/cheese ratio.
Burgers and Sausage: You have to apply Rule #2 from Zombieland to your meat, the double tap. Simply grinding the meat once through the coarse plate does not provide a good texture or distribute the fat well enough. Double grind your meat, coarse plate.
Pastrami: Beef navel is the best cut of beef for traditional pastrami. This is the cut that Katz’s deli in NYC uses. It is not something that you can walk into your local grocery store and purchase. However, I was able to source a four pound piece from Painted Hills Farm in Oregon through a Seattle based store. I will share results this weekend.
Salumi: For the last week I have been putting together a fermentation/curing chamber for dried sausages and salumi. I have a Spanish Chorizo drying right now and in about 2.5 weeks, it should be ready. So much chemistry and microbiology, but so cool.
