Pastrami, a very popular New York sandwich, a slow cooked beef brisket served on fresh rye bread, spread with mustard and served with the obligatory pickles.
Ingredients
- 2kg beef brisket
- 3l water
- 270g of salt
- 30g of pink salt
- 1 tbsp of peppercorns
- 1 tbsp of coriander seeds
- 1 tsp fennel seeds
- 1 tsp garlic powder
- 200g of brown sugar
- 2 tbsp of black peppercorns
- 2 tbsp of coriander seeds
Brining your brisket
Place all ingredients (except the brisket) in a large pan and bring to boil until the sugar has dissolved. Then set aside to leave to cool completely.
Once the brine is cool, transfer to a large container, submerge the brisket in the brine and leave to brine in the fridge for 5 days
On Day 5, remove the brisket from the brine and wash well under cold water. Leave to come to room temperature
Cooking your Pastrami
Preheat the oven to 120°C
To smoke the brisket, you would require a baking tray with a couple of handfuls of wood chips and a rack over the top.
Place the beef on the rack and cover with foil, ensuring there is gap between the meat and the foil to allow for smoke to circulate.
Place the tray over the hob and heat until it just begins to smoke. Transfer to the oven and cook for 3–4 hours, until the meat reaches 60°C
Steaming your Pastrami.
Pour boiling water into a deep baking tray to a height of 2cm. Add the beef, cover tightly with tin foil and return to the oven for a further 3 hours until the meat is completely tender and easily pulls apart
Leave to rest for 30 minutes before carving against the grain to serve
Serving suggestions
Pastrami is a classic sandwich meat. As mentioned before, you should stock up on a variety of pickles to serve this - pickled red cabbage, gherkins or even some sauerkraut would all work quite nicely, drizzle over some homemade mayonnaise and a squeeze of mustard.
