Naths Topside Pastrami.

[Nath]

Well, had a lump of topside in the fridge that was destined for a batch of biltong, with the business before Christmas I haven't had time to get it into the mix and dried, and as it was nearing its end date in the fridge, I decided to make it into pastrami (prefer super fresh meat for biltong).

Started with a 2kg piece of topside, That I cut in half horizontally.

Rubbed with;
4tbs crushed black pepper
2tbs crushed corriander seeds
1 crushed bay leaf
1tbs crushed mustard seeds
1 tbs garlic powder
cure salt (I used the same ratio I use for bacon here, added this due to meat nearing end date I thought it would be safer)


Rubbed with the dry cure rub


Lightly vac sealed and into the fridge, will probably cure in fridge for about 8-9 days, hopefully get it into the smoker on Christmas Eve.

I have no idea what I'm doing here but happy for this one to be an experiment.




Nath

[Captain Cook]

Keep going Nath, looks good so far. At least you are having a go so it has to be good.

Captain

[Nath]

Keep going Nath, looks good so far. At least you are having a go so it has to be good.

Captain

see what happens in a weeks time. I'm thinking I will smoke to internal of 65C?


Nath

[urbangriller]

Keep going Nath, looks good so far. At least you are having a go so it has to be good.

Captain

see what happens in a weeks time. I'm thinking I will smoke to internal of 65C?


Nath

Yes, but you'll need to hold it there for quite a while for the collagen to breakdown. Perhaps go higher?

Chris

[Nath]

I'm open to suggestions Chris.
As I said I have NFI what I'm doing on Themis one.
Aiming for sliced cold meat basically.


Nath

[urbangriller]

You still need to break the fibres, it's the Brisket kind of thing, so go up around 85 to 93C, or 75-80C but longer!

Chris

[hoddo]

Doesn't the brine+cure break up the fibers a bit?

[urbangriller]

No, the cure is there to preserve and the brine to add moisture. You can use an acid or enzyme to break the collagen, but they will also digest the protien. The collagen breaks down with the aplication of heat over (roughly) 45C and is most rapid at 85C, but even then, it takes time, hence, holding it longer at a lower temp, or going to a higher temp.

Cheers
Chris

[Smokey]

That will turn out just perfect. Much better than Cody and I's faux pastrami.
Reason for that is the cure will bring in the flavours where as we were only layering it on "After" is cured or pickled.
#Important#
You will however, need to rinse all that peper spice off once its cured.
Then before hot smoking it place a new rub without any cure.
Once its cured and you have rinsed it well, Leave it open on a tray in the fridge overnight.
Your smoking rub will stick to it like kack to a nappy.
Im feeling that your experiment will come out surprisinly well for you.
Its almost word for word the same as I do when done from scratch.

Edit, No Hoddo, It stiffens them.
The colegin is what breaks down during cooking and not in the curing process.
If meat is crappy prior to curing, It will be crappy after curing.
Meat like this needs to be fine sliced because its salty and some what tough,,,,, But yum.




Doh, Chris got it for you hoddo

[Nath]

Thanks Chris and Mick,
Yep was planning to rinse of the cure, soak for an hour or so, refrigerate overnight, crushed black pepper and corriander rub.
Smoke at 110C or so untill an internal of 93C and then cool and slice.
I have a decent electric slicer so thin slices will be no problem.


Nath

[Captain Cook]

Nath dont forget what Chris said about holding at a temp for a long time to break down the collagen.
This is probably one of the most important steps in cooking meat low and slow. this is what takes time and is where a pellet smoker that has accurate temp holding ability comes into its own.
Kev's snake method is also good for this once you have mastered the tecnique.
The longer you can hold it at temp the better the result. Because of this aspect, brining is very important as it maintains moisture in the meat. Finally resting is very important (best done using the esky method) this allows the fibres to relax and the moisture to redistribute itself throughout the meat,
Heres a trick that I use, I wrap the cooked meat in foil and then place it in a foil tray in the esky. This helps capture any juices that leak out of the foil and make it easier to lift the tray and meat out of the esky. Open the foil with the meat still in the tray to capture all the juices.
When you slice the meat and serve it you can pour those hot juices back over the slices of meat. It makes a hell of a lot of difference.

Cheers

Captain

[Nath]

Yep thanks Capt'n.
I usually hold low and slows at temp for as long as possible as you said. Would I still be doing the same if I want to cool this and slice thinly for cold meat?


Nath

[Captain Cook]

Yep thanks Capt'n.
I usually hold low and slows at temp for as long as possible as you said. Would I still be doing the same if I want to cool this and slice thinly for cold meat?


Nath

Yes, Maybe not as long if you want it to hold together to slice thinly, I cant say what the optimal time would be but I am guessing about 1.5 Hrs, there are a few variables. maybe Chris can give you a number to use.

Captain

[gnol]

I held this piece at temp for a lot of hours and it still sliced finely.

[Nath]

Awsome! Thanks guys! Look forward to smoking this next weekend. (Going to be a bit tight around Christmas but it'll get done


Nath