Great British Food Christmas 2024

SmokedBeef Brisket (Pastrami) I first discoveredmy love of brisket from my Gran’s boiled dinners. She would boil a large piece of brined beef brisket with vegetables in a large pot.We’d all gather round the table and argue over who got the last slice. After that, duringmy two-year stint working with Jean- Georges Vongerichten inNewYork and upstate at Lake Placid Lodge, I developed an obsessionwith salt beef and pastrami – which is essentially smoked brisket; it’s muchmore common inAmerica than westWales! I would quite often serve salt beef for staff dinners with the restaurant’s leftover dauphinoise potatoes. A salty, creamymatchmade in heaven. Serves: 6 Prepare: 10 days brining time plus 6 hours smoking time 1 kg/2lb 4oz beef brisket For the beef brine (based on brining 1kg/2lb 4oz beef): 1 garlic clove 4 tsp caster sugar 1 tsp allspice 1 tspmustard powder 1 tsp ground cloves 1 tsp ground coriander ½cinnamon stick ½ tsp cinnamon powder 30g/1oz shallot, finely chopped 1 bay leaf 125g/1 cup salt 25g/1oz sodiumnitrate 1.4 litres/6 cups water For the dry rub: 4 tbsp black peppercorns 4 tbsp coriander seeds 1 tbsp smoked paprika 2 tsp garlic powder 2 tsp onion powder 1 tsp yellowmustard seeds 4 tbsp soft light brown sugar 2 tbspAmericanmustard 1. First make the brine. Put all the ingredients in a large saucepan and bring to a simmer. Heat through gently, until the sugar and salt have dissolved completely; this should take about 10 minutes. Pour the brine into a plastic container with a lid and put in the fridge until completely cold. 2. Prepare the beef for brining by trimming off any excess fat and sinew. If the meat is thicker than 2.5cm/1in, you’ll need to make cuts into the joint (with the grain) deep enough to see the middle of the joint. This is so that the brine will penetrate the centre of the meat. Place the joint in a container or ziplock bag and cover with brine – just enough to cover the meat. Top up with a little extra cold water if needed and seal the container completely. 3. Leave in the fridge for 10 days and rotate every day. After this time, remove the brisket from the brine and wash well under cold water. Pat dry with kitchen paper, then leave to come to room temperature. 4. To make the dry rub, grind up all the rub spices along with the sugar using a pestle and mortar or in the small bowl of a food processor. Apply a thin layer of American mustard all over the meat. Then rub spice mix over all sides of the meat. 5. Place the beef in the hot smoker (you will need to use a hot smoker or barbecue for larger pieces of meat, rather than on the hob) and smoke for about 6 hours at 110°C (230°F) until the internal meat temperature hits 70°C (158°F). It’s a nice balance between getting the smoky flavour and getting the meat cooked and over the line. Use your meat thermometer to check it is properly cooked. UsingNitrates The decision to use nitrate in curing is a personal one, and you may want to research further if you have concerns. From our point of view, it’s as simple as this: if you cure pork with just salt and sugar, you will get salty pork; if you use nitrate, you will get bacon! Pastrami Reuben Sandwich I love this sandwich. Traditionally, the Reuben ismade of thinly sliced corned beef, Swiss cheese and sauerkraut on rye bread slatheredwith Russian dressing – but I’musing our delicious smoked pastrami here. You can’t go wrong with either, just be sure to be liberal with the meat. Reuben sandwiches are on the menu of every other deli inNewYork. When I lived there, I would find it almost impossible to not order this sandwich whenever I walked past my local. Serves: 2 Prepare: 20minutes Cook: 10minutes 300g/10½oz homemade pastrami 4 slices light rye bread 4 slices Swiss cheese, e.g. Emmental Butter, for spreading Sauerkraut Dill pickles/gherkins “I first discoveredmy love of brisket from my Gran’s boiled dinners. She would boil a brined beef brisket with vegetables in a large pot.We’d all gather round the table and argue over who got the last slice” RECI PES | BBQ greatbr i t ishfoodawards.com 38