Katz's pastrami

As a belated Xmas present, I am in possession of a package of Katz's pastrami.

I call upon the impressive knowledge of y'all - what is the best method to tease the most flavor out of this wonderful gift? I generally prefer my pastrami hot, and have not prepared it at home before.

Between this and the Beefathon on Saturday, my sandwich prospects look very, very good.

dicksond wrote:As a belated Xmas present, I am in possession of a package of Katz's pastrami.

I call upon the impressive knowledge of y'all - what is the best method to tease the most flavor out of this wonderful gift? I generally prefer my pastrami hot, and have not prepared it at home before.

As of today's installment of "Ask Mr. Gold," I think the best advice I can give you is to pitch it, and send for Langer's.

Regards,
Erik M.

dicksond wrote:what is the best method to tease the most flavor out of this wonderful gift?

From my book, "The Ten Stupid Things People Do with Their Cold Cuts":

Assuming you have a whole chunk of fully cooked/smoked pastrami, it is best stored and reheated in a brown stock. Great care must be taken when reheating. Don't slice until after it is reheated. Reheat very gently by bringing the stock up to barely a simmer. Allow the pastrami to sit in the hot stock until it reaches an internal temperature of no more than 170F. It is very easy to destroy a perfectly smoked pastrami by overheating it. Do not slice off more than you plan to serve immediately. Going against the grain, cut off 1/4 inch slices. Every slice should have some fat, but dispose of any pieces that are mostly fat.

Place at least a 3-inch pile of pastrami on warm rye bread. Allow each person to apply the amount of deli-style mustard they prefer and serve with slaw and pickles on the side.

Bill/SFNM

Bill/SFNM wrote:Place at least a 3-inch pile of pastrami on warm rye bread. Allow each person to apply the amount of deli-style mustard they prefer and serve with slaw and pickles on the side.

...and wash down with the Dr. Brown's soda of choice. I prefer the pungent, grassy Cel-Ray.

dicksond wrote:what is the best method to tease the most flavor out of this wonderful gift?

D,

I recommend you drop this "wonderful gift" off at my doorstep. I'll immediately start the research for you. I'll even post the results for you.

Flip

Hi,

Is this precooked pastrami or one which needs simmering? I assume it is precooked. When I was at Burt's Deli in Libertyville recently, they sliced their pastrami ultra thin and warmed it in the microwave. Put together a very good sandwich, which was really influence by the quality of the meat.

Since Brisket is something which is cooked on a WSM, I thought sometime I would smoke a corned beef. I guess it will need some soaking in water before so the end product is not too salty. Friends once baked a corned beef, I couldn't taste the meat beyond the ultra high saltiness.

When I was Costco the other evening buying raw Vienna corned beef to cook later this week. I found they offer cooked, presliced corned beef in a cryovac bag from a NY Kosher vendor, though I don't recall the name. Has anyone tried it?

D,

Is this an uncut 2-lb chunk or sliced?

Whole chunk o pastrami Bill's method, which I've used, works quite well. It seems the gentle simmer would dilute flavor, though it's just the opposite.

Straight steam, similar to the method most 'real' deli's use would work as well.

Jake's (Milwaukee, Wisconsin)


Will's suggestion of 20-seconds in a steamer basket for sliced seems on the mark and is something I intend on trying. Hummm, I don't see it here, must have been a different thread

I've smoked a lot of brisket and soaked/smoked corned beef with resultant leftovers. My in-a-hurry method is to place a few slices in the middle of a microwaveable plate, add about a teaspoon of water and cover with plastic wrap to form a seal. This, quickly, steams the meat and adds a bit of moisture.

Main thing is you do not wish to dry out the meat.

The above assumes precooked corn beef.

Come over around noon, bring the Katz o Gram and we'll experiment.

Enjoy,
Gary

G Wiv wrote:Straight steam, similar to the method most 'real' deli's use would work as well.

Gary-san,

I admit I haven't been in a real deli for a few years, but "back in the day", real delis I visited held chunks of pastrami in a vat of briney broth. When you ordered your sandwich, the counterman would stick a big fork in the vat, pull out a chunk-o-pastrami, and cut the slices needed for your order.

At times I use my "fresh-o-matic" in which steam is manually pumped into a chamber. This is good for reheating slices, but not chunks. Also good for refereshing rye that may be a little past its prime.

Happy New Year!

Bill/SFNM

Katz's uses the steam method at their store on Houston.

AP Deli uses the simmer method.

Pastrami King on Queens Blvd (does it still exist?) was once my favorite spot; they held it in a vat. It was not simmering, but just very hot broth.

Pastrami King made an ill fated venture into Manhattan a few years ago. The 2nd Avenue store never seemed to bring a following from Queens with it.

I'm not sure iof the Queens store is still open. I must admit, it was really good as recently as 10 years ago.

Well it is sliced, sad to say. But I am prepared to soldier on.

I think I will start out trying the microwave method, but with brown stock, heating the stock first, and then cooking the slices a shorter time in the microwave, and then let them sit a bit in the stock. Fortunately there is enough to try a few methods (I can probably get 4 or 5 sammies, even if Katz would make one).

Thanks for the ideas, and the volunteer guinea pigs. Perhaps after the beefathon.

I picked up some niman pastrami and a loaf of jewish rye from zingerman's the other day, and have been experimenting myself.

monday's experiment was simmering in brown stock. I definitely overcooked the outside, and the inside didn't get cold. I don't think I have the flame control necessary for an ultra-low simmer. Also, I wasn't able to slice it as thinly as desired, so ended up with pieces of tough, thick pastrami. Not idea.

tonight I gave steaming a shot. I don't have a vegetable steamer, or any other type of steamer or insert, so I pre-sliced the pastrami and put it in a spider, and then held the spider over boiling water and put the lid over the whole shebang. I probably lost some steam in the process, but the results were great. Really moist, warm pastrami. No flavor loss.

Check it out: