As long as we've got our BBI chefs around this weekend, I'll run this by you all. I'm having a July 4th party at my house and the theme this year is going to be Jewish deli. I'm doing a trial run right now, 3 days into it, curing a brisket for corned beef. I'm then going to take it on to pastrami. Anyone done this? How did it work out? I've tried curing my own lox a couple of times and it came out like crap. but I don't want to end up buying Boar's Head Pastrami out here. I test-ran some black and white cookies and they were outstanding. Also, as I mentioned to Drew, I may try kishke. Doing tongue with a sweet and sour sauce too. And I've got Fox's syrup for eggcreams. I've got some former NYers coming, but this might be a shock for the others :)
I'm Jewish on both sides. My parents preferred Dr. Brown's soda with deli food, and I concur with that. Their Cel-Ray (celery-flavored soda) is one of the more peculiar libations you'll ever find, but it does pair well with deli meats. Dr. Brown's cream soda and black cherry, also both good.
Also: This puts you in the egg cream vs chocolate phosphate debate. My dad, being a New Yorker, was an egg cream guy. My mother grew up in Cleveland and always swore by the chocolate phosphate, which is non-dairy and so could be served with meat under kosher rules. Though my father's family was more observant than my mother's, so I think it's just what she grew up with.
I've become dairy intolerant so I've shifted away from egg creams, but Canter's deli here in L.A. makes a mean chocolate phosphate. I think to do a proper phosphate you have to buy the phosphate powder, which is available online.
I'm Jewish on both sides. My parents preferred Dr. Brown's soda with deli food, and I concur with that. Their Cel-Ray (celery-flavored soda) is one of the more peculiar libations you'll ever find, but it does pair well with deli meats. Dr. Brown's cream soda and black cherry, also both good.
Also: This puts you in the egg cream vs chocolate phosphate debate. My dad, being a New Yorker, was an egg cream guy. My mother grew up in Cleveland and always swore by the chocolate phosphate, which is non-dairy and so could be served with meat under kosher rules. Though my father's family was more observant than my mother's, so I think it's just what she grew up with.
I've become dairy intolerant so I've shifted away from egg creams, but Canter's deli here in L.A. makes a mean chocolate phosphate. I think to do a proper phosphate you have to buy the phosphate powder, which is available online.
Oh, and my wife found some Dr. Brown's cream soda a while back, she just has to remember where :)
As a last resort maybe. I'm a cook, not a meat slicer, so I'd much prefer to do it on my own. But thanks
The rub:
1 tbs Ground Corriander
1 tbs Coarse Ground Black Pepper
1 tbs Garlic Powder
1 tbs Hungarian Paprika
1/4 tsp Ground Ginger
1/4 tsp Ground Cloves
Let cool and slice across the grain. This Pastrami rocks and rivals any deli. Good luck Bill.
Link to recipe
Good East Corned Beef Episode - ( New Window )
Link to recipe
Good East Corned Beef Episode - ( New Window )
I checked out AB's recipe. I ended up going with Prague Powder #1 (pink curing salt) which is basically sodium nitrite, and I saw it on more recipes,
The rub:
1 tbs Ground Corriander
1 tbs Coarse Ground Black Pepper
1 tbs Garlic Powder
1 tbs Hungarian Paprika
1/4 tsp Ground Ginger
1/4 tsp Ground Cloves
Let cool and slice across the grain. This Pastrami rocks and rivals any deli. Good luck Bill.
Thanks, buzz. I've seen several recipes that say that store bought corned beef isn't nearly as good as homemade, so I decided to try that route. If it comes out awful. store bought may be my default.
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What time Bill?
I've cured it from scratch, not really any advantage and more work.
We make chopped liver for Passover and only about half the people eat it, so I think I'll leave it out for this. Probably only 2 people will eat the tongue, lol, but I haven't made it in forever and wanted to give it a try.
CR, unless you come to AZ, this is the best I can do:
Recipe from American Test Kitchens
Cookie
1 and 3/4 cups (220g) all-purpose flour (spoon & leveled) (or more as needed, see note)*
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
10 Tablespoons (145g) unsalted butter, softened to room temperature
1 cup (200g) granulated sugar
1 large egg, at room temperature
2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
1/3 cup (80g) full-fat sour cream, at room temperature*
Icing
5 and 1/2 cups (660g) confectioners’ sugar, sifted (measure before sifting)
7 Tablespoons (105ml) whole milk, divided
2 Tablespoons light corn syrup
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1/2 teaspoon salt
3 Tablespoons (18g) unsweetened natural or dutch-process cocoa powder*
Directions
Preheat oven to 350°F (180°C). Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper or silicone baking mats.
Whisk the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt together in medium bowl. Set aside.
In a large bowl using a handheld or stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, beat the butter and sugar together on medium-high speed until smooth and creamy, about 2 minutes. Add the egg and vanilla extract, and beat on high speed until combined, about 1 minute. Scrape down the sides and up the bottom of the bowl and beat again as needed to combine. Reduce to low speed and add the dry ingredients in 3 additions, alternating with the sour cream. Beat everything on low until combined and no pockets of flour remain. Batter is extremely thick.
Using a greased 1/4-cup dry measuring cup, drop mounds of dough 4 inches apart on prepared baking sheets– 6 cookies per sheet. Bake for 16-18 minutes or until the edges are lightly browned. Allow cookies to cool on the baking sheets for 5 minutes, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely before icing.
Make the icings: Whisk the confectioners’ sugar, 6 Tablespoons milk, the corn syrup, vanilla extract, and salt together in a medium bowl. Transfer 1 cup to a separate bowl, add remaining Tablespoon of milk and the cocoa powder. Whisk until combined.
Spread vanilla icing onto half of the cookies– the flat side. Refrigerate for 15 minutes or until set so that the icings do not bleed into each other. Spread chocolate icing onto other side and allow the icing to set completely, about 1 hour, before serving.
Cookies will stay fresh in an airtight container at room temperature for 2 days or in the refrigerator for up to 1 week.
Notes
Make Ahead Instructions: You’ll want to bake this cookie dough right away as the baking powder is initially activated once wet. You can, however, bake the cookies in step 4, cool completely, cover tightly, and store at room temperature for up to 3 days before continuing with step 5. Frosted or unfrosted cookies freeze well for up to 3 months. Thaw overnight in the refrigerator and bring to room temperature before serving or frosting.
Special Tools: KitchenAid Stand Mixer | Glass Mixing Bowls | Silpat Baking Mat | Cookie Sheets | Cooling Rack | Cookie Icing Spatula
Room Temperature: This is important!! But, mostly, the butter will curdle with some of the batter ingredients are colder than it.
Batter Consistency: If your batter isn’t super thick– thick somewhere between cookie dough and pancake batter- try adding an extra 2-3 Tablespoons of flour before scooping and baking. The cookies spread too much if the batter isn’t thick enough.
Sour Cream: I strongly suggest using full-fat sour cream in this cookie batter. Full-fat plain Greek yogurt works as well, but you’ll get the most tender texture from sour cream. So keep that in mind!
Cocoa Powder:You can use either natural-style or dutch-process cocoa powder in the icing. It doesn’t matter since there is no leavening occurring. (Here’s the difference between the two!) I prefer dutch-process or a dark cocoa, like Hershey’s special dark cocoa.
true story -- I went to my friends jewish deli with a non jewish buddy and he ordered a ham and cheese sandwich. Two strikes!!!! Anyone care to take that on? LoL
true story -- I went to my friends jewish deli with a non jewish buddy and he ordered a ham and cheese sandwich. Two strikes!!!! Anyone care to take that on? LoL
You mean the two non-Kosher items don’t cancel each other out? Much like a bacon cheeseburger. :)
Quote:
it's not kosher and therefore against Jewish dietary law -- so it pulverizes the idea of dong a Jewish theme
true story -- I went to my friends jewish deli with a non jewish buddy and he ordered a ham and cheese sandwich. Two strikes!!!! Anyone care to take that on? LoL
You mean the two non-Kosher items don’t cancel each other out? Much like a bacon cheeseburger. :)
Lol -- Mike -- we have been teasing him for 4 decades about this
My father was a kosher butcher.
He supplied the meat to Pastrami King on Queens Blvd.
Very heavy on the smoke and garlic but delicious.
It is not easy to get a decent kosher deli sandwich down in
Miami.
We get back to NY 2-3 times a year and Katz's is a must.
My father was a kosher butcher.
He supplied the meat to Pastrami King on Queens Blvd.
Very heavy on the smoke and garlic but delicious.
It is not easy to get a decent kosher deli sandwich down in
Miami.
We get back to NY 2-3 times a year and Katz's is a must.
I know it is a chain, but I do like TooJay’s when I am in South Florida
But Katz's is definitely high on my list of "must-dos" next time I am in Manhattan. Which should be pretty soon.
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thanks, Mitch. I guess the thing is that if you want good pastrami, you need to start with good brisket/corned beef. I'm pretty confident in Costco brisket. If you get a pre-made corned beef from a supermarket, you need to know what kind of quality meat it is. I'd be nervous getting something from my local Kroegers
Thanks for asking, I wasn't going to revive the thread. It came out really good. I made it 3 ways to experiment- fully smoked, smoked then finished in foil, and smoked then steamed. I liked the smoked/foil version best. It steams in it's own juices. The regular steaming loses a little flavor I think. The smoked all the way may have been an unfair test because I started with one piece of corned beef, probably about 2 lbs that I cut into 3 pieces. The smoked piece was probably only about half a pound and could have dried out a bit more than a larger piece would have. That said, they were all good and better than anything I could buy at the local supermarket. I started this with a 17 pound whole prime brisket from Costco that I cut into 6 pieces. I used the top piece to make a sweet and sour brisket that I'm having tomorrow but I tasted it yesterday when I cooked it and it was outrageous. I put the thermometer into it and it slid in at 206 degrees like it was butter. But prime is pretty fatty- I love it that way but I'm not sure everyone does. So when I buy brisket for my party, I'm not sure if I should go prime or choice. For those of you who shop at Costco, it's so weird that the prime brisket is like $3.25 a pound but the choice is twice that much. There is more waste in the prime when you trim off the fat, and I wasn't seeing landmarks like I wanted to butchering it, but that price for prime meat is tough to pass up. That's for my July 4th party. In the meantime, I up to my ass getting ready to have 19 people over for my 70th birthday next week :) Already baked and froze dessert today- Ina Garten's Outrageous Brownies (if you haven't had them, take my word for it, they are) and her lemon pound cake which is also great. I'm making vanilla and coffee ice cream to serve with them. Life is good :)
I make a wicked potato salad, slightly on the mustardy side.
I make a wicked potato salad, slightly on the mustardy side.
My wife doesn't like too much mustard. Fuggetaboudit.