pastrami & steam

[Karon Adams]

I posted this publicly so the folks reading that board could see it but I am also posting it here for you guys.

reading through Meathead's Pastrami article which landed in my e-mail for timely reasons, today, I was thinking about the steaming step for Pastrami. here's where I went with it:

when steaming, I believe Katz uses (used) a pressure steamer. I have never been there, only read and seen videos so I could easily be wrong. it happens a LOT. should you wish to pressure steam, it is easy to do if you have a pressure cooker. an inch or so of water in the cooker, a vegetable steamer basket and your meat in the basket, would allow for steaming under pressure. put it all together, secure the lid and turn up the heat to achieve pressure. the best part of this step is that connective tissue converts to gelatin at 250. so, steaming under pressure would not only heat the meat before serving, but also make it more tender but further reducing the connective tissue in the meat.

[EdF]

And you get that sort of wiggly texture that is so good!

[Potkettleblack]

Sous vide for longer period could also be used profitably. Traditional steaming would also work, just not as fast.

[Gayette]

I have an Instant Pot so I'm definitely trying this when I make pastrami this summer. I just finished my first ever trial of corned beef and it was amazing. Can't wait to take it to the next level.

[Thunder77]

I just made a sous vide batch, and it worked quite well. I like the pressure steam idea, though!

[Deaf Arty]

Sounds promising. I've gotta try pressure steaming. Got to wondering, though: How do you know when it's done? (Seems like it would be kinda hard to keep an eye on the internal temp!)

[EdF]

ie bring it up to pressure, shut it off, and let it sit until there's almost no pressure (7 minutes or so).

[Deaf Arty]

I guess I was confused reading Meathead's recipe. So it's cooked enough when you remove it from the smoker at 150 degrees or so (@the stall). I was thinking the steaming to 203 degrees was necessary to complete the cook. Thanks for the clarification.

[tbob4]

On my first attempt I took off at the recipe temp. First slice - Heaven. Second slice - seized up and was terrible. I re-cooked it in the oven to get to brisket temp - 195 (prime). Cooled. Sous Vide'd for re-serving. Unbelievable. I don't know if I want to mess with success.

[BigCountryQ]

I used my instant pot to steam my pastrami after it came off the smoker. I left the weighted valve off so the steam could escape. Are you suggesting that I close the vent and let it pressurize?

[Karon Adams]

yes. at one bar of pressure, 15 psi, the temperature of boiling water rises to 250 degrees (at sea level, all other things being "normal".

[Karon Adams]

at 250 degrees, connective tissue in meat converts to gelatin. all that silverskin is now unctuous deliciousness woven between the fibers of your meat,not connecting the meat (toughness) but it at the same time, carrying wonderful flavor molecules across your tongue.

[Steppy]

In Meathead's pastrami video, he carved and ate the pastrami right off the smoker sans steaming. So is the steaming just for reheating cold pastrami? I'm itching to make some pastrami. There might be good specials on left over corned beef after St. Paddy's day

[Spinaker]

No, the steaming is to break down the brisket and make it tender. But if you cook to 203 F on the smoker. You can skip the steam. I smoke till 170 F then I SV mine at 195 F/Four hours.

[MrDibS]

Steaming is an important step if you are trying to achieve the Katz's style. They do not use pressure. They sit in these commercial steam cabinets waiting to be sliced. I'll take pictures next time I go. I'm sure the original purpose was to reheat cold pastrami but it remelts the fat in such a glorious way.

Alton had a whole spiel about how when you melt coligen, it's better to let it geletinize and then melt again for ultimate unctuousness. I believe it was in a short rib episode.

[Karon Adams]

the NYC Katz has closed

[MrDibS]

All of the Time Square joints have closed because rents are so high that no private business can survive. Katz's and 2nd Avenue Deli are still around, although the latter is no longer on 2nd Avenue.

[MrDibS]

PS, Carnegie and Stage had inferior pastrami. They were more about the ambiance. 2nd Ave is good but they use a slicer vs hand sliced at Katz's.

[Karon Adams]

yeah, Southern girl here has been to NYC twice in her life. Once in high school on school trip and once on a dinner trip at an astronaut convention when 15 of us were all packed into a grand marquis, driving around Manhattan for HOURS truing to find Little Italy and finally arriving around midnight