Wednesday 10 March 2010

Reuben Sandwich

I'd been feeling that I hadn't done any cured meat in a while. I wanted to make some sausage or bacon or something. And then I hit upon the perfect thing. Pastrami.

I did some googling, and decided that this recipe from Emeril Lagasse seemed like the most workable for the home cook. I also liked the sound of the seasonings in the brine - I thought it was likely to make delicious pastrami. I used a smaller piece of brisket, so I only left it in the brine for two weeks, not three.

I smoked it on oak dust for 3 hours (it was a very cold day, and I think the ambient temperature kept the smoker cooler than usual) until it reached an internal temperature of 70C. During the smoking, the connective tissue melted out a bit and the brisket separated into two slabs.

The only other thing that I did differently was to press the pastrami under some fairly heavy weights (a plate, a wooden board and 3 cans of tomatoes) over night in order to make it easier to slice into neat serving slices. I left one half intact, wrapped it tightly and put it in the freezer, the other stayed out for eating!

So there was my pastrami. But how to eat it? Well, it had to be a Reuben sandwich! Although apparently it is only a reuben if it is made with salt beef. The same sandwich made with pastrami is a Rachel.

So I needed to make some good rye bread, to match my lovely pastrami.

We've been watching the Hairy Bikers on BBC iplayer, and I really liked their Classic Brown Loaf. It used a technique I haven't tried before, of making a ferment with flour, water and yeast and leaving it overnight before adding it to the rest of the flour.

I was very, very dubious when I put the ferment together - it looked very dry - but as the yeast started to work the bubbles worked through all the flour and made a very light sponge.

Because I wanted the rye flavour to come through more, I subbed rye flour for all of the wholemeal flour in the main bread recipe. I also used the last of my whey from cheesemaking instead of the water, to give it an extra tang.

I was a bit scared when I left the bread to prove - at one point I thought it was going to overflow all over the kitchen, so it only got 1 1/2 hours before it went into the oven. It did need the full 30 minutes to bake though.

It's a lovely bread! I gave it about 20 minutes to cool before I cut it, but I should have been a wee bit more patient, because it sliced much better when it was properly cooled.

The rye tang was still very subtle, but it had a lovely chewy texture and robust flavour. And I think the crust is the best I have ever produced; just the right balance between crisp and chewy. The very thing for my sandwich.

So then it was really just a matter of assembly. A good slice of bread, thickly smeared with mustard (we used Dijon), topped with overlapping thin slices of the pastrami, then forkfuls of well-drained sauerkraut and slices of gruyere cheese.

That went under the grill until the cheese melted and the sauerkraut and pastrami was hot through.

Topped with a second slice of bread and served with tall glasses of German beer, this was pretty much the perfect sandwich experience, and made a really delicious lunch. Genuinely worth the effort! This sandwich is going to Deb for her Souper (soup, salad and sammie) Sunday event!SouperSundays

19 comments:

Inspired by eRecipeCards said...

WOW... Home run (or the cricket equivalent!

What in life is better than taking essentially glue (flour and water) and creating bread! Love the whole post

kat said...

Now we are having the what sandwich is it debate at our house. Matt says a Rachel is a Ruben made with Turkey but I looked it up & you are right its Pastrami. Whatever its called it looks fantastic & I want to try making my own pastrami now

Alicia Foodycat said...

Dave - thanks! I'm not a very experienced baker, but I do like homemade bread.

Kat - it'd be good with turkey too! It's a really easy recipe, and with your nifty smoker I think it is a must.

Julie said...

Now that is a gorgeous sandwich! Looks amazing!

HH said...

That is fantastic FC! Bread and Pastrami!!! That is some seriously delicious effort! I think I will have to give that bread a go.

Alicia Foodycat said...

Julie - thanks for visiting my blog!

HH - the bread is really delicious. I recommend it!

Dharm said...

Wow!! you made your own Pastrami!! as A year on the grill implied - you hit a sixer!! Not only your own pastrami but your own bread. Way to go Cat!!

NKP said...

You are an inspiration! I haven't cured meat yet - it is on the list!
Great sammie, I love that you made all the parts yourself.

Alicia Foodycat said...

Dharm - thanks!

Natashya - you really should. It isn't nearly as difficult as you would think.

Esi said...

I love everything about this!! I love that you did the whole thing from scratch

hungryandfrozen said...

Amazing! I love that you went to all that effort for a sandwich. Might have to give this pastrami recipe a go, it's nice to think you can do something with brisket other than slow-cook it.

Deb in Hawaii said...

Mmm...you have me drooling right now. I had no idea about it being actually called a Rachel--interesting. So impressive that you cured the meat yourself and baked the bread too--a woman of so many talents!

Thanks for sending your gorgeous sandwich to Souper Sundays. I'll be sure to add it to the this Sunday's round-up. ;-)

Alicia Foodycat said...

Esi - one day I may even make sauerkraut.

Laura - it is hard to beat slow cooked brisket though.

Deb - it was the first I had heard of it too!

aforkfulofspaghetti said...

Wow. Totally wow. Such dedication to such a great cause! Fab result - I only wish I could reach into the screen and nick it... ;)

grace said...

yowza. reuben or rachel or ratatat--that's what i call a sandwich! good on you, foodycat!

Alicia Foodycat said...

Forkful - it was well worth the time taken.

Grace - thanks!

Unknown said...

That is probably the most copious sandwich I have ever seen! I love pastrami, but the whole endeavor seems very complicated. Looks delish though.

Joanne said...

I think it is so awesome that you made not only your own pastrami but your own bread as well! Beautiful sandwich.

Alicia Foodycat said...

Johanna - not complicated, just time consuming!

Joanne - thank you!

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