Tag: main course
Pastrami
Pastrami
Pastrami has it’s origins in New York; introduced by Jewish Romanian immigrants in the 1880’s. The pastrami cut comes from the navel portion of the whole beef brisket, but the brisket flat is a suitable choice if you can’t find just that part of the muscle. The brisket gets cured for 6 days, then dry rubbed; sitting in the refrigerator for an additional 3 days. It is then smoked for many hours, then steamed, then broiled quickly to form a crust. A 10 day process to make the best cured meat you’ll ever eat.
Equipment
- large bin for curing
- Electric Smoker
- Probe Thermometer
- roasting pan with rack
Ingredients
- 6 lb flat cut beef brisket
Brine
- 1 gallon water
- 1 cup sea salt
- 1 cup brown sugar
- 2 tsp pink curing salts
- 1 tbsp mustard seeds
- 1 tbsp coriander seeds
- 1 tbsp allspice berries
- 1 tbsp whole cloves
- 1 tbsp crushed red pepper
- 2 cinnamon sticks
- 4 bay leaves
- 3” ginger sliced
- 6 garlic cloves minced
Dry Rub
- 1 tbsp black pepper
- 1 tbsp paprika
- 1 tbsp dry mustard
- 1 tbsp coriander
- 1 tbsp allspice
- 1 tbsp brown sugar
- 2 tsp ground cloves
Wood Chips
- 1/2 cherry wood
- 1/2 pecan
Pastrami Sandwich
- pastrami sliced
- rye bread
- pickles
- brown mustard
Instructions
- Place the brisket in a bin large enough to cure.
- Mix together the brining ingredients.
- Pour the brine over the brisket, making sure that it is completely submerged. Cure the brisket for 6 days in the refrigerator.
- Once the brisket has cured, rinse off the brine and place on a rack.
- Mix together the dry rub ingredients.
- Rub the dry rub on all sides of the brisket. Let rest in the refrigerator for 3 days.
- When ready to smoke, let the brisket rest at room temp for 2 hours. Preheat your smoker to 250 degrees. Place the brisket in the smoker.
- Smoke the brisket for 8 hours.
- Fill up a roasting pan with a rack with 2” of water. Bring to a boil. Place the pastrami on the rack, making sure that it doesn’t touch the water. Cover. Reduce the heat to medium. Steam for 2 hours.
- Turn on your oven’s broiler. Place the brisket fat side down on a rack on a baking pan lined in foil. Broil for 10 minutes until a crust forms on the pastrami.
- Let rest for 30 minutes before slicing.
Corned Beef Frittata
Corned Beef Frittata
Canned corned beef is a staple in Filipino pantries. It comes in various forms of quality and consistency; some ground corned beef while others are chunky. It is used in soups, spaghetti, pandesal filling, and this easy to make frittata. This Filipino egg bake has fried potatoes and onions, chunky canned corned beef, and peas. It takes about 30 minutes to make and can be eaten at any time of the day.
Ingredients
- 3 tbsp vegetable oil
- 2 medium potatoes peeled and cut into 1/2” cubes
- 1/2 medium onion diced
- 3 garlic cloves minced
- 12 oz chunky canned corned beef
- 1/2 cup frozen peas
- salt and pepper to taste
- 6 large eggs beaten
Instructions
- Heat up cooking oil in a sauté pan over medium high heat. Sauté the potatoes for 5 minutes.
- Add in the onions and garlic. Sauté for 5 more minutes.
- Add in the corned beef. Cook for 5 minutes.
- Stir in the peas. Season with salt and pepper. Let cool for 10 minutes.
- Preheat your oven to 375 degrees. Grease a round pie plate or glass baking dish. Add in the corned beef mix. Pour in the beaten eggs.
- Bake for 15 minutes. Let rest for 10 minutes before serving.
Sopa de Zapallo (Pumpkin Soup)
Sopa de Zapallo (Pumpkin Soup)
Most people think of something sweet when they think of pumpkin flavored anything. This is the exact opposite. This soup is as savory as it gets and is high end restaurant quality in flavor; I kid you not. When making this soup, I was a little underwhelmed…until I tasted it. I know something is really, really good when I say “Holy Shit” out loud. The tomatoes help balance out the pumpkin, so it’s not so dominant. What it really tastes like is a cross between tomato soup and butternut squash soup. You can garnish it with green onions and crumbled queso, unless you want to keep it vegan. Either way, if you want to impress some people, serve them this as the soup course.
Equipment
- immersion blender
Ingredients
- 3 tbsp olive oil
- 1 white onion diced
- 3 garlic cloves minced
- 1/2 tsp cumin seeds
- 1/2 tsp ground cumin
- 4 roma tomatoes chopped
- 6 cups vegetable stock
- 1 small pumpkin seeded, peeled, and cubed
- salt and pepper to taste
Garnish
- green onions finely chopped
- queso fresco crumbled; omit if you want the soup vegan
Instructions
- Heat up the olive oil in a pot over medium high heat. Sauté the onions, garlic, tomatoes, cumin seeds and ground, for 5 minutes.
- Pour in the veggie stock. Add in the pumpkin. Bring to a boil. Reduce the heat to medium low and simmer for 30 minutes until the pumpkin is soft.
- Using an immersion blender, purée the soup until smooth.
- Season with salt and pepper. Simmer for a couple more minutes until it is your desired consistency.
