Corned Beef from Scratch
Earlier this year, near the end of our stay in San
Miguel de Allende, Mexico, the documentary “Deli Man” circulated
among a group of our friends. “Deli Man” chronicles the demise of the Jewish delicatessen
through the eyes of Ziggy Gruber, a third-generation NY deli man who now is
partner in Kenny & Ziggy’s New York Delicatessen in,
of all places, Houston, Texas. When those of us who had seen it got together
for dinner one evening, the conversation inevitably turned to memories of our
own personal visits to the iconic corned beef/pastrami joints of the city that
never sleeps—the Stage and the Carnegie Delis (both on 7th Avenue), the
2nd Ave Deli, and Katz’s (where Meg Ryan’s performance in “When Harry
Met Sally” left every man wondering whether he really was as good as he thought
he was).
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| Stage Deli (now closed) |
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| Carnegie Deli (now closed) |
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| 2nd Ave Deli (old location) |
“Deli Man” was filmed in 2014, at which time the Stage had already closed its doors. Two years later, the Carnegie bit the dust. The 2nd Ave. Deli, which opened in 1954 and remained at its original location in the East Village until 2006, now operates out of two locations, one in Midtown and the other on the Upper East Side. Katz’s continues to serve its famous corned beef, pastrami and Reuben sandwiches on the Lower East Side at essentially the same address from which it has operated since 1888.
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| A sandwich the type of which Pat and I each once ordered at the Carnegie |
Discussing the sandwiches that we had consumed over
the years, nobody mentioned that they always were stuffed with way more meat
than was close to being healthy--or capable of being consumed at a single seating (you always asked for a doggie bag).
And we all lamented the fact that there wasn't a Kosher deli in San Miguel de Allende where we could come close to duplicating those Jewish joys. It happened, however, that a couple of weeks before our discussion, I had met a condo lawyer from
Toronto who home-cured his own meats. It occurred to me that we could do make our own corned beef/pastrami at home, right there in the heart
of colonial Mexico, certainly no more out of place than Ziggy’s establishment
in Houston.
I’m now sitting in Bend, Oregon. It’s two months
before we head back to San Miguel and I thought it advisable to take a stab at
curing a brisket to make corned beef before heading south. So I searched the web and found all
I needed to know (I hope) at amazingribs.com. On Sunday, I purchased a small brisket and commenced the curing process. Here we
go:First, the brisket--at 3 pounds, not as large as I would have liked, but available.
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| End view showing layer of fat |
Then, you have to trim it, but leave a little fat if you intend to go the additional step and transform your corned beef into pastrami. Cutting it into two pieces allows you to have both corned beef and pastrami.
The curing spices: mostly kosher salt mixed with curing salt. I added optional brown sugar, garlic, and pickling spices.*
Finally, into the bath where it will remain for four days. Come back then; I hope to be serving some of the corned beef on rye with mustard, and preparing the remainder to go in the smoker for our pastrami!
*The proper ingredients are important if you don't want to die of botulism. If you're going to do it yourself, make certain to read "The Science Of Curing Meats Safely" on the amazingribs.com site.
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