A Thankyou To Oddley

Introductions and chatter

A Thankyou To Oddley

Postby deb » Thu May 19, 2005 2:22 pm

I don't know if you'll remember Oddley but a while back you helped me out with the ammount of saltpetre I would need to use in Len Poli's recipe for Pastrami. I did eventually make it and thought I would let you know how it worked out.
As my hubby can't eat garlic I used a few Allspice and Juniper Berries and a few Peppercorns, lightly crushed, for a bit of flavour to compensate but everything else was as you said. I put it in the cure for 14 days and then left it to rest in the fridge for a couple more.
As I don't have a smoker I cooked it on my small gas barbecue. To do this I had it on the lowest temperature, I put a piece of foil on top of the rocks and put some dampened Mesquite Wood Chips (the type you get from garden centres in bags) on this. The meat I put on a rack on top of a small roasting dish, this seemed to work as far as cooking by indirect heat was concerned, and then put the lid down. After a couple of hours the wood had stopped smoking but the meat wasn't quite at the required internal temperature so I finished it off in the oven. It worked a treat. If I ever want to smoke a ham I will try boiling it for some of the cooking time and then finishing off in this way. The meat had a really smokey taste.
I've never eaten Pastrami before so I don't know if this was a true version but whether it was or not it turned out well and we liked it. The one thing I would change would be that I wouldn't cook it quite so much, being beef rather than pork I can't see any problem with this.

Thanks for your help.
Skinny Cooks Can't Be Trusted
deb
Registered Member
 
Posts: 297
Joined: Tue Oct 12, 2004 10:02 am
Location: england

Postby Oddley » Thu May 19, 2005 2:32 pm

Thank you deb, it is always nice to hear how things worked out.
User avatar
Oddley
Registered Member
 
Posts: 2250
Joined: Sun Oct 03, 2004 10:58 pm
Location: Lost Dazed and Confused

Postby Paul Kribs » Thu May 19, 2005 7:22 pm

That sounds very nice. Well done Deb for the improvisation with the gas BBQ for smoking. I was actually thinking of trying to make a small smoker out of some sheet metal, but that sounds like just the ticket. I too have a gas BBQ but have built it as a semi permanent fitting under my lean-to. The semi permanent reference is to the fact that it will eventually rust, just like the old one, but will be easy to replace. It too has a lid so I will use your method of foil on the lava rocks or maybe fashion a metal tray. Deb, did you just use a single thickness of foil or double it up?

I have lost count of the amount of industrial size dustbin liners full of oak sawdust and chippings that I have thrown out. I am now out of hardwood and don't have any woodwork projects looming in the near future, but as soon as I do I won't be throwing the dust or chippings away.

Question, would chippings smoke as well as the dust cos I normally end up with more due to the planer / thicknesser?

Oh, and my BBQ chimney goes up through the roof of the lean to, and drifts across my neighbours garden..... and they are vegetarians.. LOL Maybe that's why they always look gaunt and hungry.. bl00dy mung beans :roll:

Regards Paul Kribs
User avatar
Paul Kribs
Registered Member
 
Posts: 1588
Joined: Tue Apr 12, 2005 11:41 am
Location: South London, England

Postby stardust » Thu May 19, 2005 8:18 pm

deb: rumour has it that in south africa the army used to feed conscripts saltpeter in order to make them less horny. do you get the same result by putting the chemical in your pastrami?

Further, as a member of the male species, I have to enquire as to whether your saltpeter escapades are intentional with regards to your husband?
stardust
Registered Member
 
Posts: 6
Joined: Thu May 19, 2005 8:06 pm

Postby Heather » Fri May 20, 2005 5:27 am

I think it was copper sulphate rather than saltpetre, the conscripts used to call it "bluestone"...................
Heather
Registered Member
 
Posts: 133
Joined: Mon Mar 07, 2005 1:08 pm
Location: Bucks, UK


Return to Chatter

Who is online

Users browsing this forum: No registered users and 11 guests

cron