We removed most of the fat cap because it doesn't melt away and is a bit too gummy for service; we removed it before brining to allow better brine penetration. No salt or sugar in the rub since we believe this desiccates the surface and turns it ropy.
Brisket
3.9 Kg / 8.6 pound BrisketTrim excess fat from the Brisket: we lost 350 g (12 ounce).
We cut ours in half so they would fit in our brining bucket and in the vacuum bags we'd later use for sous vide.
Brine
Make a 5% brine: for 4.5L water, we need 225g. We'll heat half the water then dilute with ice to cool.
The Pink Salt is a mixture of Sodium Nitrite and regular Sodium Chloride and preserves the attractive pink color you see in cured meats like bacon; it's not strictly necessary but helps the appearance. Given how many spices you'll be using, it's worth seeking out an ethnic grocer that sells spices in bulk: coriander seeds from the Pakistani store across the street were 1/10th the cost of our chain grocery store's.
The Pink Salt is a mixture of Sodium Nitrite and regular Sodium Chloride and preserves the attractive pink color you see in cured meats like bacon; it's not strictly necessary but helps the appearance. Given how many spices you'll be using, it's worth seeking out an ethnic grocer that sells spices in bulk: coriander seeds from the Pakistani store across the street were 1/10th the cost of our chain grocery store's.
2.25 L Water
225 g Salt, kosher
200 g Brown Sugar
30 g Pink Salt (Prague Powder #1, InstaCure)
50 g Black Peppercorns
50 g Coriander Seed
10 g Yellow Mustard Seed
10 g White Peppercorns
5 g Fennel Seed
2 g Cinnamon
0.5 g Chili Flakes (very spicy Korean)
0.5 g Clove
1.25 g Bay Leaf, fresh
10 g Garlic Powder
5 g Juniper Berries
40 ml Liquid Smoke
Add the Salts, Sugar, Liquid Smoke and Powdered Garlic to the pot with water, heat until dissolved.
Grind the spices and add to water, cover, turn off heat, and let steep 30 minutes.
Pour into an 8 L Cambro bucket and add ice to bring it to 4.5 L.
Add Brisket pieces.
Refrigerate for 4 days, rotating once a day to ensure all surfaces are submerged.
Rub
80 g Black Peppercorns
80 g Coriander Seeds
20 g Garlic Powder
15 g Juniper Berries
1 g Chili Flake (very spicy Korean chilis)
Grind all spices in coffee/spice grinder fairly fine so it coats easily: sawdust texture is about right.
Pat dry the brisket and rub all around.
Seal each in vacuum bag.
For sanity, mark brine percent (5%) and date with Sharpie marker.
Refrigerate overnight to let the dry rub penetrate.
If you're not going to cook it now, you can freeze it hard in the bags; you can cook directly from frozen. We took our brined, rubbed and frozen bags o' beef to the beach in a cooler and they stayed frozen during the long trip.
If you're not going to cook it now, you can freeze it hard in the bags; you can cook directly from frozen. We took our brined, rubbed and frozen bags o' beef to the beach in a cooler and they stayed frozen during the long trip.
Cooking
Cook the sous vide bags in a water bath at 57C/135F for 72 hours (yup, 3 days): the low temperature keeps it from getting gray or developing a crumbly texture like some corned beef; the long time is necessary to develop tenderness at this low temperature, a trade-off of time vs. temperature. We use a Sans Aire immersion circulator in a beer cooler with a lid made of Styrofoam to reduce evaporation. Check the water level once a day and top up with hot water if necessary.
Remove and let cool 30-60 minutes on the counter -- this helps the flesh reabsorb the exuded juices -- then place the sealed bags in the fridge overnight. This is contradictory to conventional wisdom and practice that demands immediate chilling in an ice bath to reduce chance of bacterial contamination, but if Bruno Goussault (the father of sous vide) recommends this, it's the thing to do.
Serving
Cut open the bags and strain and save the liquid; toss the spent rub from the bags.
Wipe or quickly rinse off the rub that's stuck to the meat, it distracts from the texture.
Slice the meat very thinly, a millimeter is about right: a meat slicer is great for this, or use a long sharp slicing or chef's knife.
Divide the meat into two serving trays, lasagna pans are great for this.
Add the strained jus to the pans to keep the meat moist and flavorful.
You can hold this covered in the fridge if you like.
A half hour before service, add a stick of butter to each pan; we were thinking of making a sauce from the jus mounted with butter but this is a lot easier and provides a hit of richness without announcing itself.
Heat the pans covered in a low oven at serving temperature, about 57C/135F or just a bit warmer -- you do not want to dry it out after all this work -- until the butter is melted; toss gently to combine meat, juice and butter.
Serve on heated plates.
Results
This was our best yet: it smelled great, had an assertive enough flavor that was definitely pastrami, a good texture -- tender but not mushy. The salt level was fine, and the sugar this time was not at all intrusive.
Oddly, there wasn't as much jus as last time, and it didn't gel to a good meat-stock consistency like our previous batch. The indulgent use of butter helped bump-up the mouth-feel but never tasted "buttery".
There was more than enough for the 12 of us, not twice what we needed but -- thankfully -- there was plenty to take home.
It made for great sandwiches the next day, cool from the fridge or heated briefly in the microwave.
Next Time
Bring the goddamn meat slicer so we don't have to spend 2 hours shaving with knives and getting hands so cramped we had to wrap them around cocktail glasses.
Either bring up the the liquid smoke to a level we can smell/taste, or omit. We couldn't detect it.
If we get plenty of jus next time, we could use less butter, but we'd still use a bit for richness; just don't overdo it so it becomes detectable.
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