Salt beef sandwiches
I’ve made pastrami before, but not it’s precursor, salt beef. I couldn’t find my pink curing salt, it came out a little grey in colour, but delicious.
You will need
- A piece of brisket or silverside beef, around a couple of kilos
- Enough cold water to cover it, I needed 2kg
- 80g of salt
- 40g of dark sugar
- A tablespoon of black pepper corns, roughly crushed
- A tablespoon of coriander seeds, roughly crushed
- A couple of bay leaves
- A teaspoon of chilli flakes
- A couple of carrots, in big chunks
- An onion, halved
- A few sticks of celery, roughly chopped
Do
The brining
- Trim all the fat and as much connective tissue you can get to.
- Dissolve the salt and sugar in the least possible hot water then top up with cold water
- Stir in half the black peppercorns
- Stir in all the other ingredients
- Submerge the beef in the brine, making sure it’s completely covered, weigh it down if needed
- Cover it and pop it in the fridge for 5 to 7 days
The cooking
- Rinse off the beef and cut it in the InstantPot with enough water to cover it
- Add the remaining blackpepper, carrots, onion, celery and a few extra bay leaves if you have them
- Pop the lid on, close the valve, and pop it steam mode for 2 hours
- Once you’re ready to eat, ideally leave the InstantPop to cool enough to open the lid, lift out carefully and cut thick slices.
Result
Traditionally salt beef would be served with boiled potatoes, but I hate them, so we made massive sandwiches instead. The other fillings included sauerkraut, coleslaw made with green cabbage and apple an quickled cucumber.
