I dumped the brine and rinsed the beef off thoroughly in cold water. Then I tossed it in a large pot, added an onion, carrot, and celery and filled it with water to one inch above the top of the meat. I set it on high until it boiled, and then reduced the heat to low and let it simmer for three hours.
After three hours I checked the temperature of the meat (plenty,) then fished it out and put it on a cooling rack.
Not the best picture I know, but actually looks pretty correct. The meat is kind of grey on the outside, which is hardly surprising after eleven days in a bag of brine and boiling for three hours. The real surprise was inside.
It's kind of a pretty light pink! My research on saltpeter had mentioned that this is one of the reasons to use it, but I used so little of it I didn't expect much. I'm very pleasantly surprised. It also appears to be reddening more as it cools.
Of course the big question is "how did it turn out?" I've very pleased to say that the experiment was a success! The meat came out very tender and has a very good flavor. The flavor isn't fully uniform. The edge piece are more delicately flavored than the interior, but that's to be expected in such a large piece of meat that has had so much done to it. The only negative I would put out there is that it is a bit greasy. I'll give some thought about how to fix that next time. Maybe a closer trim of the fat? It will be perfect for sandwiches, though. I'm sure there is a delicious Reuben in my future soon!
Was it worth it? Yes. It wasn't really that hard to make overall. The worst part was losing access to my deli drawer for 11 days. It also required a lot of spices I don't normally have sitting around and am not sure what else to do with except make it again! Then again, with this blog, I'm sure I can come up with something else as well.
Reubens have sauerkraut, yah? How long does THAT take to make?
ReplyDeleteCould you have injected some of the brine into it during that process? And/or injected some of the boil into the meat later?
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I'm sure I probably could have injected it. I've noticed that the pieces I ate today were much better than yesterday. I think it got more complex as it rested. The next time I make it, I might poke some holes into the meat to make sure it gets more saturated, but I think it's all going to be good for now.
ReplyDeleteThis is awesome - great stuff, Paul. The meat cutter is going to get a workout!
ReplyDeleteThank you! I should get around to making this again. I just need to clean out the fridge!
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