Chef Fowke

Note: coming out of the steamer tonight the pastrami had a much deeper, redder colour using the dry brining system then the wet brine.... Details to follow after it is pressed for 12 hours and re-steamed before serving... (as per question in other thread Colour (Canada) = Color (USA))

The original stock sounds really beautiful to me! Why waste it on soup. Save it for a great reduction or sauce. When I am making a soup; say a leek and potato soup for home I take the ingredients (leek, onions, garlic, potato, scallion) and sauté them in a large stockpot. When translucent I add raw chicken bones, bay leaves, peppercorns, thyme and rosemary wrapped in cheesecloth and tied tightly with twine. I then top the stockpot up with water and simmer for a few hours. Before I puree the soup I remove the cheesecloth package. You get great soup made with chicken stock without the hassle of making a stock first!

Wait!!!! I am going to cut into the dry cured pastrami on Sunday. Originally I thought the dry brine was harsh on the meat...but now I see that the brining, smoking and steaming has beautifully rendered the fat into the meat. I took a small sampling tonight and the meat looked stupendous!!! As for the smoking it is easy to change a BBQ, metal box or old refrigerator into a smoker for very little $$$ Google has 1000's of ideas and I can help with a few. Give me a day before you do anything with your meat! I do not want you to use and abuse it. I will post ASAP.

A very reliable source contacted me today and told me that he knows where the Pastrami at Katz Deli in NYC is made. Rumor has it that it is located in Seattle! I am packing up the wife and heading down on Tuesday to investigate.... I did do a little research and came across a super article: An American History of Pastrami! I will be sampling the dry cured pastrami on Sunday night....photos will be posted! Just wish I had some real spicy deli mustard...please save me from this godless wasteland of a tropical coast without deli mustard!

I am not sure about the dry brining method. I washed the meat and soaked it to remove the excess salt today. I was looking at the colour and the meat appears to be 'damaged' by the brining unlike the results from the wet brining that seemed to be a lot gentler on the tissue. I will smoke it tomorrow and get back with the results.

Does anyone know the status of the Canadian beef embargo into the USA? I would be happy to ship a few pounds of pastrami to NYC for you and Fat Guy to sample if it is legal. In return I need someone back east to send me some mustard from London, Ontario! This is the best of the best!!! Canada's Best Deli Well worth the trip. Everyone who loves smoked meat should make the pilgrimage. It stands up to Katz's!!

The experiment is not over yet! The plate has arrived and is three days into the dry curing (80% kosher salt, 10% sugar, 10% coriander seed, cloves, bay leaf, garlic rub --> with a tablespoon of saltpeter). Tomorrow I will wash it and coat it with a peppercorn-coriander crust. I will weight it down for 24 hours and then slow smoke it for 8 hours (with cherry wood this time). By Saturday or Sunday it should be in the steamer for three hours! Pastrami Special on Sunday’s brunch at Joe Fortes

Tuna and CO2 And when a less-then-reputable-fishmonger sells you poor quality tuna that has been ‘hopped up’ it leaches a pinkish scum as it defrosts.

Not bad, not bad at all! And the best part of eating at Fennie's is when you open the menu and see the prices. I was ready for the $150 drawn out lunch. When I first saw the menus prices I became noticeable happy. I smiled, relaxed and really began to enjoy the whole experience. The second best part about eating at Fennie's is that a chef who has made his fame and is cooking what he wants designed the menu. The flavours are great, pure and simple. You can taste in every bite that the kitchen and the owner are having fun. And Fennie's weenie was a little smaller then I expected. Fennie's weenie menu

I had cold dog soup in a little hut in the market in Hong Kong with some rice vodka. Both were great and the cost was minimal!!! (please do not tell my two black lab dogs!)

You have to be careful with the origin of the recipe when dealing with beurre blanc and thickening sauces with butter. The water content in butter is different in the USA from Canada, Mexico, Japan, Europe and Australia. Most butter in North America (salted) is frozen butter from grade 'b' stock. After salting they can classify it as salted grade 'a' salted butter. Your best bet is to buy only unsalted butter for cooking to have a consistent base to start with. Have your reduced stock at a minimal simmer and wisk (with a Wisk!) the butter in slowly until you reach your desired thickness (and always weigh, not measure your butter).

I cannot wait; my wife is taking me for dinner at 6:00pm on Monday (I hope they are open on Mondays). I will post. I hope Fennie's weenie is bigger than rumored!

And I laugh again. I did a google on peanut oil... According to the Texas Peanut Producers Board, peanut oil may be used three or four times to fry turkeys before signs of deterioration begin. Such indications include foaming, darkening or smoking excessively, indicating the oil must be discarded. Other signs of deteriorated oil include a rancid smell and/or failure to bubble when food is added.

Good question! Do they make a crock-pot big enough? I have done game bird. I took a duck, pheasant and guinea fowl and chopped them each into eight pieces. I then seared them in EVOO until golden and put them into my crock pot. I deglazed the pan with Madeira and cognac and added the resulting syrup to the crock pot with a traditional mira poix and some shitake mushrooms. I topped the liquid up with a brown chicken stock, five juniper berries, five sprigs of thyme, seasoning and a bay leaf. It cooked for 6 hours and filled my house with the smells of Provence. To cut this short, turkey would probably be great!!!!!!

I apologize... You are right, not everyone can grow there own tomatoes and the local farmer's markets offer a superior product to what the average person could grow at home. I guess what I meant to say was any tomato salad is great as long as you use the best tomatoes available! Use the field tomatoes in the summer/fall and switch to the Hot House tomatoes in the winter. We should all avoid those awful winter tomatoes that are shipped thousands of miles green and artificially ripened at the last minute for the consumer (purely for appearance, not flavour).

My wife and I are going to try the restaurant out tomorrow before we go to Fennie's for dinner. I cannot wait to try out the room. All the comments have been so favourable. The rooms sounds like the ideal Vancouver hot spot.

Just slipping a little closer to topic.... Has anyone ever seen a 'smoke ring' on a piece of pastrami? I am guessing (educated) that the nitrates are restricted from causing the chemical reaction with the protein in the pastrami due to the saltpeter just as the saltpeter stops the discoloration of the meat during brining. Any scientists in the thread who can explain this?

I am not familiar with your 'smoke rings' on the meat. I think I know what you’re talking about from when I do a roast on the outdoor BBQ and slow cook it with hickory... The brisket is cured with saltpeter to help preserve the colour of the meat. As well the actual smoker I have has two chambers. The smoke is indirectly introduced into the main chamber at a cool temperature. The heat applied to the meat is controlled through a secondary heating system that produces a very gentle, consistent heat. I smoked the brisket for eight hours, at no time was there a ton of smoke or heat being applied to the meat and the process was very gentle so there was very little discolouration

long live the crock pot.... (not the chicken)

Thank you for the link. I am going to check it out next time I cross the border. I need to find out if it is legal to import live wasabi plants into Canada.

I just got back from Seattle and the 'wasabi lady' was not there! I really hope she was just taking a day off. Every time I go to Pike's market I pick up her beautiful fresh wasabi. I am lost without a supplier...much like a junky! What will I do?

Another favorite recipe comes from the 80's and my mother trying to be a good cook while juggling a career.... Find that crock pot we all have hidden in the back of a cupboard. Put a whole chicken in it and cover it with chicken stock. Add 6 whole shallots, 5 cloves of garlic, 2 scallion, 6 sprigs thyme, 4 tomatoes, 1/4 cup sherry vinegar, 2 bay leaves, 2 Serrano peppers and salt & pepper to taste. Turn it on low before you go to work. Eight hours later it is mind blowing. Very much like the French Pot au Feu. Add some angel hair pasta at the last minute and the meal is fantastic. Make sure to pick up a genuine French potato baguette on the way home and a wine from the Cote de Rhone

I agree with all the posts on this site and the recipes sound great... But the best tomato salad is made with tomatoes you pick from your own backyard when they are full and red and about to fall off the vine. A little fresh basil and some 30 year old balsamic (sea salt and ground pepper). The tomato is the perfect food and does not need to be fooled with. At its perfection it is the king of culinary.

Mondavi was great! It is hard to believe he is 90 years old. He is so sharp and focused! And the pastrami was pure fun. I really enjoyed the process. Three weeks to cure, smoke and produce! I always took it for granted. I now really appreciate a cured piece of beef (not including the stuff in the supermarkets). I cannot wait to get the plate. I want to see how well it cures and smokes. The dry brine (with weight) should be a lot more economical and hopefully as flavourful.

I remember in college we would send someone out to buy 3 or 4 buckets of KFC to put in the fridge to eat cold in the morning when we were hung-over from pubbing... I am sure next day fried turkey would be just as good (we a cold beer and an aspirin).