Pastrami vs. Montreal smoked meat; Beef vs. Lamb

smokingal

This cooking project is a follow-up for my previous pastrami versus Montreal smoked meat (MSM) post. In that post, I determined that a better way to compare the two would be to use the same cut of beef. While choosing to use beef brisket point for this purpose, I also decided to try making lamb pastrami and MSM using lamb belly.

The rub for the pastrami was the standard black pepper, coriander, mustard seed, dill seed, allspice, bay leaves, chili peppers and garlic and onion powder. The MSM used a rub I formulated from online postings of various MSM recipes; black pepper, coriander, mustard seed, celery seed, allspice, bay leaves, garlic and onion powder, paprika, cloves, cinnamon, ginger and brown sugar. Everything received a base sugar cure.

 

 

 

The plan was for a 10 day cure, however, life happened and that turned into 3 weeks. The meat was soaked for 8 hours, with a change of water every 2 hours. The brisket point was placed on racks and left to air dry in the fridge for 2 days. The lamb bellies were rolled into cylindrical shape using transglutaminase and plastic wrap before being placed into a vacuum sealed bag for 24 hours. The lamb belly was then racked and left to air dry in the fridge for 1 day.

 

 

The meat was covered in a layer of their respective rubs and cooked on the Egg at 235F using oak wood chunks until they hit a temperature of 165F. The pastrami and MSM was then cooked via sous vide at 165F for 48 hours, chilled, and placed back on the Egg at 235F to firm up the bark.

 

 

 

Instead of going for the usual pile of meat on rye sourdough bread, I opted to use the beef pastrami and MSM in breakfast sandwiches. The first breakfast was a half pastrami-half MSM, egg and cheese hoagie. The second preparation used a steamed bagel.

 

 

 

 

Cured meat, eggs and fluffy, chewy carbs make the best breakfast. I’m going to have to say the pastrami won this round. The MSM, while delicious in its own right, just got edged out by a small margin. The meat was smoky, super tender and had that perfect peppery bite.

The lamb was utilized in a pizza comprised of a 96-hour, no knead sourdough crust topped with homemade pizza sauce made from oak-smoked campari tomatoes and fresh mozzarella. One half was topped with the lamb pastrami and the other with the lamb MSM.

 

lamb MSM

lamb pastrami

 

When I tried slices of the lamb cold, the flavor was muted. Also, cold lamb fat isn’t what I consider to be palatable. When cooked, the lamb flavor was pronounced and the lamb fat had rendered out, leaving this light pool of tasty grease atop the pizza. The dough had a definitive sourdough essence, and even with a heavy layer of sauce, fresh mozzarella and meat grease, the airy, super thin crust maintained its crunch.

Much like the beef, the lamb was juicy, tender and packed with peppery flavor. The MSM was my favorite, as the flavors in that rub complimented the gaminess of the lamb. I literally mumbled “MMMmmmmmm” the entire time while eating this pizza.  Such good eats.

g8golfer

WOW

Wolfpack

Always look forward to your posts and this one didn’t let me down.

lousubcap

I need to take my ball and go home. I couldn't remember half of that, much less bring it home. Talk about mad skills and creativity... Every one of your posts just elevates your game. Friggin awesome is inadequate but you get the idea.

BGEChicago

I have a lot of work to do to try and even be 20% this good....

mEGG_My_Day

pro tip - anyone suffering from an inferiority complex should not open an @smokingal thread. That all looks amazing and clearly is a labor of love. Thanks for posting as always.

Sea2Ski

Your cooks simultaneously amaze me and exhaust me at the same time. I wonder to myself how many meals you have going at the same time in different stages. My guess is no less than 4, and might go up to 6. And even then My guess may be low.

smokingal

@lousubcap Thanks for the compliment. If I didn't take pictures of most of the steps, I'd forget them too. 😀 Not really. I have an excellent memory. It helps with these convoluted, long running cooks.

@mEGG_My_Day I often see people building things on here and if you saw the hideous teddy bear clock I made in high school shop class, you'd see how that is just not in the cards for me. I shake my head in amazement everytime someone posts a new back deck or Egg table. If I want a nice table for my Egg, along with a new deck for it to rest upon, I'm going to have to buy them both.

@Sea2Ski You are a great guesser. At the start of the week, I had 5 different meals in various stages. Thank God I'm back down to 2. The prep work is the major time suck.

bgebrent

Pathetic effort. If next time you could be more thoughtful and explicit. Thanks in advance. Beautiful.

Griffin

We're not worthy, we're not worthy!!

lkapigian

No Words