Pastrami vs. Montreal smoked meat; Beef vs. Lamb

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.