Foodservice recipe: salt beef bagel
Salt beef is an excellent sandwich filler. The recipe uses an inexpensive cut of meat too,which is increasingly important. The spice mix in the brine is fairly flexible, so don’t be scaredto try your own favourites.
Cook: 2-3 hours
Prep: 15 minutes plus brining
Ingredients
For the brine:
1.5 litres water
100g light brown sugar
1tbsp Prague powder
2 bay leaves
1tbsp coriander seeds
1tbsp black mustard seeds
1tbsp yellow mustard seeds
1tbsp juniper berries
Pinch chilli flakes or 1 whole dried chilli
1.5kg piece beef brisket, unrolled
2 carrots
2 onions
To serve:
Bagels
Mustard
Pickles
Method
Heat 500ml of the water with the light brown sugar, bay leaves, coriander seeds, black and yellow mustard seeds, juniper berries and chilli. Stir until dissolved then remove from the heat and stir in the Prague powder and remaining water.
Place the meat in a ziplock bag and pour over the brining liquid. Seal well, and place in another ziplock bag to double-seal for security.
Place in the fridge for 7-10 days, turning daily, to brine. The longer you do this the better, but the meat is full of flavour after 7 days.
Once brined, remove the meat from bag and discard the liquid. Place the beef in a pan of water and bring to a simmer. Cover and cook slowly for 2-3 hours until the meat is tender and pulls apart easily with a fork.
When the meat is tender and cooked through, remove from the heat and allow it to cool in the liquid with the lid off. Store the meat in the fridge, or slice and freeze.
Serve the sliced beef in bagels with sweet mustard, lettuce, pickles and any other accompaniments.
Recipe by Jules Mercer
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