Palo Alto Little League Opening Day - April 2, 2011

Aukie's will have the Pastrami stand in full operation this weekend for the Palo Alto Little League opening day.  We will be serving Pastrami, Corned Beef and Turkey sandwiches with free pickles.  We will have melted swiss and Reubens as available options for your sandwich.  Our stand will be right next to the snack shack behind the backstop at Middlefield Ballpark.  Be sure you stop by to enjoy your opening day with a Hot Pastrami sandwich. 
Best of luck to all the teams and kids who are competing this year!

Braving the elements

Last weekend, I catered a film wrap party for a movie being shot at Half Moon Bay, California.  It was further proof that I can set up "shop" to serve my Pastrami in any corner of the world.  I found a spot right on the beach that was out of the wind, and started up my stove to sling Pastrami, Corned Beef and Turkey sandwiches.  Of course, I offered melted swiss, reubens and pickles. 

The best part of this event, besides being on the beach in Northern California, were the fresh salads that I made for the cast.  Aukie's presented "Primanti Brothers" style cole slaw, vegan(tofu bacon) german potato salad, greek salad with feta cheese, and a roasted squash vegetable salad all to rave reviews.  It was a really fun day, and I think the entire cast left a few pounds heavier!

Injecting flavor??

So, last week, I smoked a few briskets before I let them cure long enough.  You could tell that there was a drop in the Pastrami flavor in the final product.  The meat tasted too "beefy" not "pastrami" enough.  I realized that I need to let the briskets cure for at least 3 weeks for all the flavors to penetrate the meat.

The large commercial pastrami makers inject their product with Pastrami flavor.  They do not even cure the meats or smoke them.. just inject and bak'em.  So i figured that I can play with needles too.

The question is how do you make Pastrami flavor that it injectable?  I tried a few "preparations" but the flavor was not really right.  The closest thing I could come up with is just a simple solution of beef stock, peppercorns, garlic cloves, and coriander seeds.  Once I reduced this down then strained it, there was a good flavor I thought I could inject into the meat. 

The problem with injecting is that pockets of "juice" can make the flavor uneven.  You get pools of solution throughout the meat, it is hard to disperse the juice evenly. 

I am not crazy about this injecting stuff.  I will bet you that "Moishe and Schmegegee" were not sitting in an ice cooled basement on Ludlow Street circa 1905 injecting meats with flavor "enhancers".  They rubbed the meat with the curing spices and let them sit in a cool place for a looooong time!  Injecting flavor freaks me out and is even more disconcerting knowing that this his how the commercial Pastrami makers create their product. 

The flavor just has to be better when the meat is given a heavy coat of curing spice and let to sit for a good long time.  I am gonna stick to the old fashioned method, but I thought I should try the injecting process on a few pieces of brisket. 

I got the injected meat in the fridge now, and we will try them out in a week.  Stayed tuned...

A new weapon in my Arsenal

I have found the game changer for Aukie's, but first... THE GUNNERS WERE ROBBED IN CHAMPIONS LEAGUE today!!  I referee soccer games for an adult indoor soccer league so I have sympathy for refs.  However, the Red Card on Van Persie in today's game against Barcelona was simply a horrible call.  It ruined the game, and changed everything in favor of Barcelona.

 

Now back to Aukie's Pastrami... the Hillsborough Little League opening day was a blast!  We sold about 40 sandwiches to rave reviews.  It was a really a nice crowd and a fun time in beautiful weather.  In fact, Aukie's Pastrami is coming out better than ever, and it was so nice to hear the positive feedback. 

I love my big handmade 55 gallon smoker, and I will certainly continue to use it at the right events.  However,  I purchased an electric smoker that allows me to regulate temperatures and cooking times much better while still generating a good quality all natural hardwood smoke.  I can now produce Pastrami "on demand" so I my inventory of meat is easier to control.   It really is a GAME CHANGER!  (Just like a red card at critical time in the final leg of a Champions League match.)