Langer’s pastrami is supposedly a “proprietary” recipe (negotiated by Langer’s) on a naval cut from Burbank, CA based RC Provisions. It is the best pastrami I have ever had.
But where to buy it? While their site says it’s packaged in 3-5 lb. pieces, they only sell to wholesale customers through their distributors. I did manage to find one in LA, but their delivery is based on a 400 lb order.
Sad I can’t find anywhere to buy a reasonably small quantity of this. Before I contact them pretending to be a catering service (c; anybody know of a place to get this? I know it is fresh, and could do that in the Burbank/Santa Clarita or Sacramento areas, I would be equally happy getting it shipped from anywhere frozen.
I tried top round, too, for pastrami… did I mention these lamb shanks I made the other day? Stinkin’ rounds. Not enough fat, too dense, IMO. It’s like I’m like my mom, trying to make the most out of rounds.
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CCE
(Keyrock the unfrozen caveman lawyer; your world frightens & confuses me)
23
You had lamb shanks that didn’t come out well?
But yeah on breaking down rounds - too lean. I really suggest making Biltong of it. Great stuff. It’s like jerky, except it’s South African version jerky.
Lamb shanks always come out perfectly. Top round? Not as much. The brine sure didn’t penetrate like I’d hoped. Was just trying to deflect the top round subject.
The only good use I’ve found for top round is thinly sliced for sandwiches. I brine, sous vide it to 125-130 or so, then sear the exterior. Cool and slice. It firms up enough that you can get reasonably thin slices by hand with a sharp knife. Much tastier than what the deli counter at my grocery store carries and usually half the price.
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CCE
(Keyrock the unfrozen caveman lawyer; your world frightens & confuses me)
27
When I break down a whole round I brine they eye, coat it in a garlic/thyme paste and roast it. Like you mentioned, it slices pretty well once cooled (either on mechanical slicer or by knife) and makes tasty roast beef.
The top and bottom roasts are also pretty good this way. But generally I’ll make jerky and biltong from the top/bottom round slabs. And I’m not going to try corning them again until I learn a better way to cook (something specific to corning/making pastrami with round) without drying it so much. So far even if I search quoted phrases, all I find are brisket recipes that have a throwaway comment like “Oh, you can also use top or bottom round roast” but don’t add any caveats related to cooking these cuts.
Lately my grocer hasn’t been putting out any cryovac pack whole round subprimals, just cryovac’d “whole” top or bottom rounds. And whole top sirloin, which is nice because it’s the cheapest way for me to get the cap/picanha, plus I get to cut the rest of the sirloin steaks the way I like them.
