Skip to main content

Deli Days ( Remembering Blooms )

In the U.K. we call it Salt Beef, in the US they call it corned beef, but nothing quite evokes my nostalgia taste buds, than a picture of an overstuffed salt beef on rye  sandwich with    a side order of new green cucumbers..

If you were brought up in the south of England , no trip to London was complete without a visit to Blooms.they were located near Petticoat lane in the East End of London, and on Golders green  road  in north west London.

Once inside the doors one would feast your eyes and all your senses  on a whole selection of traditional   Jewish dishes, With portions certainly not for the faint hearted or for the cholesterol shy.
This week  I am going to take some of those dishes, remove the smaltz, sugars and gluten and give the Kitchen Guru followers the flavors without the  health risks to your favorite kosher  deli menu .

Starting today with the item that made Blooms famous Salt Beef,

Salt beef is in my blood, my great grandparents owned and ran Silversteins salt beef bar in the East end of London long before I was thought of!


My grandmother, my mother & I always use to pickle our own salt beef, however one of the ingredients one needs is saltpeter, no longer sold over the counter as it can be a basis for an
explosive.  So now one would ask your kosher butcher to pickle it for you.

Home pickling 

But if you are picking your own beef  or tongue you will need
3 kilos brisket of beef   or tongue
3 Liters water
1/2 cup Kosher salt
1/2 cup brown sugar
1  heaped teaspoon salt peter
3 bay leaves
4 cloves
10 peppercorns
4 cloves of garlic peeled.

Put the water sugar  salt saltpeter bay leaves cloves and peppercorns  into a pot bring to the boil then cook gently for 10 minutes then put into a large non metallic  bowl  or container( we had one just for this process.) leave till cold.
When cold wash the meat under cold water solution , make certain it is well under the pickling mixture. then place a lid  over it and and leave to pickle for 10 days in the bottom of the fridge.
You should turn the meat over every couple of days.


To Cook Salt Beef
4 carrots peeled
4 stalks celery washed & cut in half
2  medium turnip peeled and halved
1 whole garlic  washed left in its peel
4 onions
2 bay leaves.
4 pepper corns
1/2 teaspoon sea salt
I large piece of meat 3 kilos ready pickled

Put the meat in a large heavy bottomed pot that has tight fitting lid.
add all the rest of the Ingredients
Cover with cold water & bring to the boil.
Skim, then place the lid on the pot, and reduce the heat , simmer for 2.-3 hours.depending on the size of your joint of meat
Test the meat .
If serving hot carve and serve , if you want to have the salt beef cold let it cool in the cooking stock. then place in the fridge in a bit of the cooking stock
Either way  carve, on to fresh rye bread that has been spread with mustard, serve with a side of new green cucumbers, and for the non weight watchers a latke and you have just stepped back into Blooms.

New Green Cucumbers

I remember my father making New Green , in a large bucket with a lid they have always been my favorite pickles this is my fathers recipe,

24 young green small to medium cucumbers  or if you are in the UK 6-8 normal cucumbers  sliced in an angle into 3 .

For every quart of water you need  
1 tablespoon Kosher salt.
1/4 pint vinegar
4 cloves of garlic
10 pepper corns
1 teaspoon brown sugar
2 bay leaves
a few flakes of dried hot peppers ( optional)


Wash your cucumbers and soak them in cold water for 24 hours.
Dry them well
In the bottom of the container you are pickling in place a bay leaf some peppercorns garlic  pack in the cucumbers with the spices around them.
In a pot heat up the water and salt,& sugar  cook for five minutes let cool then add the vinegar.
when really cool pour over the cucumbers and spices
and seal the jars well. they take 3 weeks to pickle once a week you will need to remove any scum. If the brine evaporates replace with a weak salt water solution.


Enjoy your sat beef sandwiches ! Watch out for  other revamped and traditional heimshe recipes this week.

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

Its So Easy Being Green, ( or Yellow ) Sorry Kermit!

Zucchini or Courgette  if you are European ,   are a member of the squash family  are so versatile , easy to digest, they are available all year round . Health Values Zucchini’s  are  low in Saturated Fat and Sodium, and very low in Cholesterol. It is also a good source of Protein, Vitamin A, Thiamin, Niacin, Phosphorus and Copper, and a very good source of Dietary Fiber, Vitamin C, Vitamin K, Riboflavin, Vitamin B6, Folate, Magnesium, Potassium and Manganese. the ideal food for the weight conscious . Versatile Zucchini can be steamed, well seasoned , drizzled with a touch of good quality olive oil and served, they can be eaten raw, baked, fried , griddled. They pair up well with mushrooms, tomatoes, leeks and onions, they are wonderful in quiches , pashdididas. cooked on the griddle, added to soup , as a base of ratatouille.  they can be stuffed, sauteed, baked stir fried  to name a few ways of cooking them. added to kugels, latkes, and chocolate cake  for moisture In fac

Not Schmaltz At All ( healthy chopped liver)

Chopped liver often mocked, reproduced and joked about, as traditionally Jewish as chicken soup.  Chopped liver can be made with any type pf liver but personally I prefer the traditional  favorite of chicken livers. Chopped liver was traditionally fried in schmaltz (chicken fat ) which over the years has given way to oil, my no fry no oil version tastes just as good but weight watchers can eat with guilt. Nutritional Value Liver is a nutrient-rich food and the ingredients in the chopped liver recipe add more nutrients to the mix. Liver is high in vitamin A, which is dangerous to unborn babies so pregnant mothers should avoid liver in any form.It also contains  vitamin C  choline,  betaine, of vitamin B-12,  retinal and vitamin E  also  of vitamins B-6, folate, niacin, pantothenic acid, riboflavin and thiamin in lesser amounts It also contains the following minerals  Its high in i ron, magnesium,  phosphorus,  potassium,  zinc,  copper, manganese  selenium . If eaten frequently,
  Perfect Hot Salt Beef Sandwich When I was twenty I was lucky enough to work a stall in the world famous   Petticoat Lane market   on   Sunday   mornings, Back in the day the market was mainly Jewish market traders   we were part of the very special history of the East End of London, The excitement, hustle and bustle, comradeship between the stall holders was second to none, we worked all weathers , and shared each other’s joys and sorrows.   but the icing on the cake was visiting Blooms on Whitechapel Road after trading had finished for a succulent hot salt beef sandwich, nothing can erase these memories from my mind even though its over half a century ago. When Danny Brummer  “Z"L”  was running the Deli in Hove Street, I use to cook with him, back in the day we use to pickle our own beef but nowadays you can buy it ready pickled from Gilberts, this is the recipe we used to serve hot salt beef sandwiches to the Brighton and Hove Jewish community   1.5 kilos ready pickle