Breaking My Own Rule
I normally only post vegetable or plant-based recipes, but I’m breaking my own rule for this one.
I wish I’d discovered this a decade ago, when my kids were in school and used to beg me to buy pastrami. Back then it wasn’t easy to find one without nitrates or other preservatives. You could only buy it at Whole Foods, and it had too much salt.
My kids loved turkey pastrami. They still do. Can’t blame them. I love it too, but I always avoided the store-bought kind.
This version tastes even better than store-bought. It’s easy to make, but it does need to sit in the fridge for at least six hours, so I usually brine the chicken breasts the night before and cook them the next day.
The brine is just water, salt, honey, garlic powder, bay leaves, and mustard seeds. That’s it.
How We Ate It
My husband and I are eating as few carbs as possible, so we had it in a salad with arugula, avocado, and pickled onion. My son Alex made a sandwich with the same ingredients.
Such a satisfying, healthy meal.
Why You’ll Love It
- No nitrates, no preservatives. You know exactly what goes into it.
- A simple brine. Water, salt, honey, and a few pantry spices.
- Mostly hands-off. The fridge does the work overnight, and the oven does the rest.
- Salad or sandwich. Low-carb on a bed of arugula, or piled onto bread for the kids.
Homemade Chicken Pastrami
Equipment
- Large plate
- Medium-large container or bowl
- Wire rack
- Baking tray
- Tongs
- Butcher’s twine
- scissors
- Cutting board
- Sharp knife (for slicing thin)
Ingredients
- 2 lb boneless chicken breasts - or turkey breast (about 900 g)
For the brine
- 4 cups room-temperature filtered water - 1000 ml
- 2 tablespoons salt
- 2 tablespoons honey - or sugar
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1 teaspoon mustard seeds
- 2 bay leaves
For the rub
- 2 tablespoons smoked paprika
- ½ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
Instructions
- In a medium-large container or bowl, mix together the brine ingredients, stirring until the salt and honey are fully dissolved.
- Place the chicken breasts on a large plate and stack them on top of each other so they form one even chunk. Wrap butcher’s twine around them to hold them tightly together, and tie the ends.
- Put the chicken into the brine. It should be fully submerged. If it isn’t, turn it every now and then. Cover and refrigerate for at least 6 hours and up to 24 hours. Now you wait.
- Preheat the oven to 500°F (260°C).
- Remove the chicken from the fridge, take it out of the brine, and pat it dry with paper towels.
- Make the rub: mix the smoked paprika and black pepper with the olive oil. Brush it generously all over the chicken.
- Using tongs, place the chicken on a wire rack set over a baking tray. Roast for 15 minutes, then lower the heat to 340°F (170°C) and cook for another 20–25 minutes, until the thickest part reaches 165°F (74°C) on a meat thermometer and the juices run clear.
- Let it rest for at least 15 minutes before removing the twine. For thin slices, chill it completely first, then slice with a sharp knife.
Notes
- Brine the night before. The chicken needs at least 6 hours in the fridge, so I brine it in the evening and roast it the next day.
- Chill before slicing. Warm pastrami is delicious, but for thin, deli-style slices, chill it completely first.
- Turkey works too. Use the same weight of boneless turkey breast.
- Serving idea: Arugula, avocado, and pickled onion, as a salad or between two slices of bread.
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