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🇦🇷 Argentina /Culture & Society

Gastón Caretti, chef: “Pastrami is not simply cured beef, it is a much more complex universe”

From La Nación · () Spanish

Translated from Spanish and summarized by DistantNews. Read the original for the full story.

At a glance

In-depth Named sources Context piece
  • Argentine chefs describe different methods for making pastrami, including curing periods of four to 16 days, low-temperature cooking, smoking, oven roasting and sous vide.
  • Gastón Caretti uses brisket cured for 14 to 16 days, cooked at low temperature for up to 15 hours, and smoked during the final two hours.
  • The specialists say precision, moisture, tenderness and cutting across the grain all shape the final sandwich.

A pastrami sandwich may look simple, but every slice reflects a chain of decisions. The cut of meat, brine, curing time, cooking method, moisture, bread and toppings can change the result completely.

Pastrami is not simply cured beef, it is a much more complex universe.

· Gastón CarettiThe chef described the range of choices behind a pastrami sandwich.

Buenos Aires versions follow different paths. Some meats cure for more than two weeks. Chefs also use long low-temperature cooking, ovens, smoking and sous vide, while debating how closely to follow the New York deli tradition without losing pastrami’s identity.

At Allenby, Gastón Caretti works with brisket from heavy cattle fed on pasture and grain. He explains that brisket has two sections: the thicker, fattier point and the thinner, leaner flat. He cures the meat in water, salt, sugar and spices for 14 to 16 days, depending on the piece’s weight. He then cooks it at low temperature for 12 to 15 hours and smokes it during the final two hours.

My secrets are patience and precision: I turn the meat in the brine every day, calculate exactly the ratio of brine to meat and strictly respect the curing times.

· Gastón CarettiCaretti explained the techniques he considers essential to his process.

“Patience and precision” are Caretti’s secrets. He turns the meat in the brine every day, calculates the brine-to-meat ratio precisely and follows the curing times strictly. Low-temperature cooking, he says, breaks down fat and collagen into a buttery, gelatinous texture.

The curing of the meat in brine takes four to five days, we smoke it with smoked paprika and cook it sous vide for 16 hours at 80 degrees.

· María CancelloCancello described Sole di Parma’s pastrami process.

At Sole di Parma, María Cancello uses tapa de asado, an Argentine cut comparable to brisket. Her team cures it for four to five days, smokes it with smoked paprika and cooks it sous vide for 16 hours at 80 degrees. Malvón founder Darío Muhafara uses the center of the same cut, reserves the thinner section for other dishes and marinates the meat cold for eight to 10 days before baking. He also emphasizes slicing across the grain so the meat does not become stringy.

Our process involves eight to 10 days of cold marination before it goes into the oven. This guarantees flavor, color and tenderness.

· Darío MuhafaraThe Malvón founder explained his preparation method.
About this summary

Originally published by La Nación in Spanish. Translated, summarized, and contextualized automatically by DistantNews, with a note on how the source frames the story. Not individually reviewed before publishing. How this works.

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