beef short rib pastrami sushi with sauerkraut, swiss cheese and spicy sauce

Pastrami short ribs sit high on the list of my favourite things to make, and eat. The process takes time but the majority of the waiting is the curing stage which merely involves them sitting in the fridge doing their thing. There follows a desalination over night, dry rubbed for a day and then into the smoker for around 7 to 8 hours.

Pastrami is the key ingredient in the infamous Reuben sandwich, created by a Jewish grocer called Reuben Kulakofsky. The sandwiches typically consist of other ingredients including sauerkraut, Swiss cheese and a Russian style dressing all on rye bread, then grilled. Always looking to experiment a little I decided to mash things up by dropping the rye bread and putting the other ingredients into a sushi roll.

Being a sushi novice it took a few attempts to nail down the sushi rice cooking stage. Finding the correct rice to water ratio took some time and no doubt this will change a little between the varieties of rice on the market. As with all things cooking you’ll need to experiment a little until you find what works best for you. I found a ratio of 3:4 rice to water works well. It’s amazing the range in cooking instructions you find on the back of rice packets and on the internet. Use them as a guide but be prepared to adjust and adapt as required.

ingredients

• 300g sushi rice
• 400g water
• 1/4 cup rice vinegar
• 1 tbsp white sugar
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 3 sheets Nori
• Beef shortrib pastrami, sliced into 18 strips approximately 5mm by 5mm
• 6 Long thin slices Jarlsberg cheese, approximately 5mm by 5mm
• 3 tbsp Sauerkraut
• Spicy sauce, a mix of…
  • 1/3 cup mayonnaise
  • 2 tbsp sour cream
  • 1/2 tbsp hot sauce (we use Sriracha)
  • 1 tsp grated brown onion
  • 1 tsp horseradish
  • 1 tbsp lemon juice
  • 1 tbsp parsley, finely chopped

directions

1. Wash the rice at least 3 times by adding the rice to a pot and covering with water. Move the rice around and when the water becomes cloudy discard and re-fill. Do this until the water stays clear, approximately 3 times.
2. Add the rice and water to a medium sized pot and bring to the boil for 3 minutes. Gently move around the rice with the back of a wooden spoon and then drop the heat to low, cover and cook until the water has been absorbed and the rice almost cooked, approximately 15 minutes.
3. Turn off the heat and allow the rice to rest for 15 minutes.
4. While its resting mix together the vinegar, sugar and salt and set aside.
5. After 15 minutes transfer the rice to a plastic or wooden container and gently stir through the vinegar mix. Allow the rice to cool, uncovered.
6. Place 1 sheet of nori shiny side down on your bamboo sushi mat.
7. Have a bowl of water handy for a hand wash and spread out the rice evenly over the nori leaving a 2cm gap at the end farthest away from you. The rice should be really sticky, hence the hand wash.
8. Spread out the sauerkraut in the middle of the rice from left to right, about a 2cm channel.
9. Spoon on 1/2 tbsp of the spicy sauce and spread out along the sauerkraut.*
10. Add 2 cheese slices lengthways on top of the sauerkraut along with 3 slices of pastrami either side of the cheese (using 6 slices in total).
11. Using the bamboo mat roll the sushi – use the instructions on the nori packet as a guide.
12. Use a clean wet knife to slice through the sushi as thick as you like. Wipe the knife clean before each slice.
13. Enjoy your Reuben sushi!

*You will have leftover sauce which can be used in a variety of ways from burgers, sandwiches and alongside seafood.

Any cured meat is heavy on the salt so if you’re serving the sushi with soy only use a little.

For our traditional Reuben sandwich recipe click here.

For other smoking and barbecue ideas click here.