Stoic & Genuine’s Hamachi Pastrami Crudo recipe, which serves four, will take four days to make and consists of four components: Russian dressing, rye chips, pastrami curing mix, and cured Hamachi. That’s a lot of fours!
Russian Dressing
Yield: 70 g
Portion: 5 g
INGREDIENTS:
40 g mayonnaise
20 g Heinz chile sauce
.2 g smoked paprika
2.5 g fresh horseradish
3 g Fresno chile, deseeded
3 g Worcestershire sauce
1 g chives
1 g salt
½ tsp. lemon juice
DIRECTIONS:
Place all ingredients into a blender and blitz until completely smooth. Store in the refrigerator.
Rye Chips
Yield: 1 serving
INGREDIENTS:
1 loaf of rye bread, frozen
DIRECTIONS:
Remove the bread from the freezer to temper (cutting fully frozen product can be dangerous). Slice the rye bread as thinly as possible, if available use a meat slicer. The bread should resemble gossamer and be very thin, while still holding its shape. Lay the rye bread slices out onto a sheet tray with parchment paper and place into a warm oven at 300 degrees. Let toast for 2-3 minutes until they are dried out and crispy. They shouldn’t be taking on any color.
“We chose this preparation because it is out of the ordinary and a way to bring an unfamiliar fish into a familiar preparation. Hamachi is also known as amberjack. The fish is prized for its high fat content that makes it extra delicious. From a culinary perspective, it is extremely versatile. It is often eaten raw, but is also delicious seared, poached, grilled, smoked, or any other method. The fish is difficult to overcook due to its high fat content and eats well even when cooked all the way through.” — Chef Tim Kuklinski
Pastrami Curing Mix
Yield: 65 g
INGREDIENTS:
1.5 tsp. fennel seeds
1.5 tsp. coriander seeds
1.5 tsp. black pepper
1 ea. bay leaves, chopped fine
20 g sugar
40 g salt
1 g curing salt (optional)
DIRECTIONS:
Toast the fennel seed, coriander seed, and black pepper in dry sauté pan. Toast each spice separately. Grind all your spices and bay leaf in the spice grinder until fine. Mix these spices with the remaining ingredients and store in a clean container until ready for use.
Cured Hamachi
INGREDIENTS:
170 g Hamachi fillet, skinless and blood line removed
65 g pastrami curing mix
DIRECTIONS:
Cut the Hamachi into even cuts, around 1” by 1” thick. Length won’t matter here. Cover the portions of Hamachi completely with the curing mixture. Using gloves, pack it down lightly just to ensure that the fish is evenly coated on all surfaces. Lay it out in a sheet pan fitted with a rack. Place a piece of parchment over the top of the rack and lay the Hamachi portions evenly over the top. You can leave the fish uncovered. Refrigerate. It will take four days to cure, make sure to turn the fish daily to help alleviate any moisture build up on the fillets. The fish will be good to go after the four days. You will know it is done curing when the flesh has tightened. Don’t wash off any of the curing mixture, rather remove the fillets from the cure and wipe off any excess.
Finish and Plate
INGREDIENTS:
35 g cured Hamachi
5 g Russian dressing
10 g sauerkraut, rinsed
3 g rye chips
1 g parsley leaves
1 g ground caraway seeds, toasted
DIRECTIONS:
Place thin slices of the Hamachi onto a plate. Place dots of the Russian dressing all around the fish, along with a few small piles of the sauerkraut. Lay three pieces of rye chips on top of the fish, you can use the sauerkraut to give them some height and the dressing to keep them in place. Finish the plate with a pinch of ground caraway and parsley leaves.
Note: The curing mixture on the Hamachi lends a good deal of salt to the fish, so the Hamachi will not need to be seasoned when plated.
Enjoy!
