Rye Steamed Buns w/ Beef Tongue Pastrami, Horseradish Leek Sauerkraut, and American Mustard

08/07/2013
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Rye Steamed Buns w/ Beef Tongue Pastrami, Horseradish Leek Sauerkraut, and American Mustard

Ryan Farr is the owner of 4505 Meats, a phenomenal butcher shop and catering company in San Francisco. We spoke with Ryan for our 2013 summer issue about his new cookbook “Whole Beast Butchery” and his mouthwatering recipe for beef tongue pastrami (see pg. 42).

Because the process to cure and smoke the beef tongue takes upwards of two weeks, we knew that we had to do something more than your traditional deli sandwich to match the scale of the pastrami undertaking. Enter the rye steamed bun.

We’ve had great success in the past making David Chang’s steam buns recipe from his “Momofuku” cookbook. But those buns are as white as Wonder bread and we just weren’t sure whether the recipe would hold up to the heartier rye flour. Because Chang’s recipe amps up the traditional steamed bun dough with added fat and salt, we are happy to report that the finished rye version is as good as the original.

To round out the sandwich on this day, we added horseradish and leek sauerkraut from Midori Farms near Seattle and American mustard from Revival Market in Houston. But you could just as easily sub out the mustard for a bit of Swiss cheese and Thousand Island dressing for an updated take on the Reuben (albeit with pastrami instead of corned beef).

Rye Steamed Buns
Makes 50 buns

1 tbsp. plus 1 tsp. active dry yeast
1 ½ cups water, at room temperature
¾ cups dark rye flour
3 ½ cups bread flour
6 tbsp. sugar
3 tbsp. nonfat dry milk powder
1 tbsp. kosher salt
Rounded ½ teaspoon baking powder
½ teaspoon baking soda
1/3 cup vegetable shortening, at room temperature, plus more for shaping the buns, as needed

1. Combine the yeast and water in the bowl of a stand mixer outfitted with the dough hook. Add the flour, sugar, milk powder, salt, baking powder, baking soda, and fat and mix on the lowest speed possible, just above a stir, for 8 to 10 minutes. The dough should gather together into a neat, not-too-tacky ball on the hook. When it does, lightly oil a medium mixing bowl, put the dough in it, and cover the bowl with a dry kitchen towel. Put it in a turned-off oven with a pilot light or other warmish place and let rise until the dough doubles in bulk, about 1 hour 15 minutes. (We successfully used an electric oven with the light turned on - ed.)

2. Punch the dough down and turn it out onto a clean work surface. Using a bench scraper or a knife, divide the dough in half, then divide each half into 5 equal pieces. Gently roll the pieces into logs, then cut each log into 5 pieces, making 50 pieces total. They should be about the size of a Ping-Pong ball and weigh about 25 grams, or a smidge under an ounce. (It really helps to use a digital scale here - ed.) Roll each piece into a ball. Cover the armada of little dough balls with a draping of plastic wrap and allow them to rest and rise for 30 minutes.

3. Meanwhile, cut out fifty 4-inch squares of parchment paper. Coat a chopstick with whatever fat you’re working with.

4. Flatten one ball with the palm of your hand, then use a rolling pin to roll it out into a 4-inch-long oval. Lay the greased chopstick across the middle of the oval and fold the oval over onto itself to form the bun shape. Withdraw the chopstick, leaving the bun folded, and put the bun on a square of parchment paper. Stick it back under the plastic wrap (or a dry kitchen towel) and form the rest of the buns. Let the buns rest for 30 to 45 minutes: they will rise a little.

5. Set up a steamer on the stove. Working in batches so you don’t crowd the steamer, steam the buns on the parchment squares for 10 minutes. Remove the parchment. You can use the buns immediately (reheat them for a minute or so in the steamer if necessary) or allow to cool completely, then seal in plastic freezer bags and freeze for up to a few months. Reheat frozen buns in a stovetop steamer for 2 to 3 minutes, until puffy, soft, and warmed all the way through.