Salt beef, like New York-style corned beef, is a Jewish deli meat made from beef briskets cured in brine. The salt breaks down the tough brisket meat while letting its flavours emerge. Salt beef ought not be an exercise in aerobic mastication, as some London purveyors would have you believe, nor should it be stringy and dry. (The residual salt is already enough to build a two-pint thirst.) In a proper sandwich the meat surrenders instantly to the chew, melting in the mouth and flooding it with flavor.
When sourcing briskets that have already been cured, as most (but not all) London salt beef bars do, meat texture comes down to cooking, conditioning and carving. First, the cured briskets should be patiently simmered for several hours. Second, the meat should be kept hot, wet and tender in a hot bath or steamer to within minutes of the time it is trimmed and carved – preferably hand-carved. Prolonged exposure to heat lamps will demoisturize the beef as surely as it would your skin.
I also think it’s important to have a crusty rye bread with enough density and chew to support the meat, an opinion not shared by the salt beef bars who seem to prefer thin slices from fluffy ryes better suited to afternoon tea. When you hold a sandwich you can feel the contours of the fillings through the flimsy bread. This is layer-upon-layer of sweaty brisket we’re talking about, not a single neat row of thinly sliced cucumber.
click here for map of top 5 salt beef sandwiches in London
1. B&K Salt Beef Bar
You don’t have to be Jewish to get the most out of this nonkosher deli, but it does help to know how to kibbitz. If John Georgiou, one of the Greek-Cypriot co-owners, is assembling your sandwich, be sure to stand close to the counter and tell him you think his brother Michael is more generous with the pristine house-cured salt beef. If Michael is wielding the carver’s knife and fork, advise him that John’s portions are a lot bigger. If you aren’t sure which brother is which, just make it known that nobody piles on the meat like Dina, John’s wife. Then, when one of the Georgious wraps up a sandwich too large to fit in anyone’s mouth whose name isn’t Lily Allen, ask for two extra slices of rye and have yourself two SBs for the price of one from one of the last salt beef bars left in London that brines its own briskets.
11 Lanson House, HA8
2. Selfridges Brass Rail
The department store location is upmarket and so is the price: At £7.50 it’s the lone sandwich in the London top 5 that can’t be had for under a fiver. All the same, I love the fact that even after the recent move and refurnishing the Brass Rail salt beef bar has retaining its authenticity. It’s a London institution. Knowing regulars jockey for position on the queue, sitting back as an untested carver allocates the scrappier bits to others and pushing forward as an old hand cuts into pristine parts of a juicy new brisket. (Novelist Howard Jacobson wrote brilliantly about this moral minefield in this opinion piece for the Independent). That no two servings are exactly the same might be a greater source of anxiety were it not for another given: a Selfridges salt beef is never worse than extremely good. Now, if they would only upgrade the limp rye bread…
Selfridges Ground Floor, 400 Oxford Street, W1
3. Salt Beef Bar
Not one for uncertainty, Chris Christopoulou named his son Chris and raised him to take his place at the salt beef bar called The Salt Beef Bar. The unambiguous name of this eatery in North West London did not, however, deter a man in a tracksuit from popping in and asking about vegetarian options. Chris Christopoulou the Younger must have figured he was about to outdo his father and become the first in his family to sell a mustard and gherkin sandwich. But the Adidas bloke walked out and Chris resumed what he does best: carefully trimming the briskets and carving the sort of pristinely pink slices of salt beef that make carnivores giddy. If only the rye bread were not so lacking in substance.
2 Monkville Parade, Finchley Road, NW11
4. De Gustibus at Borough Market
When the old hall of London’sBorough Market was shut to facilitate construction of a new Thameslink train line into London Bridge station, the baker De Gustibus was one of four traders suddenly forced to give up their stalls. The bakery moved its sandwich carving table to the pavement outside its shop (see map), thereby shortening the interminable walk from the Borough High Street exit of the Underground to my beloved hot salt beef by some 25 meters. De Gustibus cures its own briskets for two weeks, using a brine that is not as acutely salty as it typically is for salt beef. This allows the pickling spices and beefy flavour to break through with every bite. And though I remain a traditionalist in my choice of bread for Jewish deli sandwiches, this baker’s crusty ciabatta serves as a more protective handle for salt beef than the limp ryes of London. The DG sandwich table was operating on Fridays and Saturdays but it’s current status is uncertain.
Borough Market, 8 Southwark Street, SE1
5. Toss-Up between Gaby’s and Birley
The recent closing of Nosh Bar has opened up the fifth position of this list. As of this moment it’s a tossup between Gaby’s in Leicester Square and Birley Salt Beef Bar in Canary Wharf. A taste comparison is in the works.
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Now you are talking!
Funny – rare to see salt beef here – abundant in NZ where ham/pork was scarce
Great English delicacy – must be in Mrs Beeton- but served like a pot roast.
They all look fantastic – and a lovely bit of research there. But have you tried the salt beef beigel from Brick Lane?
Thanks for the kind words, Chris. The most recent of my visits to the Beigel Bake on Brick Lane was in March and I found its salt beef to be as rubbery as ever. I would agree, however, that the beigel is preferable as a sandwich bread to the limp rye breads.
Great piece will have to try De Gustibus even though I don’t actually like any of their bread very much.
Guess top 5 or 10 bakeries in London needs to be covered soon !
@Gastro1 Look forward to hearing about your De Gustibus salt beef experience. As for top 5/10 bakeries, that would be a daunting project.
Breaks my heart that not a single Jewish establishment is in there. Not saying you’re wrong, just a sad sign of the times. Nonetheless I had a pretty good one at Reuben’s recently, but I appreciate it might not be the finest.
Have you been to Bloom’s in Golders Green? Admittedly my meal with Jay Rayner was a shocker but prior to that, the salt beef had been pretty good.
You’ve given me the impetus to pickle my own beef. I’ve been meaning to do it for sometime but now I’m going to give it a go. We need to reclaim the crown!
Me too, Anthony. I did try Bloom’s and Reuben’s but their salt beefs were clearly inferior, their sandwiches were thinner and the prices were much higher even when allowing for the extra cost of certified kosher meat.
Great post, love salt beef – shallll have to try Nosh, et al.
Shame about the limp rye, so disappointing
good bread shouldn’t be difficult to make or at least procure. Agree with Gastro1 perhaps a review of the top bakeries in London is due?
Lovely piece but was surprised not to see Gaby’s at Leicester Square on the list. Will definitely try Nosh next time I’m passing.
Top bakeries in London might be too ambitious, Signe. Maybe we could start with rye.
Do try Nosh Bar, Bron, and let me know what you think.
At the moment I’m struggling to find a better bakery than Baker & Spice for Croissants , Pain au Choc , Sourdough , Campagne , Baguette , Wholemeal , Hazelnut and Raisin but no Rye http://www.bakerandspice.uk.com/categories.aspx?c=61
Not a huge range but St John bakery makes sublime bread. Rye, sourdough, soda bread, raisin bread, and white and brown. Blissfully good.
Still prefer Hobbs, Borough market, for consistent quality as well as presentation. And they do pork (with stuffing and crackle), turkey (dressing), roast beef as well as salt beef which is served from Dickensian platters.
It`s only a kiosk mind but what a kiosk and they`ll serve half a sandwich is you ask nicely.
Sandra
London Street Market Walks
So glad to see Selfridges Brass Rail is on here! My parents used to take us for salt beef and shopping on Saturdays in the ’60s. We expat New Yorkers didn’t know of any other salt beef source back then.
The obsession with low fat food has ruined the salt beef sandwich as all the fat is removed.Phil Rabins & Nosh Bar circa 50s/70s was how it should be.Farmers now raise beef to have minimum fat levels & the result is dry tasteless beef.Where can I get a brisket like it should be
A big thumbs up for the BK bar, over half a pound of melt-in-the-mouth salt beef!
http://www.carta.co.uk/beebstuff/saltbeefsarnie25.jpg
Mik – Thanks for your comment and discriminating thumbs: I too am a big fan of B & K. Your photo of the salt beef does not, however, make it look melty. Did you somehow remove the sheen of glistening fatty juices in photoshop?
I grew up in north london, and spend many hours peddling up Stamford Hill to get my bosses Salt Beef sandwiches, ludkas etc. – Relief was freewheeling down!
I have spent the the last 2 years trying out so the called salt beef they sell now.
Last time we tried B&K – dry too lean – tasted it had been cooked and warmed up – horrible.
Last night I tried Delisserie in Temple Fortune – sorry Latkes were reasonable but the salt beef was like New York Pastrami far too lean and dry!
Where next please!
I’m surprised scotts of covent garden isn’t mentioned. I suggest you give them a go, I hunt them out every time I’m in london. Their salt beef sandwich on rye is the best I’ve ever tasted. (served with large pickle to boot)
Every Tuesday, when my once-a-week colleague John comes to work, we go to The Coach and Horses on Wellington Street, Covent Garden. They do a lovely salt beef sandwich – and if you are interested they do a pretty damn nice roast beef sandwich too. Lots of meat, choice of bread and some pickle on the side. And cheap too.
I would not recommend Gaby’s for the top 5.
i’ve had plenty of Salt Beef sandwiches from there its true, I’ll probably still have a few more. (But this is mainly because I wander past there from time to time.)
Like any other Salt Beef joint in it would appear that their Salt Beef is “famous” (not sure why everybodies salt beef is famous, it just appears to be that way.)
However, almost every time I have been there I remind myself why I should just walk on by the moment they put my sandwich in the microwave.
Microwaved salt beef is wrong, doing the microwaving after the beef is on the bread is even wronger!
Keep Gaby’s off the list until they throw away the microwave!
I rate the salt beef sandwedges sold at The Wenlock Arms near Old Street, but you do have to get there early before they run out, especially on the quiz night on Thursday.
best uncooked salt beef brisket.
I have try shops that sell Salt Beef but DEGUSTIBUS it`s much better as it comes with the bread of your choice ,
Fantastic Sandwich.
I am English and live in Spain on a recent visit to London I had a salt beef sandwich in Churchill Hotel W1. it was the worst and most expensive I have ever eaten very dry over done and the bread terrible.
If you have not tried them – get down to Amigos on the corner of Red Lion St. & Eagle St. (Holborn)
There Salt Beef on Rye with mustard & pickles inspired me to brine & cook my own brisket salt beef.
Get there early – around 11am; they sell out by 2pm I’d say
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