One of America's Favorites - Pastrami

Pastrami (Turkish: pastırma, Romanian: pastramă, Bulgarian: пастърма) is a popular meat usually

Slices of pastrami

made from beef, and sometimes from pork, mutton or turkey. The raw meat is brined, partially dried, seasoned with various herbs and spices, then smoked and steamed. In the United States, although beef plate is the traditional cut of meat for making pastrami, it is now common to see it made from beef brisket, beef round, and turkey. Like corned beef, pastrami was originally created as a way to preserve meat before modern refrigeration.






New York pastrami is generally made from the navel end of the brisket. It is cured in brine, coated with a mix of spices such as garlic, coriander, black pepper, paprika, cloves, allspice, and mustard seed, and then smoked. Finally, the meat is steamed until the connective tissues within the meat break down into gelatin.

In North America, pastrami is typically sliced and served hot on rye bread to make a common New

Pastrami sandwich 

York deli sandwich (pastrami on rye), sometimes accompanied by coleslaw and Russian dressing. Pastrami and coleslaw are also combined in a Rachel sandwich, a variation of the popular Reuben sandwich that uses corned beef and sauerkraut.

In Los Angeles, pastrami sandwiches generally usually use hot pastrami straight from the steamer, sliced and layered on double-baked Jewish-style rye bread. Typically, the meat is served sliced very thinly, with some of the brine wetting the meat; it is usually accompanied by yellow mustard and pickles. At fast food stands, pastrami is typically served hot on a French roll. Pastrami may also be used as a topping on hamburgers.

Greek immigrants to Salt Lake City in the early 1960s introduced a hamburger topped with pastrami and a special sauce. The pastrami burger has remained a staple of local burger chains in Utah.

Pastrami pizza

Turkey pastrami is made by processing turkey breast (pale pink) or thigh (dark pink) in a fashion similar to red-meat pastrami, in an effort to simulate the red-meat deli product.