Without its pastrami sandwiches, what is New York City? These sandwiches, once only available in Jewish delis, are now common at non-Jewish delis, diners, and occasionally even corner shops.
This sandwich is often made using rye bread and is straightforward. All that's really required for a pastrami creation is a thick layer of pastrami slices and a spicy mustard topping. However, a side of dill pickles is not a bad idea.
Although Sussman Volk, a Lithuanian immigrant, is frequently given credit for popularizing the pastrami sandwich, Katz's deli, the oldest surviving deli in New York, is still well-known for its pastrami sandwiches.
In actuality, pastrami's origins are not Lithuanian; Volk received the recipe from a friend. Volk served pastrami on rye out of his deli on Delancey Street.
We will never know if he was the first to serve it in the manner we are more accustomed to, but we do know how pastrami grew to be a New York City institution, and that's what matters in this case.
The pastrami sandwich is the pinnacle of American Jewish cuisine, even though it is already frequently linked with Jewish delis.
Jewish immigrants to the United States in the 19th and 20th centuries turned to beef because goose was less readily accessible at that time.
Interestingly, the name pastirma was changed to pastrami since it was sometimes served with salami; when you mix the two names, you get pastrami.
Brisket is brined for a few days to a week before being converted into pastrami. After that, the meat is chopped and smoked. Meat was originally prepared in this manner for preservation purposes.
Even though it is no longer necessary, it persisted because there is a demand for it. Modern chefs "pastrami" different types of meat, like salmon, using this method of curing and smoking.
According to Taste Cooking, Parke Ulrich, proprietor of the San Francisco waterbar Waterbar, thinks that curing salmon before smoking it helps cut through the fat and that the potent pastrami spices go well with the rich fish.