Pastrami on rye
Photo: Erika39 · CC BY 3.0

History

Sussman Volk, a Lithuanian butcher on Delancey Street, is credited with serving the first pastrami sandwich in New York in 1887 after acquiring a Romanian recipe. Katz's Delicatessen, opened in 1888 on Houston Street, made the sandwich a city institution: navel cut, cured 30 days, smoked over hardwood and steamed before slicing by hand. Second Avenue Deli, founded 1954, kept the kosher-style tradition uptown. The sandwich shrank as the Yiddish-speaking Lower East Side aged out, but the surviving handful of full-process delis still cure and smoke their own meat from raw brisket.

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Common allergens: Gluten, Mustard

Make it at home

Yield 6Hands-on 1 hrTotal P10DDifficulty Advanced

Ingredients

  • 2.5kg beef navel or brisket point
  • 200g kosher salt
  • 60g pink curing salt (sodium nitrite)
  • 200g brown sugar
  • 30g black peppercorns
  • 20g coriander seeds
  • 10g mustard seeds
  • 8 garlic cloves, crushed
  • 4L water for the brine
  • 60g cracked black peppercorns for the rub
  • 40g cracked coriander seeds for the rub
  • Hardwood chips (hickory or oak)

Method

  1. Combine the brine: water, salts, sugar, whole spices and garlic. Boil to dissolve, then chill completely.
  2. Submerge the beef in the cold brine, weighted under a plate. Cure in the fridge 7 to 10 days, turning every two days.
  3. Rinse the meat under cold water for 20 minutes. Pat dry. Press the cracked pepper and coriander rub firmly into all surfaces.
  4. Smoke at 110C over hardwood until internal temperature reaches 75C, 5 to 6 hours. The bark should be dark and dry.
  5. Steam the smoked meat for 2 to 3 hours, until a knife slides in with no resistance.
  6. Rest 30 minutes. Slice by hand across the grain, about 3mm thick. Pile high on seeded rye.
  7. Serve with yellow mustard and a half-sour pickle. Skip mayonnaise; that gets you thrown out of Katz's.

Tip from the editors. If your oven won't smoke, do 4 hours with a stovetop smoker box then finish at 110C in the oven until 75C internal.

Where to eat pastrami on rye

Pastrami on rye in New York City

Katz's Delicatessen ★ 4.9

$$ American DinerLower East Side

Katz's on East Houston has cured, smoked and hand-sliced pastrami in New York City since 1888. The corner-of-the-counter sandwich is the deli's whole point.

OrderHand-cut pastrami on rye, mustard, half-sour pickle.

TipTip the slicer a dollar when you get your ticket; a thick fatty slice samples your way and the sandwich comes built right.

Directions Book

Pastrami Queen ★ 4.3

$$ Jewish deliUpper East Side

Pastrami Queen on Lexington serves kosher pastrami sandwiches on the Upper East Side of New York City. Modest counter, oversized sandwiches since 1956.

OrderHand-cut pastrami on rye with mustard.

TipCounter is tiny and seats fewer than a dozen; the takeaway line moves faster than the dine-in queue.

Directions Book

Mile End Deli ★ 4.3

$$ Jewish deliBoerum Hill

Mile End in Boerum Hill has served Montreal-style smoked meat and Canadian-Jewish comfort cooking in Brooklyn, New York City since 2010. Priced at $$.

OrderSmoked meat on rye, hand-sliced, with mustard and a side of poutine.

TipThe breakfast menu runs all day; weekday mornings are the calmest seats in the small room.

Directions Book

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