Hand-sliced kosher corned beef piled thick on Jewish rye bread, with spicy brown mustard. The defining Baltimore Jewish-delicatessen sandwich since 1915.

Attman's Delicatessen on the Corned Beef Row of Lombard Street has anchored Baltimore's Jewish-deli tradition since 1915, when Harry Attman opened the storefront in the East Baltimore Jewish quarter. The thick-cut corned beef on rye became the city's deli signature. Today Attman's remains the canonical operator alongside Lenny's in Pikesville; The General Muir in Atlanta and Eli's in Manhattan trace their lineage to the same Eastern European Jewish-American tradition. The Maryland take adds a heavy schmear of horseradish-mustard.

Where to eat Corned beef on rye in Baltimore

4 editor picks for Corned beef on rye in Baltimore, ranked by editorial score. All Baltimore signature dishes · Corned beef on rye across every city.

  • Faidley's Seafood

    Order The jumbo lump crab cake, broiled, almost all crab and no filler.

    Faidley's Seafood at Lexington Market has sold its jumbo lump crab cake since 1886, a stand-up counter where you eat the city's benchmark cake off paper.

    DetailsDirections

  • Attman's Delicatessen

    Order The corned beef sandwich, hand-cut and piled high, with a potato knish.

    Attman's Delicatessen has anchored downtown's Corned Beef Row since 1915, piling hand-cut corned beef and pastrami high in a no-frills lunch counter.

    DetailsDirections

  • Dooby's

    Order The breakfast sandwich early, or a bowl of ramen later in the day.

    Dooby's in Mount Vernon is an all-day Korean-leaning cafe, plating breakfast sandwiches by day and a ramen and Korean dinner menu after dark.

    DetailsDirections

  • Cross Street Market

    Cross Street Market is Federal Hill's neighbourhood public market, renovated into a modern hall of oyster bars, taco counters and a central bar at its core.

    DetailsDirections

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Make it at home

Serves 4P7DIntermediate

Ingredients

  • For the corned beef cure (7 days ahead): 2kg beef brisket flat-cut
  • 200g kosher salt
  • 100g brown sugar
  • 30g pink curing salt (Prague Powder #1)
  • 2 tbsp pickling spice
  • 4 garlic cloves crushed
  • 2L water
  • For poaching: 1 onion halved, 1 carrot, 2 bay leaves, 1 tablespoon black peppercorns
  • 1 fresh loaf Jewish rye bread (with caraway seeds), sliced thick
  • Brown deli mustard (Gulden's preferred)
  • Half-sour pickles to serve
  • Coleslaw on the side, optional

Method

  1. Make the brine: combine water, kosher salt, brown sugar, pink curing salt, pickling spice and garlic in a pot. Bring to a simmer until everything dissolves. Cool completely.
  2. Place the brisket in a deep glass or plastic container. Cover with the cooled brine. Weight down with a plate to keep submerged. Refrigerate 7 days, flipping every other day.
  3. Lift the brisket out and rinse under cold water for 10 minutes to remove excess salt.
  4. Place in a deep pot with the onion, carrot, bay leaves and peppercorns. Cover with cold water by 5cm.
  5. Bring to a low simmer; never boil. Simmer covered 3 to 4 hours until a knife slides easily into the centre.
  6. Lift out, rest 30 minutes wrapped loosely in foil.
  7. Slice across the grain into 3mm thin slices using a sharp slicing knife.
  8. Stack the slices thickly (around 200g per sandwich) on a slice of rye, spread the second slice with brown mustard, close the sandwich.
  9. Slice on the diagonal, serve with half-sour pickles on the side.

Editor tip. Pink curing salt is non-negotiable: it gives the pink colour and prevents botulism during the long cure. Slice the corned beef across the grain.

Common allergens: Gluten, Mustard.