Pastrami is one of those words everyone has heard but no one is quite sure what it means. If you are wondering you’ve come to the right place. This is the place to learn about this marvelous deli meat is and why so many people love it for lunch.

It All Began

It all began a long time ago or about a hundred and fifty years ago. Eastern Europeans love meat. Meat is juicy. It’s full of flavor. It tastes good. The question was how to preserve it. Over time, meat, like most good things in life, has an expiration date. A group of Eastern Europeans decided this was unacceptable. They knew there was no reason they couldn’t enjoy meat all year long. One day, they decided it was time to do something about that. With that in mind, they began to spend time playing around with meat. Playing with your food is generally something you shouldn’t do but somehow it all worked out for them.

How It’s Made

The kind of meat that was readily available in that area was a goose. However, when people from Europe got to America they discovered Americans were rather madly in love with beef. Beef was everywhere and it was a lot cheaper than the stuff they were eating back home. This led the new immigrants to decide it was time to take beef and turn into fabulous pastrami.

Good quality pastrami starts with beef. The beef is then given what is known as a cure. This cure is the use of salt. It won’t cure high blood pressure but it will cure your hunger. It is left to sit for about two weeks. Then the beef is rubbed in a nice mix of spices. After that, it gets smoking and then boiled and steamed. The net result is beef that is tender on the fork and full of intense flavor.

Your Own

If you don’t happen to have your own deli nearby, you can make your own. Try this homemade pastrami recipe. All you need is some beef, the right spices and a bit of patience. If beef isn’t quite your thing, you’re in luck. You don’t need the beef to get the right results. You can take anything you like and pastrami it. Really. Fish of all kinds work well as do other kinds of meats.

Once you have some pastrami on hand, you need to know how to use it. The classic is in a sandwich. Start with toasted rye bread. Then you can add your favorite dressing along with some mustard. Put in the pastrami between the slices of bread and serve to people you really love. This is the time to bring in your favorite pickle and perhaps a sweet tea or cola. The sweetness cuts the savory and adds that right note.

This is a wonderful slice of truly American food. Bring in home today and have a wonderfully good meal.