How Traditional Pastrami Is Made In New York City | Regional Eats

Pastrami on rye has been a New York staple since the 1900s. They can be bought at old-school Jewish delis like Pastrami Queen. The cured meat was brought back in the late 19th and early 20th centuries when a wave of Eastern European immigrants came to the East Coast. Although delis like Pastrami Queen are nowadays a rarity, pastrami on rye is still a huge part of New York’s soul. The pastrami meat is essentially pickled, which was originally meant to preserve the meat. Pastrami can be cured or brined for 5 days to a whole week and is meant to be juicy and tender. Insider's Medha Imam takes a closer look at how pastrami is nowadays prepped for NYC delis.

Editor's Note: The pronunciation for mashgiach was incorrect in this video. We regret the error.

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How Traditional Pastrami Is Made In New York City | Regional Eats

[BernhardRosenberg]

Thank you for alerting us. When I said "Throw Away" I misspoke . The un-kosher food is sold to non Jewish establishments or sometimes donated to non Jewish groups. We do not waste food.

[rickwilliams]

Butcher here. Choice is the level of quality that Walmart uses. Don't let these guys fool you. It means almost nothing too. It's how you handle and cook it. Very broad range, choice is. Something better to learn is how to pick out a good piece of meat, regardless of what some random person claims is important. This is processed meat. Really doesn't matter how good it is as long as you cook it at a low temp for a long time. It's brisket, that's the only way to cook it if you don't want to chew rubber. Also, cut against the grain. That matters way more than the grade.

[ryujinxyyeji]

i’ve never tried pastrami but this looks so good

[adamchurvis]

0:33 No, it is NOT the pickling that makes the main difference between corned beef and pastrami; it's the SMOKING that makes the main difference. Corned beef is often injected with its pickling rather than just floated in it for a long time.

[VannieEats]

The pastrami brisket looks beautiful 😍

[dustinstegmaier]

Brisket isn't the stomach part of the cow. That would be the flank.

[michaelbcohen]

Orthodox Jew here. Few issues which could have been solved with better research:
1) It's not called a Mashchaya, it is Mashgiach ( pronounced "mosh-gee-achhh" literal translation: Supervisor). Further he does not need to travel with it. He only needs to be there when it slaughtered "Kashered", and packed. If a store wants to be Kosher, he or she (20% of Mashigach's are women) needs to be there when the box is opened again. As long as the seals are not tampered with, he is not needed.
2) Kashering is not soaking it in salt water, that would actually be not-kosher. The process is actually they cover the meat entirely in large grain salt, then wash it off. They repeat this till it is done 3 times. It is not soaked. They also need to remove certain fats before.
3) Meat is not washed every 3 days, and I am worried if a Kosher supervisor isn't aware of basic Kosher rules. If meat is transported long distances, and it was not Kashered within the first 72 hours, it can be heavily rinsed with water to extend the Kashering deadline by another 3 days. It is a leniency to only be used when there is no other option. Today it is rare for it not to be Kashered after the first 48 hours.
4) The non-Kosher cuts of meat or cows that dont pass kosher inspection, the meat is never thrown out. The kosher meat industry has deals with non-Kosher meat purveyors who buy those meat off of them. They are never thrown out, as it would be a violation of the Biblical Law against wasting food. Just because a Jew cannot eat it, a non-Jew can.

They should have contacted one of the major Kosher agencies to discuss this with. Plus you can see on the side the certification agency, one that most Orthodox Jews do not eat for various religious reasons. It also says "Basar Kosher" in Hebrew, which is the lowest standard of Kosher Meats. There is "Glatt" and "Beit Yosef" which are to higher kosher standards. In fact Sephardic Jews consider that lower standard to not be Kosher, Ashkenazic Jews consider it Kosher on a leniency, that very few Orthodox Jews today would eat because there is no need like in the past to rely on that. Most people who use that standard are places that want to say Kosher or Kosher Style, but don't care about the actual Kosher Standards because Jews are not their main market. That agency (the Triangle K) is one of the few in the world that will certify for sale that lower standard of kosher meats which relies on leniencies and technicalities. Most Kosher agencies wont even allow that standard to be sold in stores they certify for those reasons.

Given the Mashgiach here is working for an agency that allows that lower standard, would explain a lot in his explanations. Would have been better with a better explanation and consultation with a better expert. Also it would have been better if they went to a place that actually does the whole process themselves and the classic way most NY Deli's still do like Gottlieb's or Mendy's, such a shame and a lost opportunity, because this is not the traditional way we make here or even how most places make it here.

[ThaHammieJaassee]

Pastrami is the most delicious sandwich meat out there 🥴😍 I love with with garlic bread some mustard and some pepperoncini peppers 😍😍😍😍😍😩😍😍

[blue_wolfblade]

Pastrami is deffs one of the best sandwiches ever!

[samueljaramillo]

No, no, no, the rabbi is wrong. You never throw food away. You just don’t sell it to a Jewish deli. You donate it to food kitchens or homeless shelters.

[joannemery]

I miss my hot pastrami on fresh rye bread from NYC so damn badly !! The sandwiches looked just like that, just marvelous ♡♡♡♡

[dwayneflorence]

This place and Katz’s are my favorites in NYC.

[gyorkshire]

Comes from Romania, where it was called pastrama.

[caitrionamccarron]

What I wouldn’t give to sink my teeth into that sandwich 🤩

[noahboat]

I could only imagine 'kosher quality' pastrami in NYC. Besides a hot dogs and flat pizza, pastrami is where its at

[interstellish]

The injection system they use, and the meat they use, doesn't really compare to some of the other Jewish deli pastrami you can get in midtown and downtown. It's 21 bucks a sandwich here, and for sure, the touristy place Katz's is like 28 bucks, because they're world famous, but there is a marked difference in the quality and flavor of the meat.

There are a ton of lesser known deli's that have been around for a long time, and whose pastrami is done slowly and better, by my lights.

[norkmork]

'how traditional pastrami is made' ... 'they don't do it the old-fashioned way, now machines inject the meat with brine'
not really the traditional way. shame you didn't look into a small butcher who does produce it the traditional way

[spankymcduff]

make my own smoked pastrami the old fashion way....its a bit of work but my family enjoys it for Sunday supper.

[patrickc]

4:17 this is a brisket…it’s the stomach part 🤦….. and this guy supposedly knows meat…..

[mrgraff]

“Since the 1900s” I officially feel old now.