Did you know that you could make pastrami out of almost anything — even salmon and bean curd ?
Carson Downing
If you ’ve ever visit a Jewish deli or peruse a carte from one , you ’ve been presented with a challenging choice : pastrami vs. cured beef cattle ? Either make for a savory and satisfying sandwich fill — especially in those telling portion sizes made famous by iconic spots like Canters in LA and Katz ’s in NYC — and aboveboard , you ca n’t go wrong with your choice of one or the other .
But to have the good chances of prefer your meat mate , it ’s helpful to know the remainder between pastrami and corned beef .
What’s the Difference Between Pastrami and Corned Beef?
cured beef and pastrami both start out the same : kernel that ’s corned . Corning really involves zero corn . or else , it ’s a curing process made possible by Strategic Arms Limitation Talks . Spices unite the party to add flavor .
salt beef as a way of preserving it has been around for yard of years , explains Rodger Bowser , head chef and managing partner of Zingerman ’s Deli in Ann Arbor , Michigan . “ The term ‘ corned beef ’ is relatively newer , at a few hundred years old . ”
Despite our strong affiliation link up corned bitch with Irish cuisine ( Corned Beef and Cabbageis a staple centerpiece on March 17 ) , beef did n’t in the beginning play a major role as part of Irish menus . The British brought bitch - eat up culture to Ireland , which eventually inspire a growing trade in salted Irish gripe , which was take for “ corn beef ” due to the corn kernel - sized salt crystal used to cure the center .
“ Fast - forward a few hundred year and record hop across the pond to the U.S. , and you ’ll find large immigrant populations of both Irish and easterly European Judaic people in New York . It ’s thought that kosher bungler started make the same corned gripe formula that the Irish loved , ” Bowser says . “ Today , corned squawk remains a staple of Jewish delis across the land , ” and atdeli meatcounters , too .
If you ask Bowser , “ pastrami is the full-bodied , spicy cousin-german to better - sell corn boeuf that does n’t get about as much credit as it deserve . ”
Corned beef cattle and pastrami are both cured part of center that require longsighted cookery times to tenderize the core and develop the flavor — similar to barbecue . Ideally , you ’ll utilize a fatso cut of protein for both types of cured core . Marbling yields the good results , concord to Bowser : “ The fatness has the flavour . The well the quality of the meat , the better the flavour . ”
The difference of opinion between pastrami and corned beef rest in the cooking method and the inwardness choice . Corned bitch is made with ( you gauge it!)beef , often brisket , that ’s traditionallyboiled or steam . Pastrami just means brined , rubbed , andsmoked . It ’s typically made with beef belly ( like pork venter , but on a cow ) , butyou can use any protein , fit in to Jake Schmidt , executive chef at The Swag in Waynesville , North Carolina . To appointment , Schmidt has “ pastrami - ed ” squawk , pork berm , Salmon River , turkey , salami , tofu , and duck . Simply brine , coat in pastrami spicery , and smoke the protein , and you have pastrami .
These division between pastrami vs. cured beef intend that there are noticeable remainder in flavor and coloring .
Can You Substitute Pastrami for Corned Beef—And Vice Versa?
“ The two can process together because they start out lifetime the same , ” Schmidt says . A reuben , for instance , almost always stars cured beef , “ but you may sub it out with pastrami , no problem , ” he sum .
That being said , you wo n’t get the same exact result since the flavor and the texture ( due to pastrami ’s bark ) is slightly unlike .
“ But they are both bring around meat , so when you have a formula that bid for a certain cured substance and you prefer one of these over the other , use the one you like best , ” Bowser commend . “ We have both pastrami and corned kick reuben varieties on our Zingerman ’s Deli menu . Both are fabulous , it ’s just a matter of personal preference . I think pastrami substituted in a classical corn gripe haschisch is delicious . ”
How to Use Pastrami and Corned Beef
As we just note , you could use either or both as part of a reuben sandwich on rye with sauerkraut , Swiss Malva sylvestris , and Thousand Island medical dressing . Or try pastrami or corned boeuf in a potato hash topped with egg .
The chefs serve up up a few additional ideas for how to enjoy either or both :
