Surely there are debates on best pastrami in NY, but this is the one I tried when I visited. Mouth watering goodness!
Katz pastrami is some of the best, imo. I’m sure you can find a small Jewish deli that does a better one off the beaten path, but it’s hard to beat Katz!
I’m into brisket, and pastrami is no exception to that. I’ve had a lot of pastrami in my life and I’ve got to say that Katz is fucking killer.
I like to try to replicate things I really enjoy so that I can have it at home or fuse it with other food that I also enjoy. I spent months trying to replicate theirs and couldn’t do it. Unfortunately I think the issue by the 3rd batch was that I couldn’t smoke it at a low enough temperature to get 3 days of smoke on it.
I’m sad that I don’t make it up to NY very often anymore so I haven’t had it in a few years. I’m hoping to head up there next year.
I’m skeptical they actually smoke the meat for 3 days. my understanding is anything past 3-5 hours of smoke is not doing anything for flavor, and you’re better off just steaming or baking at that point. IIRC they do finish with steam even after whatever smoke process they have, which further leads me to believe they aren’t smoking for 3 days.
You’re probably right, but man I sure did try. And I’ve made pastrami since then using more traditional times. I make pretty ok pastrami, but there’s something in Katz’s that I just love.
they also don’t use brisket exactly, it’s a slightly different cut, called belly or plate. something like that. not very easy to get a hold of.
They’re using plate?!? That is harder to come by, but I have a source. I may give it another shot but it’s been so long that I’m not sure I could try to replicate it.
I just found out you can order their pastrami online. I may order a pound and try again. Thank you so much for the info! Now I have months worth of pastrami testing to do.
Their reuben might be the best sandwich I’ve ever had. Just perfect.
I didn’t go to Katz myself. So I can’t compare. I went to 2nd Ave Deli. The owner, a small Jewish guy, came over and chatted with me and my wife a few times, gave us free chocolate sodas, and it was the best pastrami I’ve ever eaten. Would highly recommend it if you want a more relaxing experience.
I can’t be the only one who thinks this is visually disgusting right? It looks like completely uncooked meat. Why not just go down to the farm and slaughter one yourself and just eat it right there off of the ground?
Eh, disgusting is subjective, but there’s never only one person with a given opinion, particularly when it comes to food.
Uncooked meat can actually be delicious though, so it’s kind of a double subjective lol.
While it isn’t anything I have regularly, I tend to favor some steal cuts “blue”, which is essentially uncooked at all in the middle. Steak tartare is uncooked. Sashimi exists, and is amazing. Then there’s stuff like ceviche that’s not truly raw, but isn’t cooked with heat.
The list of raw meat foods could keep going, it’s not an uncommon thing.
Beyond that, you can’t really go by photographs for whether or not something actually matches visually. Raw meat and cured meats often do look similar in color, but not in texture. Not that color really matches, but it’s usually close enough to fool the eye depending on lighting and the film/sensor.
Again though, whether or not a pile of raw meat would be disgusting is indeed something that you’ll find plenty of people on either side of. And you’d likely find people that see this picture and think it looks raw, at least at first glance (it really doesn’t once you pay attention to the variations in color across the slices).
raw kibbi plate at lebanese deli set off wires in my brain. shit is addicting
I also think it looks that way, but am not so foolish as to believe it is actually raw meat. Your opinion is fine, but the last sentence is unnecessary
can’t be the only one who thinks this is visually disgusting right
it looks visually delicious. pastrami is cured, not cooked. like other cured meats, it doesn’t turn brown in the process
pastrami is cured and cooked for hours and hours to tenderize. the curing process turns the meat bright red even after it cooks.
It’s cured, slow-smoked (to an internal temp of 203 °F, much higher than what would be considered “well done” for steak), and then steamed. It’s literally the most cooked a piece of meat can possibly be without becoming inedible.
On top of that, it’s a cheap, tough cut of meat that only becomes delicious because of the complicated and laborious prep. When you buy a sandwich like that (which is pretty expensive), the extensive cooking process is most of what you’re paying for.
I believe Katz does a 2-4 week salt cure, then they smoke it. That’s where the color comes from.
the color mostly comes from the pink curing salt. Same with corned beef.
Corned beef, rice, shallots warm my soul. Love when my spouse makes it for me.
It’s just you, sorry.
At this point why even bother with the bread?
the bread really ties the sandwich together.
That’s just like, uh, your opinion, man.
Shut the FUCK up, Donnie!
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Oh man a good deli rye really ties it together. U Gotta try a sandwich like this. Corned beef sky high will make your heart sing
That tingle in your left arm isn’t singing
Oh its definitly a only-once-in-a-while kinda sandwich.
Fuckin gross, man.
Y’all looking at that and thought it’s appetizing? 🤨
For anyone not familiar- Katz Deli is a somewhat famous sandwich place in NYC. Their primary menu item is the pastrami on rye sandwich, and it’s like $20-$30. They slice the pastrami right in front of you, still warm.
I’ve only had it once but it was worth it.
30 dollars for a sandwich??? you could get a whole cow for that much here
It was worth it… Best pastrami I’ve ever had
Idk man, but using different bread(this one really looks like the German “Kasseler” bread) would probably make it better. Kasseler is fine, but there are so much better bread variants.
Kasseler is best served with mashed potatoes and sauerkraut.
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Having never had kasseler bread, I can’t really comment on the similarities, but after googling around a little it’s probably in the same ballpark. These sort of deli sandwiches are usually served on (what we call in America anyway) “Jewish rye” bread. Just sort of a soft, light rye bread, often with caraway seeds in it (personally I tend to think of the seeds as sort of the defining feature of a Jewish rye) and I couldn’t find any mention of kasseler having caraway, but I also didn’t exactly do an exhaustive search for recipes.
Kasseler doesn’t contain seeds.
Reminds me of this girl’s vagina I dated way back when.
Poor execution, poor taste. Ahem…
I should call her
Far from poor taste.
There is no debate with the pastrami. It is the best
Are they still popular as ever? When I visited in 2016 I was super impressed by the throughput their kitchen maintains.
I came a little
Close your app and pull it back up. You’ll come a bunch the second time
Can confirm.
Had something like that in São Paulo, actually left me full.
It’s great if you don’t mind paying $25 for a sandwich
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God tier Who cares what the “Best” is? Go try them all
