What Part Of The Cow Does Pastrami Come From? (2024)

You know what corned beef is, right? (If you don't, this handy explainer might help.) Since you're now so well-versed in the art of pickled brisket, let's move on to pastrami, corned beef's slightly more luxurious cousin. Here's what you need to know about the historic sandwich staple.

What Is Pastrami?

While corned beef is typically made from brisket, pastrami generally comes from the cow's navel area, Serious Eats reports. The navel cut is a fatty one, and it's also likely to stand up well to pastrami's long cooking process. When you eat it, it's less stringy than corned beef tends to be.

That said, pastrami can be made from brisket as well, which means in some cases, the difference between the two comes in the cooking process rather than the brining one.

How Is Pastrami Different Than Corned Beef?

Corned beef is either boiled or steamed after it's been salt-cured. Whereas, The Nosher notes, "pastrami is seasoned with a dry spice mix, smoked, and then often steamed again before serving." The seasoning used after the brining is pretty similar to what's used in the salty brine.

In fact, the two cured meats have more in common than you'd think. While both have unique origins in Europe, the modern forms of pastrami and corned beef were developed by immigrants in New York City. Corned beef fuses the Irish tradition of boiled bacon with the affordability of brisket, while immigrants from Romania adapted their own recipe for pastirma. They're not the same thing—but we like to think of them as salty, meaty siblings.

How Do You Eat Pastrami?

Most people like to eat it pretty straightforwardly: with mustard on rye. Again, that's different than most corned beef dishes. Corned beef is mostly paired with cabbage and carrots (though come to New York and you'll find monster corned beef sandwiches are plenty popular here, too).