There is nothing quite like a delicious hot pastrami sandwich… or is it? What about a nice corned beef sandwich? And what is the difference between those two, anyway? Don’t worry; we are here to answer this for you and to give you a little bit about the difference between pastrami and corned beef. Some people, the real losers of deli sandwiches are probably rolling their eyes around right now because the difference is pretty significant, but read on, there might be something new for you guys too.
The Cut
The first difference starts right from the cuts of meat they are made out of. Traditionally, pastrami is made from beef navel which is a piece cut from the muscle of the animal, while corned beef is made from beef brisket, a part that comes from the lower chest of the animal. Notice, however, the term “traditionally”. Nowadays, pastrami can come from beef brisket and from other parts of as well, so this is a difference that comes from tradition.
Cooking
Moreover, the methods in which these are cooked are different. Although they are both cured meats, they are not cooked the same way. While corned beef is usually ready to be cooked and it is usually boiled, pastrami is added flavors to it and then it is smoked. Most of the time, pastrami is smoke in either a smokehouse or a smoking oven, but there are other ways of smoking it, like resorting to the use of artificial smoke, for example. Although they both have different cooking methods, we can’t argue that they are both delicious.
Flavor
Another big difference between pastrami and corned beef is the flavor. Corned beef gets its flavor from the spices that were used to season the meat during the brine, with some companies even keeping the spices they use a secret in order to maintain their success. Pastrami, on the other hand, gets its flavor not only from the brine, but also from second seasonings that are rubbed in the outside of the meat before the meat is smoked.
Location
Regions might have big differences in the flavor as well, because the availability in certain spices and the general use of other types of spices changes from region to region. As such, the amount of a certain type of spice or the use of a certain type of spice will vary greatly depending on the region, which means that corned beef from, for example, New York City, will have an incredibly different taste when compared to corned beef from, for example, any city in the Midwest. The same principal applies to pastrami as well.
So now you know how to tell corned beef and pastrami apart, and we hope that from now on you’ll be able to tell the difference between these two whenever you are ready for an amazing deli sandwich.