Pastrami lovers across the country look forward to their favorite sandwich on January 14th as they recognize National Hot Pastrami Sandwich Day.
- 1887 – New York kosher butcher, Sussman Volk earns credit for producing the first pastrami sandwich in 1887. He claimed to have gotten the recipe from a Romanian friend in exchange for storing his luggage. Due to the popularity of his sandwich, Volk converted his butcher shop into a restaurant to sell pastrami sandwiches.
- 1888 – The oldest surviving New York deli is Katz’s Delicatessen, which has operated continuously since its founding in 1888. They are famous for their Stuffed Pastrami Sandwich–and for the fact that Meg Ryan and Billy Crystal filmed a scene there in the 1989 movie When Harry Met Sally. Crystal was said to have been munching on a pastrami sandwich while the famous scene was being filmed.
- 1930s – New York experiences a peak of about 1,500 Jewish delicatessens as a result of its growing population.
- 1962 – The Dartells in 1962 recorded a hit song called Hot Pastrami. It peaked at #11 on the U.S. pop charts in 1963.
- 1963 – Joey Dee and the Starlighters released a song Hot Pastrami with Mashed Potatoes.
- 1980s – In Salt Lake City, in the early 1980s, Greek immigrants introduced a hamburger topped with pastrami and a special sauce. This pastrami burger remains a staple of local burger chains in Utah.
- 1989 – The pastrami on rye at Katz Delicatessen comes into the national spotlight with the hit comedy When Harry Meets Sally.
- A popular delicatessen meat, pastrami is usually made from beef. Others make their pastrami sandwich with pork, mutton or turkey. Before refrigeration, butchers created pastrami as a way to preserve meat.
- A wave of Romanian Jewish immigration introduced pastrami (pronounced pastróme), a Romanian specialty, in the second half of the 19th century.
- Early English references used the spelling “pastrama” before the modified “pastrami” spelling was used.
- When served, the deli typically slices the pastrami and places it between two slices of rye bread.
- When pastrami and coleslaw combine, it’s called a Rachel sandwich. Similar to a Reuben which is made with corned beef and sauerkraut.
- In Los Angeles, they serve the classic pastrami sandwich with hot pastrami right out of the steamer. They slice it very thin and wet from the brine then layered on double-baked Jewish-style rye bread. It is traditionally accompanied by yellow mustard and pickles.
- Turkey pastrami is made by processing turkey breast (pale pink) or thigh (dark pink) in a fashion similar to red meat pastrami, simulating the corresponding red meat deli product.
- Pastrami was created as a way to preserve meat before refrigeration.
- The term “Pastrami” comes from the Roman verb “Pastrama” meaning “to conserve food”.
- The star of this historic deli is their Pastrami on Rye sandwich! Katz’s Deli goes through 15,000 pounds of pastrami each week
- The world pastrami eating record is held by American Joey Chestnut, who won by eating 25 pastrami sandwiches (7 ounces each) in the span of 10 minutes.
- The pastrami sandwich is a central character in the documentary Deli Man.
- In New York, the deli business isn’t for the faint of heart. The show Food Wars dedicated an episode to New York Pastrami Wars.
- “There could be no picture-making without pastrami,” the director and pastrami fan Orson Welles once declared.
- Warsaw, Poland is home to an annual pastrami festival each June where pastrami is served in traditional and novel ways, like pastrami with hummus and asparagus and seasonal pastrami salad with asparagus and strawberries.
- Jewish food festivals nationwide from Savannah to San Diego showcase New York-style pastrami.
- In a fusion of Asian and deli cuisine, the Brooklyn Wok Shop in Brooklyn, New York, serves pastrami dumplings.
- Similarly, popular San Francisco and New York restaurant Mission Chinese Food offers a Kung Pao Pastrami which is one of its most popular dishes.
- Empellon Tacqueria in New York serves Pastrami Tacos.
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