Art of Pastrami

Ogólne informacje

The idea to create our Polish pastrami arose out of the longing for the unique taste and aroma which we experienced during our journeys throughout the States. In Poland it is hardly possible to find pastrami similar to the one served in the USA. Despite exquisite Polish smoked meat-making traditions, incomparably older and unavailable in the USA, or even in many European countries, we couldn’t find the real traditional pastrami. Certainly, there are a few products on the meat market, which are called ‘pastrami’ but they have nothing to do with the product we looked for. Also traveling round Europe didn’t help us find the real pastrami sandwiches we desired, even though in some European capital cities we had the chance to taste sandwiches with a similar taste. Meeting with local producers or hobbyists who smoked the meat at home smokehouses enriched our knowledge with many curiosities and interesting stories. During our stay in Przemyśl, at friends’ family house, we learnt that they were making pastrami themselves. After a short conversation it turned out that it was … pork tenderloin dried over the stove. Although it tasted great, it wasn’t the product we were searching for. That was the moment we decided to try to make pastrami ourselves.

Preparing the recipe, improving the process and the taste took us a few months. It was quite pleasant but intensive time of learning, experimenting and consulting our friends, both gourmets and experts in the field of processed meat industry in Poland and the USA. We have visited countless number of restaurants serving pastrami on the west and east coast of the United States.

Beef briskets used in our pastrami production process come from Angus or Limousine cattle breed and crossbreed. The meat is dry-cured with our special mix of herbs, spices, brown sugar, salt and curing salt. After curing the meat for a week, the salt is removed and another aromatic spice mix is put on the meat to prepare it for smoking. As a result we get a delicious ,slightly spicy pastrami. Steaming before serving gives it a an exceptional melt-in-the-mouth texture.