Jewish cold cuts are also known as lunch meats, sliced meats, or cold meats. They are mostly used in sandwiches for their convenience and taste. Cold cuts do not require any cooking or long preparation procedures. You can cut the meat into thin slices and prepare your ready-to-eat lunch meat in minutes!
Generally, there are three types of cold cuts that you can find in a Jewish deli: Whole-cut meat, restructured meat, and processed meat. The third one is commonly known as cold cuts. Hot dogs, salami, pastrami, sausages, and bologna are the most common examples of cold cuts.
A Helpful Guide to Jewish Cold Cuts
Brisket
A whole roasted brisket is a traditional Jewish holiday dish that often ends up being too dry and chewy when cooked by inexperienced cooks at home. However, at a Jewish deli, you will find slices of carefully simmered brisket that is soft, juicy, and mouth-wateringly tasty.
The brisket is stored in a steam table with other cuts at the Jewish deli to ensure it doesn’t dry out and remains juicy for patrons. The brisket at Jewish delis is usually served cold with rye bread and mustard, or you can even request it hot covered in gravy with a side of French fries and mashed potatoes.
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Corned Beef
Corned beef was made when farmers dry-salted the beef obtained from slaughtered cows before winter. This preservation method was popular among the medieval English, who called this chewy meat product “corned beef” due to the coarse grain of salts used for the curing process.
This preservation technique was adopted by Eastern European Jews who brought it to the United States in the 1800s.
Nowadays, much weaker salt brine is used to pickle meat, resulting in softer, more succulent cured beef. Corned beef is made with a whole brisket submerged in brine for almost three weeks. It is then steamed until it is succulent, tender, and sliced for patrons to enjoy in delicious sandwiches.
Pastrami
Pastrami is a classic Jewish deli meat made from beef brisket. The beef is cured in flavored brine first, and a layer of dry spices, including cloves, cinnamon, peppercorns, ginger, red pepper flakes, etc., is applied to the cured meat for dry-curing.
The meat is dry-cured for up to two weeks and smoked to give it a delicious deeper flavor. Afterward, it is braised and steamed to add more intense flavor to the meat.
The most popular way to enjoy pastrami at a Jewish deli is to have it in a rye bread sandwich with spicy mustard. Although the sandwich might seem simple, it packs a punch of meaty and spicy flavor.
Tongue
The tongue is a part of offal, the animal meat that falls off the butcher’s table. It is usually found at the butchers’ shops, among other organs, glands, and entrails. However, due to the no-waste philosophy practiced by ancient cultures, the tongue is an essential part of Jewish food culture today and is known to be an excellent protein source.
Although you may be appalled at the sight of an actual gray tongue when it is being prepared before you, nobody can deny that tongue meat from Jewish delis can take your apprehension away with its fantastic flavors.
Typically, the tongue is pickled whole for a few weeks at the Jewish deli before being braised, peeled, and thinly sliced for patrons. The resulting product of this strenuous process is soft, succulent, and velvety meat.
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Chopped Liver
If we had to compare flavors and textures, the chopped liver can be likened to a distant cousin to the creamy pâté. Chicken and geese store most of their fat in their livers which is why the French and Jews of the 11th century began rendering them into schmaltz, a type of delicious unkosher clarified fat. They later realized the liver also was tasty and began to incorporate it in their meals.
Nowadays, chopped liver is a chunky spread mixed with pieces of hard-boiled egg and onion that you can request on rye bread. If you want, you can request your favorite deli to smear a small amount on your favorite sliced meat to enjoy a richer meaty flavor.
Roast Beef
You will find different claims about the creation of the roast beef sandwich and variations of the recipe from all over the world.
However, roast beef in Jewish cuisine was known to be invented in the Middle Ages when Jews entered the cattle trade, and beef became their main meat source. As a result, slow-cooked and roasted beef dishes became Jewish holiday staples.
At a Jewish deli, you will usually find roast beef served cold but kept extra rare to ensure juiciness. The outer edge of the meat has slight browning, which tastes divine paired with mustard or horseradish spread in a fresh sandwich.
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Roast Turkey
Turkey reached Europe in the 1500s and was declared kosher by the Jewish authorities. The population enjoyed it immensely, and was roasted similarly to roast beef. Nowadays, you can find soft and succulent roast turkey in Jewish delis that can be paired with your favorite bread and condiments to make a delicious roast turkey sandwich.
Guide to Jewish Cold Cuts – Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
What makes a deli a Jewish deli?
A Jewish deli is known for serving traditional Ashkenazi Jewish cuisine and classic dishes such as pastrami on rye, matzo ball soup, etc.
What are Jewish deli meats?
Some popular Jewish deli meats are chopped liver, tongue, roast beef, roast turkey, brisket, pastrami, and corned beef.
What is a typical Jewish sandwich?
Pastrami on rye is a classic Jewish sandwich that tastes perfect as a go-to meal. You can also enjoy overstuffed pastrami sandwiches at some Jewish delis in New York City if you love the salty and spicy taste of the pastrami.
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Have you tried these Jewish cold cuts and foods? Check if any of your favorite Jewish food spots were included in this video.
Summary
Jewish delicatessens became popular in the USA in the early 1990s. These delis were started by Jewish immigrants who had come to the US from Eastern Europe, Poland, and Russia. They followed traditional recipes for pastrami, brisket, and other delicious meats and sold them at small eateries called delicatessens.
These meats have become an essential part of American food culture and are even offered to customers at high-end restaurants and gourmet food shops.
With the information mentioned above, you can now understand how each meat item is made with care and meticulous attention to detail at Jewish delis, and the best ways to enjoy each one.
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My name is Jay and I started this website to share my love of Deli Food. I am Jewish with Italian ancestry and grandparents who emigrated to the US from Poland, Russia and Turkey. This website is my celebration of the delicious flavors of international deli culture. Please feel free to send me your suggestions and feedback through the contact form.
