Pastrami - it’s kosher bacon.
Pastrami is more than a delicious meat – it’s a culture in its own right.
Why? Well for one thing, it’s because pastrami has lore, stories and rituals to surround it. It’s a meat with a real experience to surround it that goes beyond just the taste. The culture of the New York deli is the culture of Pastrami. Everything from George and Jerry kibitzing around it to Sally orgasming over it. And what other meat could inspire this.
But it’s not just deli culture that pastrami lives large in. It was first made as a way to preserve beef. It so happened that the salting part matches Jewish dietary (kosher) laws on how to treat meat. Hence the Judeo-Pastrami link. When I was young my Grandfather had a factory on Commercial Street in London. It was the part of London that Jewish immigrants first landed in (hence why my Great Grandfather put the factory there), and so it was there that Bloom’s put their deli. When I went there, I felt a part of something bigger, and eating pastrami is almost a way of honoring one’s heritage (sort of like eating matzah balls and chicken soup).
This cultural depth is matched by a depth of taste – complex but still “big” (there is no subtlety to pastrami). Pastrami is beef brisket that is soaked in brine and spices to make corned beef, then smoked to become pastrami. Saltiness and smokiness all in one - it is the kosher bacon!
Can Kangaroo match this? You’re ‘avin a laugh.
Lets talk about that hopping antipodean marsupial. It’s considered a pest in it’s own country and isn’t even widely eaten. In a country like the US where ostrich and buffalo are sold in supermarkets, kangaroo has failed to even make it over. Besides, who wants their meat to look cute? Zoo, yes. Kangaroo Wellington – PETA will be all over you.
So there you have it. Pastrami has the depth of culture and taste to be a true meat. Get out, get some coleslaw, rye and Russian dressing and buy some. Now.
I LOVE the positioning of Pastrami as 'Jewish Bacon'.
Posted by: Jared | January 22, 2007 at 10:56 AM
was just going to make the same comment myself :)
Posted by: Heather | January 22, 2007 at 04:05 PM