Pastrami is a popular deli meat made from a highly seasoned cut of smoked meat--usually beef. To make pastrami, one usually begins with a slab of uncooked meat. That meat is typically first pickled in a thick, salty, brine solution, which creates, when using red meat, what is known as corned beef. In the United States and the United Kingdom, the marinated meat is usually boiled in fresh water after the brining stage to lift some of the salt out of the meat.

After the meat is corned and boiled, the pastrami is then seasoned and encrusted with a variety of herbs and spices such as black peppercorns, seasoned salt, garlic, basil, and allspice. Finally, the cut of meat is smoked to infuse the flavor and aid in preservation.

There are many variations of pastrami. Some pastrami is not marinated in a brine solution, but instead dry-cured in a salt paste for several weeks.

Although beef remains the most popular pastrami meat, turkey pastrami was recently introduced, giving pastrami fans a less expensive, more nutritious version of the popular preserved meat. There are various other meats which can be used to make pastrami, including duck, venison, tuna, goat, and salmon. There is even a vegetarian version, seitan pastrami, which is made with wheat flour and a variety of vegetables. All forms of pastrami are commonly served as a cold cut on a sandwich, but they can also be heated and served with a side dish such as cole slaw or potato salad.

Pastrami was originally created as a technique for preserving large amounts of meat to keep it from spoiling in a time before contemporary refrigeration methods. This fact is indicated in the very word "pastrami," which is derived from the Romanian word "pastra," which means "to preserve." Although the ancient preservation method is now unnecessary, pastrami’s unique flavor still attracts many fans worldwide.