Smoked meat vs. Pastrami: Which is which?

Enrico Frank Andreoli Montreal
3 min readFeb 16, 2021
Image source: en.wikipedia.org

According to Montreal native Enrico Frank Andreoli, one of his favorite and most iconic dishes from his hometown is Schwartz’s world-famous Smoked Meat Sandwich. He knows about people’s common misconceptions, which leads them to believe that smoked meat and pastrami sandwiches are the same.

For today’s blog, Enrico Frank Andreoli compares both mouthwatering dishes.

While both sandwiches are famous, they come from different locations. Pastrami hails from New York, while smoked meat comes from Montreal. And they are food staples of residents in their hometowns.

Image source: foodandwine.com

Smoked meat sandwiches typically use a brisket-type cut, while pastrami sandwiches use the naval cut. For many foodies, this is the most obvious distinction between the two besides where they came from. However, there are also other huge differences, such as ingredients included in the sandwich. Both sandwiches include typical ingredients such as coriander, black pepper, and sugar; smoked meat sandwiches, however, have less sugar and are more generous with the spices such as garlic and mustard. It’s the spices that give smoked meat sandwiches a fiercer flavor compared to their New York counterpart.

Pastrami and smoked meat are also dry-cured, but only the latter goes through soaking to spread seasoning. Enrico Frank Andreoli explains that pastrami is also smoked in a shorter time frame than smoked meat.

Image source: en.wikipedia.org

According to Montreal native Enrico Frank Andreoli, one of his favorite and most iconic dishes from his hometown is Schwartz’s world-famous Smoked Meat Sandwich. He knows about people’s common misconceptions, which leads them to believe that smoked meat and pastrami sandwiches are the same.

For today’s blog, Enrico Frank Andreoli compares both mouthwatering dishes.

While both sandwiches are famous, they come from different locations. Pastrami hails from New York, while smoked meat comes from Montreal. And they are food staples of residents in their hometowns.

Smoked meat sandwiches typically use a brisket-type cut, while pastrami sandwiches use the naval cut. For many foodies, this is the most obvious distinction between the two besides where they came

from. However, there are also other huge differences, such as ingredients included in the sandwich. Both sandwiches include typical ingredients such as coriander, black pepper, and sugar; smoked meat sandwiches, however, have less sugar and are more generous with the spices such as garlic and mustard. It’s the spices that give smoked meat sandwiches a fiercer flavor compared to their New York counterpart.

Pastrami and smoked meat are also dry-cured, but only the latter goes through soaking to spread seasoning. Enrico Frank Andreoli explains that pastrami is also smoked in a shorter time frame than smoked meat.

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Enrico Frank Andreoli Montreal
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Enrico Frank Andreoli is a Montreal-based foodie. As someone who enjoys discovering new restaurants, cafés, and hole-in-the-wall eateries, he has decided to sh