Nosh on These 15 Classic Jewish Deli Recipes (2024)

FAQs

What is special about a Jewish deli? ›

A Jewish deli, also known as a Jewish delicatessen, is a restaurant that serves various traditional dishes of Ashkenazi Jewish cuisine. Best known for their robust sandwiches, such as pastrami on rye, they also specialize in traditional Jewish diaspora soups, such as matzo ball, and other ethnically-rooted dishes.

Since it opened in 1888, Katz's Deli has been a Lower East Side institution and model for all others to follow, especially since it's considered the first Jewish deli in America. This famous deli has a lengthy menu of all the classics, so come hungry and don't be turned off by the line.

To be kosher, mammals must have split (cloven) hooves and be ruminants; that is, they must chew and then redigest their cuds. The Torah (the Hebrew Bible's first five books) specifically notes that the pig, camel, hyrax and rabbit are forbidden because they each lack one of these two requirements.

Romanian Jews emigrated to New York as early as 1872. Among Jewish Romanians, goose breasts were commonly made into pastrami because they were available. Beef navel was cheaper than goose meat in America, so the Romanian Jews in America adapted their recipe and began to make the cheaper-alternative beef pastrami.

Delicatessens originated in Germany (original: Delikatessen) during the 18th century and spread to the United States in the mid-19th century. European immigrants to the United States, especially Ashkenazi Jews, popularized the delicatessen in U.S. culture beginning in the late 19th century.

Pastrami on Rye

Winning points for generosity, ease, iconic status, and 100% Jewishness (the sandwich was created by Jewish immigrants in New York's Lower East Side in the 19th and 20th centuries), this is a worthy entry.

Pastrami on rye is the Jewish delicatessen everyone loves to have as a quick, go-to meal. It is a delicious overstuffed sandwich with slices of pastrami and flavorful toppings.

Kashrut—Jewish dietary laws

The word kosher is usually translated as "proper". Certain foods, notably pork, shellfish and almost all insects are forbidden; meat and dairy cannot be eaten together in one dish and a certain period of time must elapse before dairy food can be eaten following a meat dish.

There are a lot of details, but these are the basics: You can't eat certain animals at all, including organs, eggs, and milk of the forbidden animals. Birds and mammals must be killed according to Jewish law. All blood must be drained from meat and poultry before it's eaten.

Among those laws, the meat and dairy cannot be mixed, and grape products made by non-Jews cannot be consumed. Pork and shellfish cannot be served, and animals must be slaughtered by a certified shochet, frequently a rabbi. In most cases, the location is limited to serving exclusively either dairy or meat foods.

Why do Jewish delis serve pickles? ›

Jews used the pickle as a palate cleanser in their delis because the acidity of the pickle juxtaposed against the taste of the sandwich allowed customers to fully experience their food. The idea spread to delis across the nation and now it's the de facto sandwich side dish.