'Pastrami is a popular delicatessen meat made principally from red meat, chiefly brisket. The raw meat is brined, partly dried, seasoned with various herbs and spices, then smoked. Origin Both the dish and the word pastrami were brought to the United States in a wave of Jewish immigration from Bessarabia and Romania in the second half of the 19th century. The word, derived from the (pronounced pastróme), entered the Russian language as pastromá (пастр … (More on Pastrami)