# What is the best deli meat?

> Smoked, cured, brined or simply roasted and sliced: the counter holds New York icons, Italian imports and the lean everyday stuff people actually buy.

*By YPB Team · Published November 9, 2026 · https://youpick.best/ranking/what-is-the-best-deli-meat*

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## Current results (no votes yet)

1. **Turkey Breast** — score 1000/1000
   Cooked turkey breast sliced thin for sandwiches, one of the leanest cold cuts at the American deli counter.
2. **Mortadella** — score 943/1000
   A large Bolognese pork sausage studded with cubes of fat and sometimes pistachios.
3. **Pastrami** — score 943/1000
   Brined beef, usually navel or brisket, coated in pepper and coriander, smoked and steamed, the signature meat of New York delis.
4. **Ham** — score 600/1000
   Cured pork leg sold baked, boiled, smoked or honey-glazed, second only to turkey in US deli-meat sales.
5. **Salami** — score 600/1000
   Dry-cured, fermented pork sausage of Italian origin, sliced thin for sandwiches and antipasto platters.
6. **Corned Beef** — score 491/1000
   Beef brisket cured in salt brine with spices, sliced for Reuben sandwiches and served hot at Jewish delis.
7. **Liverwurst** — score 491/1000
   A German-style liver sausage, usually of pork or calf liver, sliced or spread on rye bread with onion and mustard.
8. **Roast Beef** — score 360/1000
   Oven-roasted beef sliced thin and served cold or warm, the base of the roast beef sandwich.
9. **Bologna** — score 0/1000
   A finely ground, cooked American sausage descended from mortadella, sold sliced in lunchmeat packs.
10. **Prosciutto** — score 0/1000
   Italian dry-cured ham, aged for months and sliced paper-thin, best known from Parma and San Daniele.
11. **Capicola** — score 0/1000
   Italian cured pork neck or shoulder, seasoned with pepper or paprika and sliced thin, a staple of the Italian sub.

Tags: food, sandwiches, deli, meat