BeaverTail in Montreal
A BeaverTail is a hand-stretched, tail-shaped fried dough pastry dusted with cinnamon sugar or piled with toppings, a Canadian winter treat sold at markets.
The story of BeaverTail
The BeaverTail was trademarked in Ottawa in 1978 but the fried whole-wheat dough draws on older settler recipes. It became a cold-weather ritual across Quebec and Canada, eaten hot off outdoor stands during winter festivals, most famously topped with cinnamon sugar and lemon. In Montreal you find them at winter festivals, the Old Port and market stands, fried to order and eaten hot with cinnamon sugar as fingers go numb in the cold.
How to make BeaverTail
Serves: Makes 6
Ingredients
- 300g flour
- 100g whole-wheat flour
- 1 tbsp yeast
- 2 tbsp sugar
- 250ml warm milk
- 1 egg
- 2 tbsp melted butter
- Oil for frying
- Cinnamon sugar to finish
Method
- Mix flours, yeast, sugar, warm milk, egg and butter into a soft dough and knead 8 minutes.
- Rise 1 hour, then divide into 6 and stretch each into a long oval tail shape.
- Fry in 180C oil about 1 minute per side until puffed and golden.
- Drain, then dust generously with cinnamon sugar while still hot.
Editor tip. Stretch the dough thin by hand rather than rolling; the uneven shape is what fries up light and crisp.
The editor-picked rooms for BeaverTail in Montreal are still in research. Meanwhile, see the Montreal signature-dishes index or the Montreal food guide.