Montreal smoked meat
Photo: Mixwell · CC BY-SA 3.0

History

Brought by Romanian and Eastern European Jewish immigrants, smoked meat became a Montreal institution through delis like Schwartz's, which opened on Boulevard Saint-Laurent in 1928. Unlike pastrami, Montreal smoked meat uses more black pepper and less sugar in the cure. It is still cured for about a week, smoked, then steamed and carved by hand to order.

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Common allergens: Gluten, Mustard

Make it at home

Yield Serves 8Hands-on 1 hrTotal P7DT6HDifficulty Advanced

Ingredients

  • 2kg beef brisket
  • 1/2 cup coarse salt
  • 1/4 cup cracked black pepper
  • 2 tbsp coriander seed
  • 1 tbsp pink curing salt
  • 2 tbsp brown sugar
  • 2 tbsp garlic powder
  • Rye bread and yellow mustard to serve

Method

  1. Rub the brisket with salt, curing salt, sugar and half the spices. Cure in the fridge 6 to 7 days, turning daily.
  2. Rinse well, then coat with the remaining cracked pepper and coriander.
  3. Smoke at 110C for about 6 hours until the internal temperature reaches 74C.
  4. Steam the brisket 2 to 3 hours until fork-tender, then hand-slice against the grain onto rye with mustard.

Tip from the editors. Hand-slice it thick and against the grain; a machine-thin cut loses the tender, peppery texture that defines it.

Where to eat montreal smoked meat

Montreal smoked meat in Montreal

Schwartz's Deli ★ 4.7

$$ DeliPlateauUntil 24:00 on weekends

Schwartz's keeps carving smoked meat until midnight on weekends in Montreal, a rare late-night chance to eat the city's signature sandwich at a real deli.

TrySmoked meat sandwich

TipThe takeout counter is quicker than the dining room after 11; order medium-fat and eat it on the walk.

Directions

Lester's Deli ★ 4.1

$$ DeliOutremont

Why locals goThe Outremont smoked-meat deli locals send you to when the Schwartz's line is out of hand, quietly curing its own brisket since 1951.

TipIt is calmer and roomier than the Plateau delis; a medium sandwich with fries is the play.

Directions

Wilensky's Light Lunch ★ 4.3

$ DeliMile End

Wilensky's Special is one of Montreal's great cheap eats, a griddled bologna-and-salami sandwich from a 1932 Mile End counter for the price of a coffee.

TryFried bologna special

TipAdd a hand-mixed cherry or lime soda from the fountain; the whole lunch still comes in under ten dollars.

Directions

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