The dish to eat in Montreal · Canada

Smoked meat

Name: Montreal smoked meat
Yield: 8
Cuisine: Canada
Ingredients: 1 whole beef brisket point (or a full packer), 5 to 6 lb (2.3 to 2.7 kg), with its fat cap; For the cure: 1/4 cup (60 g) kosher salt, 2 tsp pink curing salt #1 (Prague powder; exactly); 3 tbsp coarsely cracked black pepper; 2 tbsp coriander seed, cracked; 1 tbsp each mustard seed and dill seed, cracked; 2 tsp sweet paprika, 1 tsp garlic powder, 1 tsp red pepper flakes, 2 bay leaves crumbled, 1 tbsp sugar; For serving: rye bread, yellow mustard, dill pickles

Photo: chensiyuan, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons · source

Brisket cured with spices, smoked and steamed, sliced hand-thick onto rye with yellow mustard.

Montreal's Jewish delis made brisket into something spicier and juicier than New York pastrami. Ask for medium fat; it's the only way.

Where to eat it Cook it at home

Where to eat it: the best three in Montreal

Schwartz's
Saint-Laurent Boulevard, Plateau
Order: Medium-fat smoked meat on rye, fries, a pickle and a black cherry soda
Smoking meat the same way since 1928, and the line out the door says it all.
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Main Deli Steak House
Saint-Laurent Boulevard, across from Schwartz's
Order: Smoked meat sandwich, medium
The locals' alternative across the street, with tables and less of a wait.
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Lester's Deli
Outremont
Order: Smoked meat sandwich and a cherry Coke
A neighborhood deli with old photos on the walls, making smoked meat since 1951.
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All three are on Chef Amazing’s list The best smoked meat in Montreal, which you can save and take with you.

Cook it at home: Montreal smoked meat

Serves 8Time 8 days curing, plus about 10 hr cooking

A project, but a great one. Brisket is dry-cured for a week with a peppery spice rub, smoked low, then steamed until it falls apart. Use curing salt for color and safety.

Pans and tools

Smoker (or charcoal grill set up for indirect heat)
Large zip bag or covered dish
Probe thermometer
Large pot or roasting pan with rack and lid for steaming
Long slicing knife

You’ll need

1 whole beef brisket point (or a full packer), 5 to 6 lb (2.3 to 2.7 kg), with its fat cap
For the cure: 1/4 cup (60 g) kosher salt, 2 tsp pink curing salt #1 (Prague powder; exactly)
3 tbsp coarsely cracked black pepper
2 tbsp coriander seed, cracked
1 tbsp each mustard seed and dill seed, cracked
2 tsp sweet paprika, 1 tsp garlic powder, 1 tsp red pepper flakes, 2 bay leaves crumbled, 1 tbsp sugar
For serving: rye bread, yellow mustard, dill pickles

Steps

Mix the kosher salt, curing salt, half the pepper and coriander, the mustard and dill seeds, paprika, garlic, pepper flakes, bay and sugar.
Rub the mix all over the brisket, put it in a zip bag or covered dish, and refrigerate 7 to 8 days, turning every day. It will release liquid; that's normal.
Rinse the brisket well, then soak it in cold water 2 hours, changing the water once, to draw out excess salt. Pat dry.
Press the remaining pepper and coriander onto all sides.
Heat a smoker to 225F (110C) with hardwood (maple or hickory). Smoke the brisket fat side up for 6 to 8 hours, until it reaches 165F (74C) inside and has a dark crust.
To steam: set it on a rack over 2 inches of simmering water in a large pot or roasting pan, cover tightly, and steam 2 to 3 hours, until a probe slides in like butter (about 203F / 95C).
Rest 15 minutes, then slice against the grain about 1/4 inch (6 mm) thick. Slicing by hand keeps it juicy.
Pile 5 to 6 oz on rye spread with yellow mustard and serve with a pickle and fries.

Chef’s tips

Weigh the curing salt; too much is unsafe, too little gives gray meat.

No smoker? Roast at 250F (120C) with 1 tbsp liquid smoke in the cure; it's not the same, but close.

Steam slices from the fridge for 10 minutes to reheat; it's even better on day two.

Contains: Wheat, mustard.

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