Montreal-style smoked meat facts for kids
Montreal-style smoked meat from Schwartz's in Montreal
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| Course | Main course |
|---|---|
| Place of origin | Canada |
| Region or state | Montreal, Quebec |
| Created by | Disputed - various Jewish delis in the city |
| Main ingredients | Smoked meat, mustard, and rye bread |
Montreal-style smoked meat is a special kind of deli meat. It's made from beef brisket, which is a cut of meat from the chest area of a cow. This meat is prepared by adding salt and spices, a process called "curing." The meat soaks up these flavors for about a week. After that, it's cooked slowly using hot smoke and then steamed until it's perfectly tender.
This tasty meat is a bit like corned beef and very similar to pastrami. It's a popular food in Montreal, a big city in Quebec, Canada.
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How Is Smoked Meat Made?
Making Montreal smoked meat involves a special process. While it's similar to how pastrami is made in New York, there are some key differences. Montreal smoked meat uses more cracked peppercorns and other savory spices. These spices include coriander, garlic, and mustard seeds. It also uses much less sugar than pastrami. In fact, the famous Montreal steak seasoning is based on these same spices!
Montreal smoked meat is usually made from a part of the beef called the brisket. This cut can have different amounts of fat. Pastrami, on the other hand, often uses a fattier cut called the navel or plate.
Most often, Montreal smoked meat is served in a sandwich. It's usually put on light rye bread with yellow mustard. Some places cure the meat in a salty water mix (called brine-curing), like corned beef. But many smoked meat shops prefer to rub the meat directly with salt and spices (called dry-curing).
The Story of Montreal Smoked Meat
The exact beginning of Montreal smoked meat is a bit of a mystery. Many people and families claim to have created it or brought it to Montreal. However, most of these stories agree on one thing: the creators were Jewish immigrants from Romania or Eastern Europe. They brought their cooking traditions with them to Canada.
Here are a few of the stories:
- Some people say Benjamin Kravitz started it. He opened Bens De Luxe Delicatessen & Restaurant in 1910. His family says he used a way of curing brisket that he remembered from farmers in Lithuania. He first sold his smoked meat sandwiches from his wife's small store.
- A historian named Eiran Harris suggests Herman Rees Roth from New York might have made the first smoked meat sandwich in 1908. He sold them from his deli, the British American Delicatessen Store.
- Another story, told by Bill Brownstein, says Itzak Rudman brought smoked meat to Montreal in 1902. He was skilled at making salami and smoked meat and had a shop on de Bullion Street.
- There's also a possibility that a butcher named Aaron Sanft started it. He came from Romania in 1884 and opened Montreal's first kosher butcher shop. He likely made smoked meat in a Romanian style, similar to pastrama.
How to Enjoy Smoked Meat
When you order Montreal smoked meat, it's always sliced by hand. This is because the meat is so tender that a machine might break it apart. The whole pieces of brisket are kept warm by steaming. They are only sliced when someone orders them, so the meat stays hot and fresh.
Even when sliced by hand, some small pieces of smoked meat break off. These bits are often collected and used in other dishes. You might find them in poutine, which is French fries with cheese curds and gravy. This is called smoked meat poutine. You can also find smoked meat bits served over spaghetti with bolognese sauce or even on pizza!
A typical Montreal-style smoked meat sandwich is made with light rye bread that doesn't have seeds. It's piled high with hand-sliced smoked meat, usually about 5 cm (2 in) thick. A dollop of yellow prepared mustard is also added.
When you order, you can choose how much fat you want in your smoked meat:
- Lean: This part has less fat and is drier. It's a healthier choice but might have less flavor.
- Medium and medium fat: These are the most popular choices. They come from the middle of the brisket and have a good mix of meat and fat. Sometimes, it's a mix of lean and fatty slices.
- Old-fashioned: This cut is between medium and fatty and is often sliced a bit thicker.
- Fat: This comes from the fattier end of the brisket.
- Speck: This is just the spiced fat from the brisket, without much meat.
Smoked Meat and Montreal's Culture
Montreal smoked meat is a very important part of the city's food culture. You can find it in many diners and fast food restaurants across Montreal, Quebec, and even other parts of Canada. Along with bagels, smoked meat has been popular in Montreal since the 1800s. It's seen as a symbol of the city's unique food.
Even though this food started with Montreal's Jewish community, most delis that serve it are not officially certified as kosher. This means they don't strictly follow all Jewish dietary laws.
Montreal smoked meat has also become part of other traditional Quebec dishes, like poutine. On Saint-Jean-Baptiste Day, a special holiday in Quebec, people often eat smoked meat sandwiches. They also enjoy steamed hot dogs, classic poutine, local craft beer, and special Quebec chocolate.
