1st Try, Montreal Smoked Meat w/ Q-View

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mneeley490

Master of the Pit
Original poster
OTBS Member
SMF Premier Member
Jun 23, 2011
3,756
2,216
Everett, WA
Okay, I've been hearing about Montreal smoked meat from you lucky Canucks
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 for a while now. Since it's unlikely that I will ever get the chance to visit your fair city, I decided to give it a go on my own.

Basically went by a couple recipes on here (thanks Bad Santa and Disco!) and everything else I could find on the internet to try to get the "true" Montreal meat down.

Found a trimmed 3.3 lb brisket flat on sale.This is the lean side. There is about 1/4" of fat on the other.


Seasoned with the requisite spices.



Dry-brined for 12 days.


Soaking. Learning from examples from others here, I did not use a lot of salt, only 1-1/2 Tablespoons.


Reseasoned, and back into the fridge overnight.


Then, smoked with maple pellets until the IT was 165°, about 4 hours. I was forced to go to the in-laws the next day, so I opted not to refrigerate overnight, and went straight to the steaming stage.


I sliced off most of the fat, and then sliced as thin as I was able. Cure was uniform throughout. The pics don't do it justice, but it was a nice hammy-pink.



Sandwiched.



The verdict? It was okay, but to tell the truth, I did not find much difference between this and pastrami I have done in the past. Just less sugar and more black pepper, along with bay leaf powder and cloves.

Now before you jump on me, I will say that the pastrami I've enjoyed in NYC was immeasurably better than what I've made, too. So perhaps the real deal Montreal Meat is the same. I don't know. Like I said, I've never had it to compare. But that doesn't mean that I'm not going to enjoy this for the next few lunches. 
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our problem is that guys like us only do something different like that once in a while. nothing compaired to the guys that do 10- 50 of them day in and day out. so we get good results not great, in our opinion. friends and family look at us like we have lobsters on our head when we say our  Q is ok; but we are our own worst crittics! looks great, bettern youd get a grocery mart deli section!!!
 
You may be right about that. My friends rave about things I've made that to me, seem mediocre.
I guess we all need to challenge ourselves.
 
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