The Meatwave

Montreal Smoked Meat

Montreal Smoked Meat View Recipe

When making pastrami for the first time, I pretty much hit the nail on the head on flavor—the meat was smoky and salty, with a highly seasoned peppercorn, coriander, and garlic crust that screams "pastrami." Still, that cured and smoked brisket flat didn't sit right with me, mainly because of one glaring omission, it was never steamed! Wanting to correct that and improve my pastrami texture and tenderness, I set off to try again, but once I had a brisket home, decided to do things a little differently and turn this chunk of beef into Montreal smoked meat.

Montreal Smoked Meat

Montreal smoked meat is, more or less, Montreal's answer to pastrami. The process can be almost identical, but there are couple important differences. First is the cut of meat—smoked meat is often made with the whole brisket, letting customers choose between the fatty deckle or the more lean flat, while pastrami is usually just the brisket flat or beef plate. So I accordingly started this off with an entire brisket, and it just happened the only one available the day I went to the butcher was a 16lb monster.

Montreal Smoked Meat

The cure I put together was similar to the pastrami cure, although I held back the amount of sugar. I also decided to ditch the Morton Tender Quick and do a mixture of pink curing salt and kosher salt instead. Getting many questions about the amount of nitrites in the Morton's and not knowing the answer, I thought it was better the second time around to make my own salt mixture to better understand exactly what I was putting into my cure.

Montreal Smoked Meat

The whole brisket was coated in the dry-cure and placed in a doubled up two and half gallon Ziploc bag. Then into the fridge it went for the long curing process. As the meat sat in the cure, it released moisture, which began collecting in the bag. To ensure the cure was penetrating the meat evenly, I flipped the brisket over twice a day.

Montreal Smoked Meat

This went on for four days, at which point the cure had enough time to work its magic and it was almost ready to be smoked. But before smoking, I needed to remove the cure and some excess saltiness, which was achieved through a water bath. Swapping out the extra large bowl I used to do this with pastrami for a roasting pan—wchich is a much more practical size and shape for the task—I soaked the brisket in water for two hours, changing the water every half an hour.

Montreal Smoked Meat

The second important difference in smoked meat is the rub. While some smoked meats will have something similar or the same as the black pepper, coriander, and garlic mixture of pastrami, there's more variation from one smoked meat joint to the next. Having no real point of reference for the most "classic" rub, I decided to put together a somewhat typical Montreal rub thinking it should fit the bill nicely.

Montreal Smoked Meat

The cured and rubbed brisket was then hot smoked at 225 degrees until the meat was just cooked through, hitting an internal temperature of 165 degrees. There's some debate on whether smoked meat is actually smoked. I contend smoking smoked meat and pastrami is the only way to go, but commenters on Serious Eats mentioned some of the institutions in Montreal may not actually smoke their meat, instead cooking it in an oven. To me that seems wrong, although likely true, but I will never be able to say for sure until I get to Montreal and do my own smoked meat investigation (a very delicious case I hope to tackle some day).

Montreal Smoked Meat

When making pastrami, this is where the process stopped. That time I foiled the brisket and let it sit for a couple hours, then sliced and served. The meat tasted great, but the texture and tenderness was shy of the almost falling apart quality of really good, freshly smoked pastrami. This was because I skipped the final step—steaming.

To correct my previous error, I finished the smoked meat resting in a v-rack set in a roasting pan filled with about one and half inches of water. This was put over two burners on the stove, covered, and steamed until the meat's temperature rose to 180 degrees. At this point the brisket was noticeably more tender than my first pastrami, but not quite at that giggly barbecue stage.

Montreal Smoked Meat

The results spoke for themselves. While still a ways off from perfect, more internal fat rendered out, leaving the meat in that state where it's solid enough to stay together when slicing, but tears easily with just a little pull. In contrast to the overpowering spicy pastrami rub, the diverse Montreal seasoning created a more nuanced flavor that let the meat stand out, while still providing a robustness. Overall, it was a pretty stellar piece of meat that was an incremental improvement over my first try. Now it's just smoke, and smoke again until I have a pastrami or smoked meat that fully reaches its pinnacle, something I'm determined to achieve over my lifetime.

Published on Tue Mar 12, 2013 by Joshua Bousel

Print Recipe

Montreal Smoked Meat

  • Yield 10-12 servings
  • Prep 1 Hour
  • Inactive 4 Days
  • Cook 7 Hours
  • Total 4 Days 8 Hours

Ingredients

  • For the Cure
  • 1 cup Kosher salt
  • 3 tablespoons ground black pepper
  • 3 tablespoons ground coriander
  • 1 tablespoons pink salt (aka InstaCure, Prague Powder)
  • 1 tablespoons sugar
  • 1 teaspoon ground bay leaf
  • 1 teaspoon ground cloves
  •  
  • 1 whole brisket, around 12-14 pounds, fat cap trimmed to %u215B-inch
  •  
  • For the rub
  • 3 tablespoons coarsely ground black pepper
  • 1 tablespoons ground coriander
  • 1 tablespoons paprika
  • 1 tablespoon garlic powder
  • 1 tablespoon onion powder
  • 1 teaspoon dill weed
  • 1 teaspoon ground mustard
  • 1 teaspoon celery seed
  • 1 teaspoon crushed red pepper
  •  
  • 2-3 fist-size chunks of medium smoking wood, such as oak or hickory

Procedure

  1. To make the cure, in a small bowl mix together salt, pink salt, black pepper, coriander, sugar, bay leaf, and cloves. Coat entire brisket with the cure and place in an extra-large resealable plastic bag. Place in the coldest part of the refrigerator and cure for 4 days, flipping brisket twice a day.
  2. Remove brisket from bag and wash as much cure off as possible under cold running water. Place brisket in a large container and fill with water and let soak for 2 hours, replacing water every 30 minutes. Remove from water and pat dry with paper towels.
  3. To make the rub, mix together black pepper, coriander, paprika, garlic powder, onion powder, dill weed, mustard, celery seed, and crushed red papper in a small bowl. Coat entire brisket with the rub.
  4. Fire up smoker or grill to 225 degrees, adding chunks of smoking wood chunks when at temperature. When wood is ignited and producing smoke, place brisket in, fat side up, and smoke until an instant read thermometer registers 165 degrees when inserted into thickest part of the brisket, about 6 hours.
  5. Transfer brisket to large roasting pan with V-rack. Place roasting pan over two burners on stovetop and fill with 1-inch of water. Bring water to a boil over high heat, reduce heat to medium, cover roasting pan with aluminum foil, and steam brisket until an instant read thermometer registers 180 degrees when inserted into thickest part of the meat, 1 to 2 hours, adding more hot water as needed.
  6. Transfer brisket to cutting board and let cool slightly. Slice and serve, preferably on rye with mustard.

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Comments

  1. Maurice Looks awesome - which exact "InstaCure, Prague Powder" did you use? On Amazon there are like #1 and #2 ? Thanks!Posted Thu, Mar 14 2013 10:00AM

  2. Josh @Maurice It's Prague Powder #1. I order mine from Butcher-packer.Posted Fri, Mar 15 2013 9:25AM

  3. Chris I have never even heard of Montreal smoked meat before but it looks and sounds fantastic. I was about to smoke pastrami in the next week or so but I might have to switch it up now. Or at least add the steaming technique. Great how to post, Josh.Posted Mon, Mar 18 2013 10:16PM

  4. Trent DeRoche I'll be trying this very soon. Thanks for the info. Posted Fri, Oct 4 2013 12:00PM

  5. Katherine B I'm Canadian and grew up eating smoked meat whenever we visited family in Montreal. It's almost silly delicious and you should definitely take a trip up there to investigate further. I'd love to make this but will not have access to a smoker, for the smoking step how long would I need to bake it in the oven, and is there a way to jimmy rig some soaked wood chips (wrapped in foil perhaps) in the oven that might add a little of that smokey aroma? Thanks! Posted Mon, Oct 21 2013 1:43PM

  6. mw @ katherine B

    Check into the grillen mates.. they are little cans that you add to a charchol grill that turns it into a smoker.... a mix of that and just charcole might help you outPosted Tue, Oct 29 2013 10:43PM

  7. Kurt I agree with Katherine, Having grown up in Cornwall (45 minutes away from Montreal) nothing beats authentic Montreal Smoked Meat. It is unbelievably delicious!
    Posted Tue, Dec 3 2013 10:21PM

  8. Tom My understanding is Montreal institutions cure it for much longer. Up to 10 days. I did that. Mine Is 11.5 pounds and is going to cook for about 9 hours (4 hours no foil, 5 hours foiled) tomorrow. Then it is going to be streamed for approximately 3 hrs on the 25th. Maybe cure it for longer. Just remember to soak out the cure in cold water for 3 hours swapping out the water every 30 minutes. Very important. Don't miss this step. Posted Tue, Dec 24 2013 12:40AM

  9. Tom Re Morton's tender quick and nitrate/nitrite.

    There is 0.5% nitrate and 0.5% nitrite in Morton's tender quick, so total 1%.

    Also you don't necessarily need to smoke it (my opinion is smoked meat should be smoked) but many places in Montreal including the famous Schwartz's I am pretty sure don't smoke their meat (you can tell via flavour duh). Just pop it in a large roasting pan on a rack and bake at 225-250 until it is up to desired temp. Posted Tue, Dec 24 2013 1:21AM

  10. VJ I like to hang my cured meats to dry fully before smoking, usually a day or two depending on air temp and humidity. Smoke sticks better. Posted Mon, Dec 30 2013 3:41PM

  11. Smoke Meat Ted Tried this recipe on a small scale (2lbs piece of Brisket) to test it, 4 days curing (couldn't find InstaCure or alternative...so ignored that ingredient), then onto the grill with indirect heat at 225 for 5 hours turning once. Then wrapped in foil and into the fridge until we had a chance to taste it a few days later. Steamed for 2.5 hours.
    Good Rye Bread, French's mustard, and stacked high, with a great pickle. To die for! One suggestion, use a very sharp knife.Posted Thu, Jan 9 2014 1:21PM

  12. Josh @Smoke Meat Ted Glad to hear you gave this a go and it turned out well, certainly one of the more ambitious recipes I have on the blog :)Posted Thu, Jan 9 2014 11:30PM

  13. Mike Hi
    Being from montreal I have eaten my share.
    There are manny shops in the ethnic districts that specialize in smoked meat, but the best we ever had was at the Momtreal Canadiens hockey games at the old Forum.
    In every restaurant that i ate at, the smoked meat was j
    Kept in a steamer and thinly sliced as requested. Just add a good rye bread, mustard and swiss cheese and dill pickles you are good to go!Posted Sat, Mar 22 2014 10:07PM

  14. StandUp4Canada Read your recipe and there seems to be one thing missing. When you make Montreal Smoked Meat you DO NOT dry cure it, you brine it for a week or more then smoke it. YOu basically made pastrami with a brisket.Posted Sat, Apr 5 2014 12:58PM

  15. saif Yesterday i was try this ricipe and find the one thing is that if you put better amount of onion powder then is going to more yummy . BTW i love your blog . Posted Fri, May 16 2014 6:47PM

  16. RobertB Montreal Style Smoked Meat is great! Thanks for the recipe.Posted Sat, May 31 2014 5:26AM

  17. Marg I mixed my curing ingredients in water and brined my 6 lb brisket for 5 days then rinsed well, applied rub, wrapped in foil and cooked in oven 12 hours. Did not need to steam - was fall apart tender and oh, so good! Posted Sun, Jun 15 2014 4:28PM

  18. Marg Sorry - forgot - 250 degreesPosted Sun, Jun 15 2014 4:30PM

  19. Mike I make montreal smoked meat for levitts and live in montreal as well. I know for a fact the brisket is injected with the brine, and then sits for 3 days. Then it is spiced and cooked in ovens WITHOUT SMOKE! They are steamed for around 3 hours.

    That is the way montreal style smoked meat is made, however I enjoy smoking my briskets and then adding my home made expresso bbq sauce.

    Cheers!Posted Sun, Jul 6 2014 7:30PM

  20. Tom @Standupforcanada

    Yes Montreal smoked meat is generally brined, not dry cured. However, if using a proper cure, after 2 days, there will be enough of the juices drawn out that it will be in a brine (if you put it in a vacuum sealed bag). My smoked meat always turns out great that way.

    @Mike
    Back in the day, Montreal smoked meat was always smoked and the brine was not injected, the meat soaked in it. Both injecting the brine and not smoking it are cost saving measures that have been developed because these minor changes don't have too great an effect on quality, and save a lot of time and money. Smoking meat using a charcoal smoker costs a lot more than baking it. Same goes for brining it for 10 days versus 3. If you are doing it for a private party, don't cut corners like the businesses, you won't be disappointed with the extra effort required. If you are a business you do what you need to do to maximize profit. That is the only reason they don't smoke smoked meat and that they inject their brine. Posted Tue, Jul 8 2014 4:33AM

  21. Andrew Worked at Shopsy's deli in Toronto (can hear the Montrealers chuckling) as a kid and ate my share of MSM, corned beef, tongue and pastrami on best rye with 1000 island dressing! Starved for good deli meats living in CA so going to give this one a try. Great blog and thanks for the additional background Tom. No cutting corners for me...Posted Wed, Sep 3 2014 11:57PM

  22. charlie wolfe A couple comments here say that Montreal Smoked meat is not a dry rub process--not true--I spoke with Frank at Schwartz's Deli in Montreal when I was ordering my 3 pounds of their MSM rub and he says it goes like this:

    1. Rub the brisket with the MSM rub and let sit in the fridge for 5 days undisturbed.

    2. After day #5 flip it over and let sit another 5 days for a total of 10. (He says it can sit as long as 13 days but not longer.)

    3. Smoke the brisket for 7-8 hours at 250. When I asked what internal temp to pull it off he says they do hundreds of briskets this way and it would be impossible for them to track temperature on so many briskets. (Note: I pulled my first MSM brisket off the smoker after 5 hours, at which point I had achieved an internal temp of 205). Note, they do not use any wood, just charcoal smoke for the cooking process.

    4. Take meat out of the smoker and put into a steamer (I used a rice steamer with the brisket cut into two halves so it would fit). About an hour, but you can go longer

    5. Let sit in the fridge overnight and slice the next morning

    Mine turned out awesome although I plan to experiment with longer cook times (and higher internal temps) in keeping with Schwartz's instructions on my next MSM cook.Posted Sun, Sep 7 2014 7:57PM

  23. lewis I am from montreal, and have never found anything remotely close to it anywhere.
    An important element is the carving. It takes skill and there are very few around who can still do it right, while its hot.
    It MUST be served on rye bread with mustard. The smaller the slice the better (higher meat to bread ratio) and must have mustard.
    The sign of good MSM is that it falls apart as you eat it.
    Juicy and yummy.

    Posted Sat, Sep 13 2014 7:24PM

  24. Ken Davis Hello from Australia. A friend from Maine, now living over here, told me about Montreal Smoked Meat, with much encouragement to do one in my Traeger. I stumbled upon your blog today after googling the temperature I should smoke at. I forgot since my first MSM.

    I read through several recipes for the MSM, and decided to wet-brine for the 4 days, and then marinade in the dry rub, turning twice daily, for 7 days, then smoke for 8 hours, then steam for four hours until the internal temperature reaches 180 degrees F.

    Today is smoking day for my second MSM. Steaming tomorrow morning.

    One day I shall try the real MSM in Montreal.

    Best wishes everybody.

    Posted Fri, Oct 3 2014 10:08PM

  25. Cecilia Ruel I made it to your recipe and it is wonderful. Tried the same thing with pork tenderloin exactly as your recipe for Montreal Smoked Meat and have beautiful ham. ThankyouPosted Sat, Mar 7 2015 4:23PM

  26. Nate M I filmed a video of this and put it on youtube with a link to your page hope you get some extra traffic from my video (well the video is going live tomorrow night). I did it slightly different....using a corned beef brisket...It was fantastic.Posted Thu, Mar 26 2015 9:24AM

  27. Laura Saueracker After finding this recipe I got a brisket with our meat order. I followed the recipe plus the forum discussion but did the cure for just over a week. Not having a smoker I used a gas BBQ with wood chips over the gas, and the brisket on the other side. It took about 6 hours to reach temperature then a couple of hours of steaming. I have to say this recipe is amazing. I don't think I'll ever buy MSM ever again. Posted Sun, Apr 5 2015 2:15AM

  28. ERNEST Très beau site il ne manque que la newsletter pour que je m'y inscrive merciPosted Thu, May 7 2015 5:41AM

  29. Kim I'm definitely trying this! One question, though. What do you trim the fat cap to? The font or whatever shows up on my computer as "%u215B-inch". :-)
    Posted Thu, Jul 2 2015 2:12PM

  30. Charlie wolfe Kim, most people advise trimming a brisket fat cap to 1/4 inch thick Posted Fri, Jul 3 2015 8:13AM

  31. Kim Thanks, Charlie Wolfe. That's what I use when I'm cooking a brisket like a brisket. The meat in his pic, though, looks trimmed of fat. I know when making pastrami, my brother trims the fat cap off. I was curious what this recipe was supposed to say.
    Posted Tue, Jul 7 2015 9:19PM

  32. Bill Demmer I just got back from Montreal where I enjoyed a Chenoy's sampler platter of MSM. The 4 types were: Maple-cured, Old Fashioned, Spicy Dry Rub, and Traditional. I ordered the platter with medium fat(they have 3 grades). My 2 favorites were the Spicy Dry Rub and the Maple-cured, both because of the texture and flavor(there was more mouth feel-not as mushy). Posted Sat, Aug 29 2015 9:52AM

  33. Bill Demmer ^ I know that will get me in trouble with the hard-core MSM'ers. As far as smoke flavor, I didn't get much, if any, from any of the 4 types on the platter(needs smoke flavor to be MSM, for me). For those of you that don't have a grill/smoker, you can cheat by buying a bottle of Colgen's Liquid Smoke(I use Hickory). Be careful! A little bit goes a long way with Liquid Smoke. Too much, and it may taste burnt, even though it's not physically burned. Also, I would swear that there was a hint of vinegar flavor in the MSM... maybe in the brining to tenderize?Posted Sat, Aug 29 2015 9:53AM

  34. Bill Demmer Correction on the spelling of the brand name for Liquid Smoke: ColginPosted Sun, Aug 30 2015 11:56AM

  35. Jeff Dupuis I tried my very first brisket thanks to you. Everything turned out great and I did the preparation and smoking and steaming exactly to your specifications. However the finished product was on the salty side I did not use the instacure I couldn't find it so I used pink sea salt as well with the kosher salt I'm wondering if that is the problem or can i just remove that sea salt and also cut my cure time down to three days what are your suggestionsPosted Thu, Sep 10 2015 11:04AM

  36. Fadel How can the meat stay pink after cooking the brisket??? Thank you for your help. FadelPosted Tue, Sep 29 2015 2:39PM

  37. David Nitrates in the cure keep the meat red.Posted Fri, Oct 2 2015 8:34AM

  38. Bill Demmer Another good brand of Liquid Smoke is Wright's.
    Posted Fri, Oct 2 2015 12:07PM

  39. Ben Don't shoot the messenger, but a quick and easy version is to buy a corned beef (point cut) and cover with water in your crock pot. Add liquid smoke and slow cook for 8 hours. It's not nearly as good as your recipes but it is a nice switch to the standard corned beef without any trouble and it DOES resemble MSM.Posted Sun, Nov 29 2015 12:30AM

  40. charlie wolfe All, I have been buying montreal smoked meat (pastrami) cure rub from Schwartz's in Montreal through mail order. I used a magnifying glass and was able to analyze what was in the rub, then I was able to replicate it---and I got pretty damned close! By the way you guys wanting to know where to get pink curing salt, you can get it on Amazon, just search for "prague powder #1" https://www.amazon.com/Hoosier-Hill-Farm-Prague-Powder/dp/B008X6KE0E/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1448805342&sr=8-1&keywords=prague powder no. 1
    Posted Sun, Nov 29 2015 8:56AM

  41. Dan B Being from Montreal, I have only eaten at places that have bags and bags of charcoal...there is a great place opposite Schwartz's on the Main. Both places smoke their MSM from what I can gather.
    I was lucky enough to receive a Bradley Smoker for Christmas this year!
    I have followed your recipe to a tee...the meat has been in the smoker for 7 hours and is now steaming....keeping fingers crossed that my New Years guests enjoy...this backyard chef is a little nervous about the final product! However, like my back ribs, it took some time and lots of meat before I perfected the process - keeping fingers crossed!
    Thank you for your advice!
    Best,
    Dan Posted Thu, Dec 31 2015 5:56PM

  42. charlie wolfe To anyone who is interested in a recipe for MSM rub, let me know via email and I will send you my recipe. charlie.wolfe@gmail.com

    I have ordered MSM rub from one of the most famous Montreal MSM delis and analyzed it for spice content, and now I think i have it 90% replicated. I'm happy to share with anyone who is interested. Note, it includes the pink curing salt AKA Prague Powder #1 which is necessary for the curing to take place.Posted Thu, Dec 31 2015 6:02PM

  43. Mike @ Dan B

    I wouldnt call owning a bradley smoker "lucky". You will never get the real taste of charcoal smoke with an electric smoker. Plus you have to waste mass amounts of money on smoker pucks where as with a barrel smoker I can use the mesquite I find in the woods ;)

    Ps: If you live in a cold climate your electric smoker wont last too long running below freezing.

    CheersPosted Thu, Dec 31 2015 6:15PM

  44. Dan B Darn...and I thought I was set! :-)

    What would you recommend? I have been cooking on it since Christmas and have been really impressed with the results...

    I live about an hour outside of Ottawa, so yes, other than this winter thus far, it gets a tad chilly here - I am new to smoking - please impart some advice on this newbie!

    Best,
    DanPosted Thu, Dec 31 2015 6:23PM

  45. Tom Dan,
    I would say as someone just starting out, a Bradley is good (I would rather a Masterful Electric Smoker with an a-maze-n pellet smoker, or a pellet smoker personally). I have a 2rack Bradley that I use pretty regularly, puts out excellent flavour. I also 2 charcoal smokers (an offset and a Weber smokey mountain). The only real difference is with an electric smoker you won't get the pink smoke ring. But you aren't competing, so it doesn't really matter. I think The MES with an a-maze-n smoking tray is better because on 1 lb of pellets (about $1), you get 11 hours of smoke. Posted Thu, Dec 31 2015 6:30PM

  46. Dan B Hi Tom - Thank you!! I just looked up the a-maze-n pellet smoker - first I have heard of it. Will find and buy one because I am sold on smoking!

    What do you think of Traegar Smokers? They are made in Canada from what I know...yet again, this is all new to me and I really appreciate your guidance.

    I noticed the Bradley pucks are expensive and tend to eat through $20 quickly.

    Years ago my Dad had a Weber, it lasted years beyond Dad's passing. I am going to look for a charcoal based smoker - what about flavours?...is the Bradley puck flavour choice just marketing? I ask because from what I can gather thus far it is all in the rub...and the smoking gives us moist meat...?

    Lots to learn....

    Cheers,

    DanPosted Thu, Dec 31 2015 6:39PM

  47. nate I'd have to say the rub is spot on.... made this on a Weber and ur was amazing! !! Here's the video -https://youtu.be/HPe2RvBfC9U

    NatePosted Thu, Dec 31 2015 8:02PM

  48. Guadalupe I have just bought a smoker a few days ago, I am not sure how to use it in the right way, your tips are very useful for me, thanksPosted Wed, Jan 6 2016 1:34AM

  49. Robert Smoked meat always sounds interesting to me. Once I tried to smoke meat but it didn't go well. I think your information will help me a lot. I will definitely try this recipe.Posted Thu, Jan 21 2016 4:35AM

  50. Yvonne I tried this recipe. Delicious! It reminds me of the French "pâté" i grew up with. This is definitely a keeper.

    Thanks so much for sharing. Posted Fri, Jan 22 2016 7:41PM

  51. Simone Araujo Are the temperature in Farneheit ou Celsisu?Posted Sun, Jan 31 2016 9:38AM

  52. Bill Demmer Since a smoker is used at lower temperatures, the 225 degrees would be Fahrenheit. 225C would be 437F... no smoker grill will get to that temperature.Posted Sun, Jan 31 2016 7:55PM

  53. Simone Araujo Thank you Bill Demmer! Posted Mon, Feb 1 2016 8:31AM

  54. Handson I was try this ricipe and find the one thing is that if you put better amount of onion powder then is going to more yummy . Thank you Josh! Posted Sat, Feb 13 2016 3:10AM

  55. Michael Looks like a great recipe! I have been smoking for awhile. A few years ago on an offset smoker but have moved to a place with a smaller yard so I now use a Masterbuilt electric smoker. I have had it for two years now and use it twice a week living in New England. The A-Maze-N smoker tray is fantastic! I use Traeger pellets when hot smoking and when cold smoking and thy are great. Flavor being subjective is for you to decide. I have used a corned beef, both point and flat cut. Soaked and drained for a couple hours. I have wet and dry brined brisket. All good! I use heavy spices AND sugar for the rub. Light smoke then steam. YayPosted Thu, Feb 18 2016 2:20PM

  56. Michael I have also made a pork pastrami using methods outlined above and a boneless Boston butt pork shoulder. Certainly not kashrut but fantastic! My point is have fun trying different methods. Whether you call it Montreal smoked meat, pastrami or you try bastourmar or pasturma (Armenian and Turkish proto-pastrami) it's all fun and it's all good. Happy eating!
    Make ruebens, make Cuban sandwiches. Buy books, but make something!Posted Thu, Feb 18 2016 2:41PM

  57. Chris Instead of smoking then steaming in the oven have you considered the "Texas crutch"? Its a time tested brisket solution where you wrap the meat in foil part way through the cooking with some liquid in the pouch.Posted Wed, Mar 23 2016 11:29AM

  58. E conway Those of you who are running down the electric smokers have obviously never had one, I have four smokers and if I want serious smoke I always use the Bradley for a deep 3/8 dark smoke ring in the meat. If you need 225 degrees or more then the other smokers are cranking which means more air and a cleaner burn thus less smoke and more heat. The charcoal smokers have great taste as well but if you do get hard smoke at it, watch it close cuz smoke will only penetrate for about 3 hours then it compounds on itself and gets bitter. A Bradley your can keep the heat and shut off the smoke. Plus you don't need to baby sit the temp, same with a pellet smoker. Charcoal smokers,,,waste your whole day babysitting. The other,,,go to the mall, do whatever and the product is every bit as good,,,, another thing I noticed on here is people changing or not even using the cure,,good way to get very sick, without the cure all you have is a marinated brisket. Pink sea salt is not a substitute for cure, neither is any other kind of salt, it must be cure and it goes by a few names and comes in a #1 or #2. Get it right or risk poisoning your family if you treat your meat like its cured and it's not. You certainly don't treat a pork roast the same as a ham right!!!Posted Fri, Mar 25 2016 11:19AM

  59. Ec Bill,,,, your giving bad advise about smoker grills. A Louisiana will hit 475, a traeger will hit 450, a GMG will hit 550 and a yoder will hit 650, al of these are pellet smokers. A green egg can hit 1200 degrees. Lots of reverse flow charcoal smokers have to problem either, basically it's only the electrics that are just over 300, I know none of these temps a required for MSM but your statement is wrong!!Posted Fri, Mar 25 2016 11:26AM

  60. Bill Demmer EC, I stand corrected, thank you.Posted Fri, Mar 25 2016 7:22PM

  61. Luis Smoking with friends on a nice day is really good, I cann't wait to do thatPosted Mon, Mar 28 2016 6:35PM

  62. Josh @Chris That's a great idea. I'm hoping to make some pastrami short ribs soon and will try out steaming in on the smoker and see how it goes.Posted Sun, Apr 3 2016 5:52PM

  63. John I made this recently and it turned out great. Delicious!Posted Mon, Feb 6 2017 2:34PM

  64. Bill Demmer A sad day in Montreal... The last time I was there, in February 2017, my favorite MSM place had closed their doors for good. Chenoy's, on Taschereau, and their downtown location are now only a memory. They made 4 different variations of MSM, 2 each brined and dry-rubbed, I preferred the 2 dry rubbed versions, as the brined was too mushy for my tastes. I had heard that Pastrami was very similar to MSM, so, this past weekend, I stopped in to a locally renowned Jewish Deli, for a Pastrami sandwich on seedless Rye, with brown mustard. It was amazing, I felt like I was in Montreal, eating an MSM sandwich. It had the firm texture and mouth-feel that I like, and the flavor was bang on to MSM. In a couple of weeks, I'll be visiting Montreal again, I'll stop over to Schwartz's for lunch while I'm there. I'll also be hitting Bar-B-Barn for the ribs.Posted Mon, May 8 2017 7:20PM

  65. Kareena The montreal smoked meat recipe looks delicious. The seasoning will add the taste. The meat seems juicy and tender. My family and I will love it.Posted Tue, May 16 2017 10:48AM

  66. Dave For anyone in Canada looking for Prague powder #1 I managed to finally locate some at Cabelas in the form of Cabelas Speed Cure. Posted Fri, Jun 16 2017 8:47AM

  67. Mark It looks great. I will try this for next weekendPosted Thu, Jul 13 2017 5:33PM

  68. Tim Been stalking your blog for a while and finally thought that it was time to say thanks for posting such great content. Tried this last night and it was fantastic!Posted Fri, Jul 21 2017 6:35PM

  69. Pascal I made this recipe with venison and it turned out absolutely epic, less fall apart because of very lean meat but awesome flavor! Now I will have to get some brisket. Posted Mon, Jul 24 2017 11:31PM

  70. Sex video website I made this recipe with venison and it turned out absolutely epic, less fall apart because of very lean meat but awesome flavor! Now I will have to get some brisket. Posted Thu, Aug 24 2017 11:36PM

  71. Fred Did it really take days to prepare the meat? wow. ALso, very nice and detailedPosted Thu, Oct 12 2017 11:01AM

  72. Jack Kirchhoff Josh:

    I have made pastrami several times on both my Lyfe Tyme hot smoker and my Weber bullet (which we call the R2D2 smoker). The pastrami always disappears quickly, and I have never gone on to the steaming stage. Your smoked meat blog posting has encouraged me to do it, and I'm off to fetch a big brisket today. Already salivating.

    I lived in Montreal for most of the 1970s, and spent many hours in Ben's and Schwartz's and other smoked-meat-serving delis. I don't know how I've managed to go this long without making my own.

    How can I subscribe to your blog site? I'm not likely to make it to Astoria often, but I definitely want to keep reading your comments and recipes.

    Posted Tue, Oct 17 2017 12:49PM

  73. MeatSmokersHQ I love smoked BBQ and always looking for delicious recipes, i will definitely give it a try by this week.Posted Tue, Jan 2 2018 3:26PM

  74. John Mitchell Everyone has their favourite place for Montreal Smoked meat and I have found the best....Smoke Meat Pete's in Ile Perot (west end just off the island). Hands down the best...a hidden Montreal Gem and the best live blues bands....Pete himself sometimes performs.
    Check it out.
    http://www.smokemeatpete.com/new/
    Posted Wed, Feb 28 2018 4:53PM

  75. Charlie Wolfe Hey everyone, since I first posted here (Posts #22, 42) I have received about 20 emails from people asking for my MSM rub formula and cooking process.

    I've heard from people in Netherlands, Canada, Norway, Mexico, Germany, Philippines, and all over the USA and it has been really a joy interacting and sharing with you all. I've had numerous reports that the recipe turned out very well.

    Smoke on!!!!Posted Sun, Apr 8 2018 6:19AM

  76. Darcy I followed this recipe to the "T" and it was way too salty and tough....any suggestions on what to do? Posted Sun, May 27 2018 12:12AM

  77. Barbara Tried this with eye of round and no nitrate or anything. Was stunning! Rave reviews from everyone who tried it. I would suggest a three hour soak not two but maybe it's supposed to be that salty. Thanks for the killer recipe, we are going to try it with pork as that seems to be what is affordable these days. Posted Sun, Jun 24 2018 8:50PM

  78. Carlo Hi everyone,

    I have not tried this recipe ye, plan to do it this week. Had a question. In the past, I smoked the brisket, uncured, to an internal temp of 205 but did not steam it. The brisket was very tender but did not have the classic red color you see in a Montreal Smoked Meat. It was brown like typical "well done" beef.

    1.) Will the cure give it that red color?
    2.) Should I pull the brisket from the smoker at 165? My concern is that it will be very tough.

    Any assistance would be appreciatedPosted Fri, Jun 29 2018 8:36PM

  79. Mike Carlo the cure salt gives it the pink color, dark red is from the smoke ring.

    165degrees and your brisket wont be done.Posted Fri, Jun 29 2018 8:55PM

  80. Grillmaster Yesterday was not the day to make smoked meat, 40F out, but I made a commitment to the family. Just couldn't get the smoker stabilized at 240F so after 7 hours the meat was only 150F. Did not want to wait any longer so off the smoker and yeah I cheated. Into the house and into the oven. Finally got the meat up to 170F and then steamed it till 195F. Sliced it up, put on rye and yes, I got the thumbs up. Think I'll put the smoker to bed for the winter or until it's at least warmer. My alternative method would be to smoke the meat for 3 hours and finish cooking it in the oven.... warmer too.Posted Fri, Oct 5 2018 12:27PM

  81. Stephen Oliver Thanks. I modified the procedure a bit, by cold smoking for 3 hours and then sous-vide cooking at 135F for 48 hours. The flavor is just a bit stronger than my favorite in Montreal (Smoke Meat Pete), and it seems just a touch more acidic, but it's pretty darn close. The sous-vide method cooks the meat uniformly, without disturbing the smoked flavor or the seasoning, and it's the perfect texture. Easy to slice and tender.Posted Fri, Jun 7 2019 10:00PM

  82. Ace Macdevil Awesome recipe guide team Meat!
    Thanks for this great forum of fun with MSM~
    Just nailed it on the Big Green Egg.
    Next, in two weeks, is the end of brined time for the larger part of the brisket!!

    Posted Fri, Nov 8 2019 3:20AM

  83. James Balicki I've been using your recipe for the last 3 years - I'm from Quebec and this has always beaten Schwartz's and Reuben's by a milePosted Tue, Jun 9 2020 2:49PM

  84. Joshua Bousel @James Wow, bold statement. I need to try my own smoked meat recipe again because it's been a long time since I've made this.Posted Tue, Jun 9 2020 2:54PM

  85. Nancy bouchard I’ve been trying so many times and my meat always turns out dry.... I go t a big peace of meat and I will try to smoke it for 10 hours without steaming this time. Has anyone ever tried ? Or do you have any suggestions ? I’m a caterer in France and I got to get this right!! Originally from Montreal, I know good smoke meat. Posted Tue, Nov 10 2020 3:05AM

  86. Josh @Nancy Bouchard I've actually changed up my method since writing this recipe to one that's easier and has more consistently juicy results. Instead of steaming in a v-rack, when the meat hits 165 degrees F, wrap it in foil and add some liquid in with the foil wrapped meat. Then place it back in the smoker/cooker and keep cooking until it hits 203 degrees F. Once done, drain the liquid out and let the meat rest, still wrapped, in a cooler for and hour or two. Hope that method helps you out like it has for me!Posted Wed, Nov 11 2020 7:44AM

  87. Peter Noseworthy I followed this recipe to the letter and ended up with a super salt meat . what did i do wrong?Posted Fri, Mar 26 2021 6:51PM

  88. mark Lamontagne I am from Montreal and I used to cut smoke meat. I see some poor deprived folks have never tried this delicious meal
    Cutting the smoked meat. Meat should be shaved and layered about 1" thick on rye bread. Serve with a kosher pickle.Posted Mon, Apr 12 2021 12:51PM

  89. ALOU Superbe recette, à essayer à Abidjan Posted Fri, May 7 2021 9:52AM

  90. Chickpea This recipe is really good and u've mentioned every ingredient and procedure very well that i can cook Montreal smoked meat very easily. I've never heared or read about this dish but now i really want to eat and cook this..!!Posted Thu, Jul 22 2021 6:22AM

  91. Peter If I didn’t put the clove in the brine could I put it in the rub Thks Posted Mon, Nov 22 2021 11:41AM

  92. Josh @Peter I would not do that. The clove will leave a light flavor in the brine, but a stronger one in the rub. Honestly, you likely won't even notice it was left out.Posted Mon, Nov 22 2021 1:08PM

  93. Chris Burgess In Canada Costco is selling the Shwartz Montreal smoked meat in its whole form. Anyone else in Canada I was quite surprised with Walmart and there Market Fresh Montreal smoked mean and there pastrami. Posted Fri, Apr 29 2022 11:45PM

  94. Dean Boyd I just want to share that now that I bought a pellet smoker - everything i make tastes incredible, and when its a low setting never is dry. Even a whole chicken is incredible. Regarding anyone who found this or any smoked meat recipe too salty, most of the time its because people shorten the time they wash the cure off, which must be a minimum of 2 hrs and 4 water changes. Posted Wed, Dec 21 2022 11:14AM

  95. leic myucous this is a poor recipe there is too much junk added you just need this for final rub
    3 tablespoons coarsely ground black pepper
    1 tablespoons ground coriander
    no need for this stuff
    1 tablespoons paprika
    1 tablespoon garlic powder
    1 tablespoon onion powder
    1 teaspoon dill weed
    1 teaspoon ground mustard
    1 teaspoon celery seed
    1 teaspoon crushed red pepper

    its not right more like pastrami rx
    omit Posted Mon, Aug 26 2024 1:00AM

  96. Dave Josh, a quick question to your comment 86. When you wrap up the brisket with some liquid, I gather it’s just water and when you put it back in the smoker, it’s the same temperature - 225? Looking forward to trying it out. I’m curing it right now. Posted Tue, Nov 12 2024 8:05AM

  97. Josh @Dave Yes, I keep smoking at 225°F after wrapping and adding liquid. Posted Tue, Nov 12 2024 9:50AM

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