Does the juicy succulence of Montreal smoked meat make you want to burst into song? You're
not alone: It's the meat that inspired a musical, a province's pride, and Celine Dion.
To the uninitiated, Montreal smoked meat is often compared to — or confused with — its close cousin,
pastrami. Both are spiced, cured cuts of beef that make great sandwiches,
but there are notable differences among them in flavor and preparation. Montreal smoked meat and
pastrami were introduced to North America by Jewish immigrants from Eastern Europe.
Because of their similar origins, the profile of Montreal smoked meat and the flavor of pastrami
come from parallel preparations; both are traditionally dry-brined in salt and spices,
then smoked to get their distinctive flavors. However, per MTL Blog, while pastrami is made from
the denser, fattier navel of the cow, Montreal smoked meat is made from the more-tender brisket.
According to the Globe and Mail, Montreal meat is soaked after curing to remove excess
salt before the smoking process, and it is typically prepared longer than pastrami,
giving it a stronger smoke profile. And as MTL Blog notes, the signature flavorings between
smoked meat and pastrami differ as well: While pastrami typically contains sugar, Montreal smoked
meat never does. In addition, smoked meat recipes tend to incorporate a larger variety of spices.
So that's the secret: a dry brine and smoking. But if you think you
can whip up your own Montreal smoked meat business by dumping some salt on
a slab of beef and whispering to it in French, think again.
Like many traditional food specialties,
Montreal smoked meat made the right way is a labor of love. According to Eiran Harris,
archivist emeritus of the Jewish Public Library in Montreal, by tradition, the meat was first
dry-cured in an often-proprietary mixture of salt and spices for between 12 and 20 days.
While curing, the meat was traditionally stored
in wooden barrels, where it marinated in its own juices. After the curing process,
the meat was traditionally hung and smoked for between six and nine hours. While the
smoking process reduced the volume of the meat by up to 25%, it also concentrated its flavor.
During both curing and cooking, however,
cooks needed to monitor the progress of the meat closely — the right curing and cooking
times varied with the size of the cut, so no two pieces cooked the exact same way.
Harris noted that in recent years, however, some restaurateurs have adopted shortcuts to speed
up the process. Many switched to wet brining, which allowed the meat to be ready for smoking
in only a few days. And today, nearly all delis serving smoked meat steam it before serving to
tenderize the meat and restore its moisture. This practice, Harris explained, was likely adopted
from American delis, which typically steam their pastrami before cutting and serving it.
Schwartz's Deli is arguably Montreal's best-known and best-reputed purveyor
of traditional smoked meat. So it's a testament to Montreal's deep cultural
bond to smoked meat that it became not just the subject of a song, but an entire musical.
Per Food Anthropology, the show, "Schwartz's: The Musical" ran at Montreal's Centaur Theatre
in 2011 to sold-out houses. Written by the comedy team of George Bowser and Rick Blue,
the musical was inspired by the book Schwartz's Hebrew Delicatessen: The Story by journalist
Bill Brownstein, who suggested they turn the book into a musical. Blue told CBC:
"I realized it was crazy enough to work, and it seems like everybody agrees."
The critical verdict? According to Broadway World,
the libretto is laden with groan-worthy food puns and potshots at Montreal's rival city,
Toronto — but this may well be just what fans of Schwartz's Deli are craving.
Like every iconic food, Montreal smoked meat has accumulated its
own culinary customs and conventions — superfans will tell you there's a right
way and a wrong way to order and eat it. The traditional way — and probably
the best way to get a sense of what it's all about — is to order it in a sandwich.
The Canadian Encyclopedia details that a classic smoked-meat sandwich will consist of rye bread
slathered with yellow or spiced mustard and piled high with warm, just-sliced smoked meat.
Your sandwich will likely come with classic deli sides such as cole slaw, fries, and a dill pickle.
To get the meal that best suits your palate, you should also know that you can choose your
own level of richness. Per MTL.org, you can order your meat "lean" – cut from the brisket
flat – "medium" – cut from the slightly fattier middle of the brisket – or "old fashioned" – a
combination of medium and fatty pieces. Be warned, though, that while the taste is subjective,
many aficionados firmly believe one should never order smoked meat lean.
Today, Montreal smoked meat is such a point of local pride in Montreal that its purveyors
regularly brag about the longevity of their restaurants or the quality of their meat.
"Everyone everywhere says, 'Wow, smoked meat. You're so lucky.'
And they're right. Montrealers are inherently lucky people."
So it's a little ironic that two of the earliest owners of what is now arguably
Montreal's most famous smoked meat restaurant — Schwartz's Deli — were
both embarrassed by their association with what they considered a low-class business.
Founder Reuben Schwartz, an immigrant from Romania,
first opened the restaurant in 1927. But while his smoked meat recipe proved to be a hit,
he sensed that local products — even his own smoked meat — were inferior to those in the U.S.,
so he began marketing his deli as a purveyor of imported kosher meats from New York.
When this gambit failed, he sold the deli to a friend, classical musician Maurice Zbriger,
who proved to be a sharp entrepreneur and quickly turned the struggling business
around. But while being the man who saved Schwartz’s Deli would be a huge bragging
right today, Zbriger, protective of his reputation as an elite musician,
kept Schwartz on as the deli's front man and refused to be publicly associated with it.
If this deep dive into the history, culture, and enjoyment of Montreal smoked meat has
inspired you to plan a trip to the city, your next question will likely be, well,
where you can get some of that famous smoked meat. And if you ask around,
you're almost certain to get a range of answers. But while lists of favorite
smoked-meat purveyors may vary, several names consistently appear on most lists.
On just about every list is the venerable Schwartz's Deli. According to historian Eiran
Harris, the nearly century-old shop still makes its smoked meat the traditional way,
with long dry-brining and smoking periods. A relative newcomer to the smoked-meat scene
that has earned a lot of respect is Smoke Meat Pete, whose owner learned his craft
from his father, himself the founder of Main Deli, another well-respected spot.
Other frequently recommended restaurants include Lester's Deli,
a neighborhood favorite for over 70 years, and Snowdon Deli, which offers
sandwiches competitive to their New York deli counterparts and at a fraction of the cost.
Montreal smoked meat is known for its tenderness. Per Thrillist,
by tradition, it's cut into thinner slices than pastrami,
and the fact that it's made from brisket lends it a melt-in-the-mouth texture if prepared correctly.
But the prized texture of Montreal smoked meat doesn't just mean it makes great sandwiches. It
also means that it generates a lot of crumbly little shreds when sliced. And because these
tasty bits are too good to throw away, Montreal cooks have taken to adding them to
other iconic Canadian food specialties, creating multiple layers of Canadiana on a single plate.
For instance, restaurants such as Dunn's Famous often use smoked meat as a topping
for the classic dish poutine, French fries topped with gravy, and cheese curds.
"The most Canadian thing you could ever put in your mouth."
"Yeah, it's up there. That's like taking a bath with Jim Carrey."
Still, others suggest that instead of ordering your smoked meat sandwich on rye,
you have it on a Montreal-style bagel. More adventurous cooks have discovered
that the flavorful bits can fit it nearly everywhere — the longtime Montreal deli Dunn's,
for instance, offers smoked meat on pizza, in egg rolls, and even with fried rice.
Back when smoked meat first started appearing in Montreal's kosher butcher shops, many Canadians
had a less-than-healthy sense of national identity. Even purveyors who painstakingly
prepared their own smoked meat and other products preferred to tout them as American.
But over time, this started to change. Today, Canadians, and Montreal residents,
in particular, are proud to claim smoked meat as their own. And its appeal isn't just limited to
Canada — enough tourists have tasted and become enamored with it that enterprising restaurateurs
have started making and serving it in the U.S. MTL Blog cites as an example Mile End,
a smoked-meat eatery that opened in New York City, where its offerings
went fearlessly head-to-head against the city's celebrated pastrami and corned beef sandwiches.
Per a review in GQ, locals were so eager to try Mile End that the reviewer had to wait
three days to get in. And the verdict? GQ's reviewer, an ex-pat Canadian, confirmed it
was the real deal — not quite Schwartz's, but a more-than-respectable alternative.
Look at any list of favorite smoked meat restaurants in Montreal, and chances are
Schwartz's Deli will be at or near the top of the list. In 2012, Schwartz's was sold
to a group of investors that included singer Celine Dion and her late husband, René Angélil.
This turn of events raised eyebrows, as well as serious concerns among longtime Schwartz’s
loyalists. Nobody wanted to see the famously scruffy eatery glitzed up, modernized, or,
God forbid, franchised. But they shouldn't have worried. The daughter of a butcher,
Dion has enough respect for meat and its preparation to let the
smoked-meat specialists at Schwartz's do their jobs without her interference.
And while you won't see her behind the counter slicing your meat, she does make an appearance
from time to time, occasionally buying sandwiches to donate to local charities.