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montreal smoked meat sandwich
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4.89 from 72 votes

montreal smoked meat

This is a true Canadian masterpiece. I think it's best sandwich in the world.
Prep Time1 hour
Cook Time12 hours
9 days
Total Time9 days 13 hours
Course: Main
Cuisine: Canadian
Keyword: bbq brisket, montreal smoked meat, pastrami
Servings: 12 big sandwiches
Calories: 838kcal

Ingredients

  • 12-14 lb beef brisket flat and point with fat

The curing mix

  • 8 oz black peppercorns cracked
  • 4 oz coriander seed cracked
  • 4 oz white sugar
  • 3/4 cup kosher salt
  • 3 Tbsp whole cloves
  • 10 dried bay leaves crumbled
  • 3 tsp pink salt - prague powder number 1

The rub

  • 6 oz black pepper corns, cracked
  • 3 oz coriander seed cracked

Instructions

Cure the brisket

  • Trim the brisket, removing pockets of hard fat and trim the fat cap (or just don't) to no less than 3/8 inch. Best to google this looking for "trim texas brisket".
  • Combine all the cure ingredients and coat the brisket. You want to use all of it because you have included your curing salt in the mix and you need all of that. Wrap the brisket in plastic bags and place on a large cookie sheet. Refrigerate, turning the brisket over 2 times per day for 8 days.
  • On the eighth day, soak the brisket in a sink of cool water for 30 minutes. Drain the water and refill, continuing to soak the brisket. Repeat this for 3 hours (6 water changes), dry the brisket and coat it with the pepper corn, coriander seed rub. Back into the fridge it goes.

Smoke the brisket

  • On the ninth day smoke the brisket for 8-9 hours at 225-250F with maple if you have it. You may need to separate the brisket into the flat and the point to fit it onto the smoker. You should just be hitting the stall at this point. You are looking for an internal temperature of 155-165F.
    After 8-9 hours remove the brisket from the smoker, let cool slightly and refrigerate overnight.

Steam the brisket

  • On the tenth day, set up a steamer that will fit all this wonderful brisket. Outside is better. This is going to smell. Plan for this step. You are going to need a big steamer. I use a turkey fryer with an inverted strainer and about 3 inches of water to steam my smoked meat.
  • Steam the brisket gently for around 3 hours. Don't let it boil dry. You are looking for a couple things. A 195-200F internal temperature will ensure tender Montreal smoked meat every time. Probe tender is the other key indicator. Take the opportunity to figure that out by getting a feel for it when you hit 195F.
  • Probe tender means when you insert your probe you don't feel any resistance in the meat. It's like pushing a hot probe through warm butter. It just slides in. This is a good to learn if you are going to do briskets or pulled pork - it's how the pros figure out what's done and what's not.
  • Once you hit 195F and probe tender pull the brisket and let it cool to around 160-170F. This can take up to an hour.
  • Once it's cool enough to handle slice thinly against the grain with a sharp knife. Serve a mix of the flat and the point in each sandwich. Pile it high on rye bread with yellow mustard and you'll have a sandwich worthy of any of the Montreal smoked meat shrines in Montreal.

Notes

The prep time is about one hour but the cure takes 10 days so make sure you allow the time for the process to run its course.
This is a dry cure. I had a comment about somebody doing a wet brine. This is not a wet brine. You rub the brisket with the cure and refrigerate the brisket as is. Please don't make this mistake.
One easy way to crack the spices is to put them into a food processor and pulse until you get a coarse "grind". Fast and easy.

Nutrition

Serving: 12servings | Calories: 838kcal | Carbohydrates: 31g | Protein: 98g | Fat: 37g | Saturated Fat: 12g | Cholesterol: 281mg | Sodium: 3309mg | Potassium: 1965mg | Fiber: 11g | Sugar: 9g | Vitamin A: 110IU | Vitamin C: 3.5mg | Calcium: 230mg | Iron: 13.4mg