Homemade Montreal Smoked Meat

Smoky, meaty, and flavored through and through, homemade Montreal Smoked Meat is a thing of beauty. The Canadian answer to pastrami, Montreal Smoked Meat is too good not to make at home!

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Thinly sliced and smoked to perfection, Montreal Smoked Meat is insanely delicious. Like pastrami, but still different enough to qualify as its own thing, this cured and smoked meat is too good not to try. Not quite as labor intensive as pastrami and not as aggressively spiced, Montreal Smoked Meat is perfect when thinly sliced and piled high on a sandwich.

There’s been some discussion lately whether or not Montreal Smoked Meat is in fact smoked. Regardless if commercial producers actually smoke the meat versus slow-cooking it in an oven after injecting it with liquid smoke or other flavors, taking the time to do it right results in melt-in-your-mouth meat that’s juicy and oh-so-delicious.

Anybody can make Montreal Smoked Meat, you just need some time and a special ingredient – Prague Powder #1. More on that is below.

Ingredients

• Brisket – Point and attached flat make the best Montreal Smoked Meat, or opt for just the point for fatty and delicious beef. This recipe is adjusted for a 5-pound hunk of brisket.
• Salt – This is a wet cure, and kosher salt is a necessary ingredient.
• Ground corriander – The ground seeds from a cilantro (corriander) plant.
• Black pepper – Ground black pepper.
• Sugar – White granulated sugar.
• Cloves – Ground cloves.
• Bay leaves – Crushed up.
• Prague Powder #1

Montreal Smoked Meat Rub

• Whole black peppercorns – Crushed.
• Whole corriander seeds – Crushed.
• Mustard seeds – Crushed.

What Is Prague Powder #1?

Many, many years ago, I tried to make my own corned beef without Prague Powder #1. It was a nasty disaster. Then, I learned from an expert how to cure meats, and I’ve never looked back. The secret ingredient to a successful cure is Prague Powder #1. Also called tinted cure or pink curing salt, it is a combination of 6.25% sodium nitrite and 93.75% sodium chloride.

Prague Powder #1 is the secret behind cured meats keeping their flavor and long shelf life. This curing agent inhibits the growth of bacteria and helps preserve flavor and color.

**Warning – Prague Powder #1 is NOT table salt! DO NOT use it in place of pink Himalayan salt or any other salt. Keep this product out of reach of children and label it appropriately.

How To Make The Best Montreal Smoked Meat

1. Trim the brisket leaving about 1/8-1/4 inch of fat along the top.
2. Mix the salt, ground corriander, black pepper, sugar, cloves, bay leaves, and Prague Powder #1 in a small bowl.
3. Rub the brisket all over and pop it into a zipper-top bag and put it into the fridge.
4. Turn the brisket daily, massaging the liquids around the beef.
5. Remove the brisket from the dry cure early on the 8th day and give it a good rinse under tap water.
6. Soak the brisket in clean, cold tap water for 20 minutes, then replace the water with fresh water, soaking it for another 20 minutes, to remove any excess salt. Repeat for a total of 4 soaks.
7. Dry the brisket with paper towels.
8. Combine the crushed black peppercorns, crushed corriander seeds, and crushed mustard seeds in a small bowl then rub the brisket all over with the crushed spices.
9. Fire up your Traeger pellet grill/smoker – or any other smoker. Smoke the rubbed brisket at 180-F for about an hour, then turn up the temperature to 225-F until the internal temperature reaches 165-F.
10. Remove the brisket from the smoker and set up a stove-top steamer. I used a large roasting pan with a v-rack. Add enough water to the bottom of the pan so that it is barely touching the bottom of the rack, then steam the brisket until it reaches an internal temperature of 200-205-F. Add water as needed.
11. Remove the brisket and let it rest until cool to the touch.
12. Refrigerate the brisket for 4-6 hours or overnight then thinly slice it with a meat slicer.
13. Build the sandwich of your dreams and enjoy!

Chef Jenn’s Tips

• Montreal Smoked Meat is not a quick fix. It needs to cure for a week, and then the smoking and steaming process will take you most of a day. Give yourself 8 days to prepare it, ensuring that you have the whole 8th day to smoke and steam. If you chill it overnight before slicing, you’ll be ready to eat your homemade Montreal Smoked Meat on the 9th day.
• You can dry the brisket in the fridge overnight between the last soak to remove salt, and rubbing it with the crushed spices. Air-drying it in this fashion will help the fat and meat dry out, creating a layer of pellicule which some say helps the smoke stick better. I believe that more smoke flavor comes from wet smoking – smoking the meat without air-drying. This is a personal choice.
• I’ve seen some crazy Montreal Smoked Meat rubs. Less is more; again personal choice but I like the complex flavors of smoke, pepper, corriander, and mustard seeds. You don’t need more than that.
• Slicing meat is much easier when it is cold. Don’t try to thinly-slice meat on a meat slicer if it isn’t cold cold.
• Using Prague Powder #1 is an exact science.
• A digital meat thermometer is a must for this recipe. Always cook to temp, not time.

Recommended

What’s The Best Cut Of Beef For Montreal Smoked Meat?

There’s no best or worst cut; it comes down to personal preference. Whether you enjoy the fattier point or leaner flat, it’s up to you, and they’re both delicious.

Storage

Step By Step Process

Want More Delicious and Easy Recipes?

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