Authentic Montreal Smoked Meat Recipe

A large slab of Montreal Smoked Meat on a white plate. Severeal slices have been cut from the end in the foreground, revealing a bright red meat.

5 from 9 votes

Montreal Smoked Meat is a Canadian favourite... and it's something you can make at home. A little bit of effort, for a fantastic result!

Prep Time30

Cook Time11

Curing Time10

Total Time10 11 30

Course: Main Course

Cuisine: Canadian

Diet: Diabetic, Gluten Free

Servings: Servings (approx)

Calories: 355kcal

Author: Marie Porter

Equipment

Smoker or Grill
LARGE Bag for Curing
Large Roasting Pan

Ingredients

1 Whole Brisket with fat trimmed to ¼" 12-16 lbs / 5 ½ - 7 ¼ kg 12-16 lbs / 5 ½ - 7 ¼ kg

Cure

1 ¼ cup Salt
1 tablespoon Prague Powder
¼ cup Coarse ground black pepper
2 tablespoon Ground coriander
1 tablespoon Granulated sugar
1 tablespoon Ground bay leaves
1 ½ teaspoon Ground cloves

Rub

2 batches Montreal Steak Spice but OMIT THE SALT.

Instructions

In a large bowl, mix cure ingredients. Rub cure over entire brisket.
Place brisket in a very large plastic bag, seal well, and place in a large container, in fridge. Flip brisket at least once - ideally twice - per day, for 10 days.
On the morning of the 11th day, thoroughly rinse the brisket off.
Soak it in clean water for 3 hours, changing the water every 30 minutes. Once soaking is done, pat dry with paper towels.
Coat entire brisket with Montreal Steak Spice - again, omit the salt! This is important.
Hot smoke the with your choice of wood chips (We like applewood or maple for this) at 225 F (107 C), fat size up, until it reaches an internal temperature of 165 F (74 C).
This will take about 7-8 hours.
Set up a large roasting pan with a V rack (like you’d use to roast a turkey). Add an inch or two of water to the pan, before placing the smoked brisket in the rack.
Tightly cover top of pan with foil, set pan to span two burners on your stove top, if it fits.
Bring water to a boil over high heat, reduce to medium-low and simmer for 3 hours.
Listen well to it- you want the water to keep at a nice simmer, without being a rolling boil, the whole time.
As water vapourizes, add more hot water to keep it going.
As you near the 3 hour mark, insert a meat thermometer into the thickest spot. You’ll want the meat to reach 180 F (82 C). Carefully re-foil the whole thing, trying seal steam in.
Once the meat reaches the proper temperature, remove from heat, and allow to rest for 10 minutes.
Slice rested meat as thinly or thickly as you like. Best served as a sandwich with rye bread, with plenty of mustard.
Chill any leftover meat, eat within a week or so.

Notes

If you’d like to freeze a portion of smoked meat, wrap tightly in plastic wrap before placing in a freezer bag and vacuum sealing it.

If you do not have a vacuum sealer, be sure to squeeze out as much air as possible.

Freeze for up to 3 months.

Nutrition