You’ll find some really interesting discussions around the subject of Montreal smoked meat, pastrami and corned beef. Or, put another way, smoked meat and corned beef. And there’s a particularly lively debate about the difference between Montreal smoked meat and pastrami. Some say they’re the same thing. Some say they are very different.
If you go by what you find on Wikipedia about Montreal smoked meat and pastrami and corned beef, you would see they seem quite different, with pastrami appearing to fall somewhere between smoked and corned (as described by Wikipedia).
On the surface, these differences appear to be about preservative processes that came about before the refrigeration age. In one (corned), meat is preserved using brine (meaning salt) and in the other through smoking. Using these processes, particularly with smoking, it was discovered that while they preserved the meat they also did something to add to or enhance the taste. Montreal smoked meat and pastrami are both cured meat (that preservative business of brine), then smoked.
However, it’s more likely the differences lie in the seasoning – what it is and how it’s applied – added prior to the smoking. That would be the rub used on the meat. The seasoning could be garlic, coriander, black pepper, paprika, cloves … you name it. It really appears to amount to this: similar processes, different outcomes. Few aficionados, however, confuse the two: they know Montreal smoked meat from pastrami.
What often gets lost in the debate over Montreal smoked meat and pastrami is the importance of the bread — the rye bread. The bread is important for it’s consistency, the flour and the rye grain, and how it is sliced. But the topic of the bread is for another post …
Of course, here at the Urban Deli we lean toward Montreal smoked meat – it’s what we have on the menu. But if you ask Michael-ann (Liz’s sister), it’s really Atlantic smoked meat. Or New Brunswick smoke meat. Saint John smoked meat … Urban Deli smoked meat!
Why? Because we smoke it here. Yes, we have a smoker.
We really are the Urban Deli!
Okay, I’m finally sitting for a moment to make a small contribution about the importance of bread. I’m the other half- meaning Sister to the owner, Liz Rowe and have been working as a waitress since we opened. Yes, a labor of love!
I am a ‘foodie’, a restaurateur, and Host to a show called, Entree TV based in New York city.
First, I must correct my own mistake, that we smoke our meat here. We do smoke a variety of delicacies on the menu- thus why we are different than anyone else. But at present, the brisket in our “smoked meat sandwich” is smoked in Montreal, then brought in, where we steam it to perfection. The right steamer is also key.
But to make the best deli sandwich, you’ve got to give yummy bread baby! The perfect bread. “Pass the bread please”.
We love bread! and to get it right is not as simple as one thinks. We’ve tested and tested and are still testing for the perfect rye bread. A great sandwich will not last without good bread, period!
One of the reasons we go back to a restaurant, our favorite hot dog stand, those scrumptious roadside Lobster rolls, and will always go back for the perfect Smoked Meat sandwich- is the bread! It has to be right.
We want you to come back for what, not only lies between the bread, but for that everlasting memory of the bread.
It has to be the perfect compliment to what’s lies between.
It has to be soft to the touch, never dry-anywhere, yet durable enough to withstand our ‘piled high’ sandwiches. It has to have enough rye and caraway, but not too overwhelming. A taste of both is great and if right, its the perfect marriage. If you know a good Smoked Meat or Pastrami sandwich, you know it takes good rye bread to keep ya coming back.
So far, we have many regulars.
Guess that’s putting your money where your bread is, or should that be the other way around?
Until later,
Michael-Ann
Eat Life!
We love good bread in this house. We just can’t do plain old white. Ick. True story- We went to a local sub place the other day and when the gal asked my 11 year old what kind of bread she wanted her sub on, she said “rye”. Unfortunately for her, that was not an option so she opted for the whole wheat. There’s a guy at the Kingston Farmer’s Market who makes awesome breads, filled with all kinds of grains and seeds. Just wonderful. I took a pic of him and his nice buns (haha): http://www.flickr.com/photos/sudsmuffincanada/3754564631/