I Bet You did not Know | 44

I Bet You did not Know that the famous Montreal smoked beef sandwich [1] "sandwich à la viande fumée" has roots in Turkey.In North America it is referred to as pastrami which is derived from the Yiddish: פא סטראמע (pronounced pastrómeh).The word "smoked", some speculate, came from a series of mistranslation from Romanian to Yiddish to Québecois and back to Yiddish. Eastern European influence, as a large number of Jews from Eastern Europe settled in Montreal also produced the Turkish "Simit" style Montreal bagel. The Montreal bagel contains malt and sugar with no salt; it is boiled in honey-sweetened water before baking in a wood-fired oven; and it is predominantly either of noir ("black": poppyseed) or the blanc ("white": sesame seed) variety. In contrast The New York bagel contains salt.
Mavi Boncuk |

The earliest ad in Montreal mentioning smoked meats, of which I am aware, appeared in 1876, announcing that they were being manufactured by the Canadian Meat and Produce Company, whose agents were McGibbon, Baird & Company of Montreal. These were not Jewish-style products.

The actual genesis was the arrival in 1884 of Aaron Sanft from Yassi, Romania. He became Montreal’s first kosher butcher. Historians believe that modern day smoked meat originated in Turkey and was brought to Romania by invading Turkish armies. Romanian Jewish butchers improved the curing process resulting in an exquisitely tender delicacy.

Source: Montreal-Style Smoked Meat An interview with Eiran Harris conducted by Lara Rabinovitch, with the cooperation of the Jewish Public Library Archives of Montreal.

[1] The primary producer of Montreal smoked meat is Lesters Foods, which had its origins as a Jewish delicatessen in 1931 on the historic St. Laurent boulevard, better known as "the Main", dividing Montreal into east and west. Lesters Foods supplies Montreal smoked meat to many restaurants, delis and grocery stores throughout Canada. Other famous shops include Schwartz's, Reuben's, Dunn's, Jay C's Express, Jarry Smoked Meat, Lester's, Abie's Smoked Meat, Chenoy's, Pete's Smoked Meat, the Main Deli, the Snowdon Deli.

The meat used is beef brisket streaked with fat. Most of the beef used is imported from Alberta, in Canada. The meat is wet-cured with a spiced brine injected into the meat by machines, then it is rubbed with crushed peppercorns mixed with spices such as coriander, chilli powder, bay leaves, and garlic. The meat is then packed into barrels that are put into large refrigerators, and allowed to cure. Some of the makers, such as Schwartz's, still marinate their brisket for up to 10 days. Then, the meat is baked in a gas-fired oven for about 4 hours to cook. Though they still call this the "smoking" process, it's actually a misleading term. The meat is then removed from the oven, and sprayed with cold water to stop the cooking. Then it is vacuum packed for longer storage or shipping, then refrigerated, or just put in the refrigerator as is for more immediate use. For serving, a whole piece of the meat is steamed for about 1 1/2 hours to warm it again.