Montreal smoked meat brine started

Tinyfish

The wet brine is all mixed up and ready for a nice 18lb brisket. I will cook the brisket Sunday Nov 1st. Now the hard part...the wait. The brine consists of:
Water
Salt
Cure
Dill seed
Celery seed
Yellow mustard seed
Coriander seed
Black peppercorns
Garlic
Red chili flakes

paqman

I'll be doing another batch soon.  Last batch was dry brined.  This time, I'll do a wet brine.  I cooked one of the chunks from my last batch for a few hours sous-vide instead of steaming it last weekend, it was really good.

Tinyfish

@paqman that looks delicious. 

mrw123

I just started one last week. 15# brisket. rub is: cure#1, kosher salt, black pepper, sugar, coriander, bay, clove. Not much to see yet, just curing in an xxl ziploc getting flipped 2x per day.

Tinyfish

@mrw123 that may not look like much yet but once it's cooked lookout.

I use sugar maple for smoke have you tried that.

Egghead_Daron

@mrw123 the Fat Tire looks good too!

mrw123

After 11 days it was time to rinse and soak. Four hours with a change of water every 30 minutes. What a pain! It has now been rubbed and will go on the egg in the morning. Getting closer! 

Tinyfish

@mrw123 lucky you thats its cook day.  I will be waiting to see the final results. 

SGH

@Tinyfish
I will be standing by for the finale as always my friend.  Sure that it will be outstanding.  

paqman

@mrw123  when I did mine,I soaked two nights changing the water once and the saltiness was just right

rmercier

Wow, this thread got hijacked

mrw123

I hope I didn't 'hijack' this thread. I thought I was contributing while tinyfish was waiting for his brine to finish. Paqman-I like your soak plan. I'll definitely try that next time. I mixed a rub last night with cracked black pepper, salt, garlic, onion, coriander and a little paprika. It's on the egg now at 275. I'll pull it at 180it. Unless someone suggests otherwise!

Tinyfish

@mrw123 will you be steaming the brisket. I smoked mine till 180f then steamed till tender around 200ish or 3 hours or so.

No worries about hijacking. 

mrw123

Tinyfish said:

@mrw123 will you be steaming the brisket. I smoked mine till 180f then steamed till tender around 200ish or 3 hours or so.

No worries about hijacking. 

My plan is to cool it, wrap it, put it in the fridge overnight, then steam tomorrow until 195-200 IT. 

I've never had Montreal smoked meat, so I can't wait! I'll need to run out for some rye bread while it's steaming.

rmercier

mrw123 said:

I hope I didn't 'hijack' this thread. I thought I was contributing while tinyfish was waiting for his brine to finish. Paqman-I like your soak plan. I'll definitely try that next time. I mixed a rub last night with cracked black pepper, salt, garlic, onion, coriander and a little paprika. It's on the egg now at 275. I'll pull it at 180it. Unless someone suggests otherwise!

I'm just busting balls...you're not the only person who posted pics and stuff...

Tinyfish

@mrw123

You may never go back to regular brisket again. 

mrw123

Tinyfish said:

@mrw123

You may never go back to regular brisket again. 

That's what I'm hoping for. I also love describing a two week long, multi step process to friends and watching their eyes bug out. My friends who have had MSM have been watching my progress CLOSELY.

Tinyfish

@mrw123 I'm sure it will be a big hit. That extra flavor from the brine and the spices just puts it over the edge.

theyolksonyou

One of the first cooks I bookmarked a year ago was MSM. Never followed thru. I gotta do this!

Tinyfish

theyolksonyou said:

One of the first cooks I bookmarked a year ago was MSM. Never followed thru. I gotta do this!

Its never too late and its worth it. Here's another pic of a previous one, action shot too

mrw123

HOLY COW!

Tinyfish

@mrw123 well what are your first thoughts? I can tell you what I think. Lets start with WOW!! dynamite and fantastic.  That  colour is to die for. Good work your friends will be impressed.

@theyolksonyou thats why you should put MSM on the short list of to do cooks.

mrw123

I'm trying to control myself until it's been rested and steamed, but my first sample was out of this world. I make pastrami regularly, and I'd say this has a more complex flavor. Less 'in your face' pepper and salt, and more nuance. But I don't want to jump to any conclusions until it's done!

Tinyfish

@mrw123 I'll be waiting for your opinion 

mrw123

steaming took longer than expected, but boy was it worth it. I LOVE pastrami, and I make it regularly, but this Montreal smoked meat is special stuff.  I would describe pastrami as a very bold flavor dominated by salt, pepper and coriander.  MSM has more nuance. I wouldn't describe it as delicate, but definitely less aggressive.  There are layers of flavor that are discernible.  The long cure also adds some character to the beef.  Bottom line is I'll be doing this again.  one note-11 days was not long enough for the cure.  The cure didn't reach a small spot in the very center. Not a big deal, but I'll correct that next time by probably curing a little longer.

paqman

Nice @mrw123 now we wait for @Tinyfish to smoke his batch!

Tinyfish

@mrw123 now thats the money right there. What a great colour. 

I can't wait for Saturday night to put mine on. If it looks half as good as yours I'll be happy.

mrw123

@Tinyfish-I think you'll be ecstatic. Your plan worked great for my batch! Question for you-how are you going to steam an 18# brisket? I had a heck of a time fitting mine onto a rack in a turkey roaster. I ended up cutting about 1/3 off to steam in the future.

HeavyG

Somehow, during my many decades of existence on this planet, I have managed to have never heard of "Montreal smoked meat". Given my ignorance about this I just had to look it up.

Here's an article/history for any other ignoramuses that might be reading this thread but not quite sure exactly what the hell is going on: http://www.seriouseats.com/2014/06/difference-between-pastrami-smoked-meat-katzs-schwartzs-mile-end.html

Pastrami is by far my favorite processed meat. I'd rather have some good pastrami than bacon any day of the week. Knowing now that Montreal smoked meat is similar to pastrami my drool bucket is filling fast.

Eagerly awaiting the final result Tinyfish!

Tinyfish

@mrw123 last time I jammed it in a turkey roasting pan sitting on a low profile rib rack to elevate it. Here it is with out the lid for the picture.  

Plan B. Two big foil pans. One pan for the meat to sit in the second  pan flipped upside down to cover the first pan and seal the edges around the pan with foil.

Tinyfish

@HeavyG give it a try you won't be disappointed.