On 14 Feb 2005 08:23:32 -0800, "Piedmont" > wrote:

>http://www.razzledazzlerecipes.com/cooking/pastrami.htm
>
>Found this link also, supposed to be authentic.

It might be authentic pastrami, but not authentic "Montreal Smoked Beef". True
Montreal Smoked Meat (it's referred to using "meat", not "beef" in Montreal) is
NOT the same as Pastrami.

If you google "Montreal Smoked Meat" you'll find numerous reviews by various
newspaper and magazine food columnists comparing the two. In the vast majority
of these reviews, the Montreal product wins handily over New York Pastrami.
Even in Montreal, there's a wide variety of flavours between different
producers. Snowdon Deli's doesn't taste the same as Ben's which is different
from Dunn's, which is not as good as Schwartz's, and so on.

"Smoked Meat" is eastern European in origin, not "Jewish". That is, it's from a
certain part of the world, not from a certain religious/cultural background. It
just happens that most of the people who brought the recipes from that part of
the world also happen to be Jewish.

No, I don't know how it's made. The delis mentioned above all guard their
secret recipes like the USA guards Fort Knox. That's too bad, 'cos I'd love to
be able to make my own.