Montreal Smoked Meat Steamed ?????

[oakville smoker]

Good day all

Quick question......
I just took my brisket ( aka Montreal smoked meat ) out of the fridge to bring to room temp
I am thinking about putting it in a steamer for bit to really warm it  up.
Will I do any harm?

In my minds eye I can see the briskets coming out of the steamer at Schwartz on St Laurent in Montreal.
Its so good war.

[KyNola]

Good morning Oak!
Do a search on the forum.  Habs, the king of pastrami has posted a method of steaming pastrami.  Montreal smoked meats is a first cousin of pastrami so it should work just fine!

KyNola

[Habanero Smoker]

Hi Oak;

Hope you found the information KyNola mentioned.

Is this the one you already smoked/cooked or just prepared and is raw? If it is raw I would smoke it first for additional flavor then finish with steaming.

I believe you are the member that has a steamer. Incase you don't have a steamer; here is the steaming method that I use. It works equally well for cooking and reheating.
Steaming Pastrami

[oakville smoker]

Thanks all.

I jury rigged a steamer in the oven and steamed the brisket for about an hour and let it rest.
The aroma in the house was ubeliveable but I was disappointed with my first crack at Montreal smoked meat. I usually dont take direction very well but I made myself follow the Montreal Smoked Meat recipe to the letter.

The finished product was tasty but the meat a little chewy and tough.  Any ideas how that could happen or what I might have done wrong ?

[Habanero Smoker]

Well it is going to be similar to pastrami in texture, so you still need to slice it thin and across the grain.

Let me make sure as to way you did. You prepare the Montreal Meat following the directions on the recipe site; let it age and wanted to reheat it prior to eating. After steaming the meat was too tough. Following the recipe, you did take the meat up to 160 - 165°F while it was in the smoker.

The only other thing that I can suggest, if you don't like the texture (too tough); you can tightly wrap it in foil; place in a 300°F oven and cook it until an internal temperature of 185°F is reached; or until you can insert a dining fork and pull it out without resistance.

[oakville smoker]

Thanks for the feedback.  I think next time I will elevate the internal temp more and see how that goes.
Took teh slab to 165 using digital meat therm.  Aged from Friday night to Sunday afternoon.
I sliced as thin as I could get with a very sharp knife and it was cut across the grain.

I will never surrender.  I will not give up.  The next attept will be better

[Habanero Smoker]

If you still have a large piece left, you can reheat as I decribed in an earlier post. Or steam it until it reaches the desired doneness.

[oakville smoker]

That sounds like a great idea.  I do have a rather large amount left. 
If I do re heat and take the temp up, will that take some of the toughness away?

Thanks for all your help !

[Habanero Smoker]

Yes. It will break down more collagen (tough connective tissue), and the meat will be more tender. You may loose some moistness, but the bacon should compensate for some of that.