Artisanal Bacon in Montreal
Hi Everyone,
I was wondering if anyone could recommend a boucherie that I can get good artisanal bacon in Montreal. I've been to the Atwater Market and to the butcher shops there; I bought some artisanal bacon at the shop near Premier Moisson bakery. It was a disappointment - too smokey and oddly spiced in my opinion. I may give the shop another go as that they had other types of bacon.
However, I'm looking for something along the lines of this:
http://store.fatherscountryhams.com/b...
Good ol' fashioned bacon, smoked over hickory, and with different and unique flavors. I'd love to get my hands on some thick cut maple flavored bacon. And no, the Maple Leaf stuff in the supermarkets just won't do.
BTW, if the link doesn't work, sorry. This is my first post and I'm still finding my way around chowhound.
Chai Latte
Mar 20, 2007 12:15PM
Can't tell you what kind of wood it's smoked over, but the best bacon I've found in the city -- and I've tried all the purveyors at Jean-Talon Market as well as Anjou-Québec, Boucherie Atlantique, Queue de Cochon, etc. -- comes from Boucherie de Paris in Côte-des-Neiges (5216 Gatineau, 514 731-6615). Very meaty, nicely smoky but still porky, not too salty or sweet. Makes great lardons. Whenever I serve it to friends, they remark on its flavour. Thierry, the owner-butcher, sometimes also has an extra-smoky version (he calls it "boucané"), though I prefer the regular stuff. He slices it order.
Permalink | Reply
I got the bacon from Boucherie de Paris yesterday(Tuesday). Tried it, & found very good(although I haven't tried most of the bacon mentioned on this thread so I can compare). One thing I discovered is that Boucherie de Paris doesn't make their bacon. Any idea Carswell(or anyone else) who makes the bacon for Boucherie de Paris? I didn't feel comfortable asking them who supplies their bacon.
Permalink | Reply
Dunno. Not long ago they showed me a crate filled with their house chorizo, which they were about to deliver to the Portuguese guy who does their smoking; maybe he handles their bacon too. Will try to remember to ask when I pick up my lamb this weekend.
Permalink | Reply
All I could find out is that Boucherie de Paris purchases it from a one-man distribution firm that jealously guards its sources. Thierry did know that it's made locally in small quantities.
Permalink | Reply
Thanks. Originally when I went in to look for the bacon at Boucherie de Paris, I couldn't find it. So I asked him if he had any bacon, which led him going to the back & getting the bacon. The bacon was in some kind of packaging(didn't get a good look), & that immediately made me to think to ask if they make their bacon.
Permalink | Reply
I really the bacon that Queue de cochon makes. A couple of locations, on Laurier East in the same location as Le Fromentier (under the Super choix video store) as well Plaza St-Hubert just south of Beaubien.
The pork place from Îles-de-la-Madeleine which the name escapes me at JTM (facing Viandes St-Vincent) is also pretty good though sometimes a little fatty. I'm yet to try PorcMeilleur's bacon.
Permalink | Reply
Porcmeilleur bacon is very good, although in all honesty, I can only compare it to industrial stuff.
Much fattier than your typical bacon.
Permalink | Reply
Though a little on the smoky side, La Queue de Cochon's bacon is probably the best I've ever tasted. Really meaty but striking a nice balance with the fat added a little saltiness, but not too much, that sort of balances the smokiness. Nice and crips and cut to order.
Permalink | Reply
How about the bacon and the much leaner smoked pork products at Central/Eastern European butcher's and delis? There is a nice Eastern European deli at the Jean-Talon Market, and Slovenia on Clark just south of Beaubien, and on St-Laurent in the strip between Prince-Arthur and avenue des Pins.
Permalink | Reply
Had some of Porc Meilleur's bacon last night & found it seriously better than anything you can buy at the supermarche. There was actually a taste to it. I believe they also sell smoked bacon in the 1st case on the left as you enter the store.
Permalink | Reply
Hi Everyone,
Thanks for the tips about where to find artisanal bacon in Mtl. Lagatta, it's interesting that you would mention the leaner smoked bacon with the Eastern European flair. The bacon that I purchased from Atwater market may just be in that style. I had a friend visiting with me recently who is Croatian. I made us breakfast using that bacon, and he said that tasted similiar to croatian sausage. I'm not crazy about it myself, but I'll finish it off and probably proceed to Boucherie de Paris in Cotes-des-Neiges next. Since I live in NDG, it's not that far off.
Permalink | Reply
When next you go to Atwater, check out the cheese shop at the center of the lower level. Through the cheese room, then through the oils and spices room, you go on down into a deli counter area in the basement at the very back. I was looking for guanciale, which they didn't have, but the counterperson showed me a big chunk of pancetta that looked nicer than any I have yet seen. It had that artisanal cast to it, and I'm getting some next time I'm in there.
Permalink | Reply
Yep, that back room is a great treasure trove - real good Bresaola also.
Maitre Gourmet on Laurier E (within the golden triangle which is Queue de Cochon, Le Fromentier and Fouvrac) is where I currently get bacon.
I wonder if someone can answer this - I'm from England, been in Montreal for 2 years and have only ever seen what we call 'streaky' bacon. I actually prefer 'back' bacon which is more like a pork loin cut - higher meat/fat ratio and consequently is never cooked to the point of carbon (which seems to be a N American thing). If anyone knows what I'm talking about - I'm all ears.
Permalink | Reply
For back bacon aka peameal bacon aka Canadian bacon (from a US perspective), try Porcmeilleur (Jean-Talon Market) or perhaps Vieille Europe (St-Laurent blvd near Roy).
Permalink | Reply
British back bacon isn't quite the same thing, though. It's not as lean as our back bacon. Looks more like a very thin boneless pork chop.
Permalink | Reply
The closest thing to that I've seen here is a type of smoked pork available in Central and European butcher's/delis such as Slovenia, Charcuterie Hongroise and Balkani at the Jean-Talon Market. Porcmeilleur sells smoked pork chops, but I don't think they are fully cooked.
Permalink | Reply
I you are talking aboubt bacon where the slices are wider than the average and there is a small piece of bone in each slice, then you can get this at many Polish and European places. I get mine sliced at Euro-Deli Batory on St-Viateur.
Permalink | Reply
Hi Laker115,
Thanks for the tip. I was actually there when looking for bacon. However, since I didn't see any, I just assumed that they didn't have it and left.
This past Saturday, I went to Wavel, the polish bakery on Sherbrooke. I got some polish donuts (tasty, but heavy and greasy), 1 lb of potato and onion perogies, and 1/4 lb of bacon. Their bacon is ok, but not what I was looking for. Also, I didn't notice until after the fact, but it had the rind still on - which is not something I prefer. Sunday, I went to visit some family in the South Shore and wound up at Fruiterie 440 on Tascherau blvd. There's a bunch of nice little grocery stores in that mall. There's Pagel, the italian bakery, a few boucheries, and a small polish sausage shop. I got a 1/4 lb of what they call a bacon roll, but is probably their version of pancetta. I also got some sausages, 3 cajun chicken, and 3 louisanne. As a result, I've got a suffit of meat in the house now. I'll probably end up making bean and bacon and sausage soup now.
Permalink | Reply
Last night, when coming home from work, I decided to go to Atwater Market on the spur of the moment. I went back to William P. Walter, the boucherie near Premiere Moisson, and got some more bacon. This time around I got some bacon that was smoked over maple wood. I haven't made it yet, but will report back on how it tastes. If anyone's interested in other artisanal bacons, I guess that this boucherie isn't too bad in terms of choice. They have the bacon smoked over maple wood, the double smoked bacon (which must taste like nothing but smoke, I guess), black bacon and which is what I got last time (this is the one that my friend said tasted like croatian sausage), and this interesting looking Italian bacon called, "cochinelle" (sp?) and looked a bit like proscuitto. I think I'll get this next time.
Oddly enough, with all these boucheries, I couldn't find any that carried andouille sausage. The closest equivalent is kielbasa - but you can find that anywhere, even the supermarkets. So does anyone know where I can find andouille? Years ago, there was this boucherie/sausage place inside Le Faubourg that carried it. That place is now long defunct, alas.
Permalink | Reply
"So does anyone know where I can find andouille?"
Andouille, the smoked Cajun sausage, or Andouillette, the French chitterlings sausague? Dunno about the former but French butchers (Boucherie de Paris, for example) often stock the latter.
Permalink | Reply
Andouille, the smoked cajun sausage. The little boucherie inside Le Faubourgh use to carry it.
Permalink | Reply
Just an update on bacon...the maple smoked one that I got from William P. Walter's wasn't bad. It had a nicey porky flavor, good lean meat, and a decent amount of fat. Alas, it didn't have much of a maple flavor, either in the way of taste or aroma. I was expecting a nice subtle smokey maple aftertaste. Instead, it was the usual salt and smoke.
I went to Jean Talon market on Saturday and passed by Porc Meilleur. Due to the Easter holidays, they're having a 20% discount on Bacon. I didn't get any though as that their bacon is very very fatty. I looked at it and the fat to meat ratio wasn't to my liking. Lots of fat, little meat. They also have their Easter Hams out now too.
Permalink | Reply
In that case, sorry I can't help you. I only know the other Andouille, they are much easier to find here.
Meanwhile, I'm making notes from this thread in anticipation of my next grocery trip for good bacon. Thanks everyone!
Permalink | Reply