Welcome to Food for Thought #2!

I figured for this blog I should talk about what’s on the minds of millions of people around the world….How does Abie make his Smoked Meat?

It’s obvious that I can’t share the “secret” recipe;  Otherwise I would have to  kill you all! LOL! But I would like to look at my process and do some comparisons with other so-called ”Montreal Smoked Meat”

As you all know, I make my Smoked Meat “old-fashioned”.  What that really means is no chemicals are used in the preparation, and our meat is not “injected”.  Injection is a mechanical process that runs briskets through a device that has hundreds of tiny needles that inject a solution of water, salt and nitrites into the meat.  This produces two results.  First, it artificially pumps up the briskets to a 30% higher weight, which makes a higher yield and produces a rubbery product.  Secondly the nitrites artificially colour and preserve the meat. 

We have all heard of the impact of nitrites in our food products.  A large percentage of people have adverse reactions to nitrites, and in higher quantities, can be poisonous!

So getting back to my process, I hand rub every piece of brisket with a combination of spices and salt, period!  Only time yields a perfect piece of Smoked Meat.   The process is long and labour-intensive, but there can be no shortcuts taken.

I will be making my first official YouTube video very soon where I will illustrate the process and show you the results.  My acting debut should be fun! 

So that’s all for now.  If you have any questions please feel free to comment, call or email me.

Thanks and see you very soon,

Abie

Welcome to the Abie’s Smoked Meat & Steak blog, appropriately named:  “Food for Thought”!

Hello to one and all!
Welcome to my first ever “blog”!
Right off the bat, I would like to thank Lissa Albert for coming up with the name of my blog and letting me use it without the threat of a lawsuit! LOL!
Since this is “#1″, I would just like to outline what I will be talking about in this, and future posts. I want this Blog to be about my favorite subject of all………FOOD!

Certainly, I will be discussing subjects pertaining to my Restaurant, but I would also like to take the time to talk about food in general;  How it is grown, made, sold, prepared and eaten.

My love of food goes way beyond the walls of Abie’s Smoked Meat & Steak.  I have cooked for as long as I can remember and trained as a chef at Lasalle College.

Food in my family, and in most families  is a ritual of love, tradition and gatherings of  happy moments.  Don’t we  notice that all the best parties end up in the kitchen!?!

As my friends and family are well aware of, I love spending time in the kitchen cooking for them.  I love to see the smiles on their faces when then try a dish that I prepared.  That’s what it’s all about…the smile.

And that sentiment carries on to my business life at Abie’s.  If you make a person smile when he or she walks into the restaurant, and if they are still smiling when they leave, then I’ve done my job!

So I will leave you now, and please take a small piece of advice from me about any food…Eat with your family.  It’s a special time when love and laughter, happy and sad or a moment of the day is shared.  That is THE most important thing in this world!

See you all soon,

Abie