Montreal food and gifts: what to buy, where to buy it

Regional Dining Discussions Quebec, Maritimes, Prairies
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Meat

What to buy

  • Porc
    Porc has always been Quebec’s favorite animal. The particular thing with porc is that you can eat everything off it, from head to toe. Families used to come together and do “la grande boucherie” (the great butchery) once a year. They’d take the blood and make boudin, take the tripes and make sausages, the legs would become hams, the head would become “head cheese”, different parts would go in pâté, lard, bacon, you name it. Known producers and vendors are Porcmeilleur at Marché Atwater ( http://www.marchespublics-mtl.com/en/merchants/porc-meilleur/?filter_market=436 ) and Gasporc ( http://www.gaspor.com/ ), which has a long association with legendary restaurant Au Pied de Cochon. The best restaurant to see porc being featured is probably Au Pied de Cochon ( http://aupieddecochon.ca/?lang=en ).

  • Canard (Duck)
    There is a lot of french tradition in Quebec. Tradition like foie gras, the fattened liver of the duck. But foie gras doesn’t come in a vacuum, it brings with it all the parts of the duck. Parts like duck fat to cook potatoes in, maigrets, duck consommé. The best known duck producers are “Canard du Lac Brome” (duck from lac brome). They even have a store at marché jean-talon! Most good butchers will carry duck and foie gras. The best known restaurant for foie gras is Au Pied de Cochon (they put it in everything). As for duck, most good french restaurants should do a competent maigret de canard. see http://www.canardsdulacbrome.com/en/

  • Agneau de Charlevoix (Charlevoix lamb)
    It took 15 years for Lucie Cadieux of the Ferme Eboulemontaise to convince the provincial government to issue an “Appelation d’origine controlée”. As such, the agneau de charlevoix is Quebec’s first AOC. An AOC is a legal protection of a product designating its origin. It is very popular in Europe but rarely used in North America. It was a realisation that there was a lot of fake charlevoix veal sold in restaurants and butcher shops around Quebec that led Lucie Cadieux to seek protection. Now Agneau de Charlevoix is a sought after product by connoisseurs and neophytes alike. See: http://www.fermeeboulmontaise.com/

  • Agneau nourris aux algues de Gaspesie (Seaweed fed Gaspesie Lamb)
    Producers from the Gaspesie region of Quebec started to sell seaweed fed lamb. Different? See for yourself! http://agneauauxalgues.ca/en/

  • Boeuf (beef)
    Canada’s better known beef comes from its western provinces. However, consumers in Quebec are more and more on the lookout for specialised and gourmet products so some producers took it upon themselves to try to develop a better beef. Products like the highland beef from de eastern townships region. This scottish breed is born and raised locally without antibiotics, steroid or growth hormones. They are butchered in their own factory. See http://www.highlanddescantons.ca/

  • Lapin/Lièvre (Rabbit/hare)
    Rabbit used to be much more prevalent than today. You can still find it in season at places like joe beef or liverpool house or in french restaurants. If available, you should find it in good butchers. Look for stanstead rabbit, the biggest producers of rabbit in Quebec! http://www.lelapindestanstead.com/default.html

  • Cheval (horse)
    Eating horse meat in america seem to be very taboo, on a similar level with eating your dog or cat. In the french tradition, however, horse is on the menu and on the same level as beef, porc or chicken. Horse meat is leaner and has a stronger metalic taste. Be careful to buy it from a reputable butcher. The horse you buy has to be horse meat raised for human consumption, not the transformed carcass of racing horses, which is shot with all kind of chemicals. You might be able to find horse tartare if you are lucky and joe beef/liverpool house sometimes have a great rendition with their “filet de cheval à cheval” (horse fillet on a horse).

  • Bison
    Bison meat has been on a rise since the 90’s. Richer and leaner than beef, it is used in steaks or make great hamburgers. There are more and more bison producers in Quebec that offer a delicious alternative to beef! See http://www.bisonquebec.com/index.html

  • Caille (Quail)
    I just want to give a small shout out to this precious little bird. I actually don’t like quail, it is very small and eating it feels like work, which eating should not. It was a favourite of my father and is considered a delicacy to many. I have strong memories of my father watching us children to make sure we ate every gram of meat of that bird that was so expensive and precious. Me? I felt like I was eating a sparrow and just wanted to chuck it out the window. Its still found on some Quebec tables though and I guess its part of our french heritage.

  • Dinde (Turkey)
    If turkey is synonymous with thanksgiving in the united states in Quebec we eat it around Christmas. There is nothing else specific about Quebec turkey eating, its mostly a once a year thing that follows north american tradition.

Where to buy it

  • Marché Jean-Talon and Marché Atwater
    Those two market feature about half a dozen very good butchers each. That’s where I go when I want to source quality meat. The Montreal market have a nice website where you can find providers and opening hours at http://www.marchespublics-mtl.com/en/

  • Maison du roti
    An institution of the plateau, if you are around it is known and dear to many. The place caught fire a few years ago and it caused quite a commotion to the numerous residents and clients.
    http://maisonduroti.com/fr/

  • Viandal
    A gem of a butcher in verdun. This family run business is one of my favorite and is the reference for a lot of friends. Impressive selection, they do all their butchering in house. Legend tell that they are so popular in the korean community that the owner learned korean! See http://www.yelp.ca/biz/boucherie-viandal-verdun and http://korcan50years.com/2013/05/29/interview-with-a-korean-butcher/

  • Boucherie Lawrence
    Lawrence is a very nice restaurant that’s part of the nouvelle vague and they started their own butcher shop. I’ll be honest, I tend to see them as a hipster butcher shop but I’ve had great feedback from friends. http://www.boucherielawrence.com/

  • Boucherie Grinder
    To me, Grinder is Boucherie Lawrence’s hipster cousin. They occupy the same headspace and I’ll often confuse the two even if they are really not in the same location. Like Lawrence, they are associated to a well known restaurant (although I’d classify Grinder as more “commercial” than Lawrence). Like Lawrence, I’ve heard great things about them! https://boucheriegrinder.ca/

  • Société orignal
    Société orignal is not a boutique, its a philosophy. Their mission is curate and develop exclusive quebec products in partnership with producers and offer to it to restaurants and enthusiasts. Its not only meat, its fish, milk, grain, herbs, vegetables, transformed products, oils, sugars, butters… ect. They opened a brick and mortar boutique but it didn’t last. They are still present online though. See: http://societe-orignal.com/en.html

  • Abu Elias
    Ok, this butcher is FAR from downtown but its very well known! It appeared in the “Bizarre Foods with Andrew Zimmern”. We have a lot of middle eastern butchers and this one is one of the better examples.

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