This text is part of the special Pleasures notebook
Cowboys and cowgirls, or at least fans of Western food and culture, here is a brand new festival that should please you. With its healthy dose of smoked and barbecued food, Shérif, who describes himself as “the authority on country cuisine,” will transform the Old Port of Montreal into a gourmet Wild West from September 19 to 22.
When we imagine Western culture, we think of cult films by Sergio Leone, John Ford or Tarantino. The smell of horses and cattle, the dust that gets everywhere, the hat screwed on the head and the revolver against the hip always ready to be drawn. This feeling, too, of space and total freedom, accompanied by crazy adventures and nights spent by the fire, under the stars.
And what about cowboy cuisine? Let’s just say that it’s not what the big screen has highlighted, and rightly so, because our adventurers mainly ate biscuits, jerkycoffee, dried fruits, and sometimes game or beef.
“In fact, the real cuisine of the Wild West was less that of cowboys and more that of farmers on ranches,” recalls Gregory Hubert, the chef of Smoking BBQ, who will lead the gourmet programming of the Sheriff festival. “It was simple, hearty, affordable food, made with items that were on hand, like ribs or brisket beef, pulled pork, fried chicken, beans, corn.” In short, dishes prepared in a dutch oven or cast iron skillet or grilled over a wood fire, and which are still served today, throughout the western United States, in the form of outdoor buffet carts. And it is essentially this heritage that the Sheriff festival will offer its visitors.
Urban Western Cuisine
Let’s start by setting the scene for the new event put on by the Kamio group, which owns a fleet of food trucks and already presents the Le Grand PoutineFest tour across Quebec. From September 19 to 22, the Clock Tower Quay in the Old Port of Montreal will be transformed into a huge barbecue, complete with entertainment, a market of specialized artisans, and country-themed music and dance performances.
“It will be a festive event, with typical food from the West and South of the United States and symbolic elements of country culture,” confirms organizer Maude Couillard. “A mechanical bull will even be on hand for the occasion.”
Above all, the festival is a foodie destination and will offer a range of dishes to allow its visitors — wearing a cowboy hat, included in three of the event’s four packages — to immerse themselves in Western cuisine. Grilled meats, smoked meats (beef, chicken, hot dogs), fried chicken drumsticks, sandwiches and high-protein poutines will be on the menu, as well as Cajun-inspired dishes (spicy shrimp skewers, jambalaya), Tex-Mex (chili, tacos of brisket) or barbecue (sausages, bacon-wrapped jalapenos, stuffed potatoes en papillote, chip twistsetc.). Side dishes and sweet options more classic to our festive Quebec events, as well as various drinks, including Shooters served in mini cowboy boots will complete Sheriff’s offering. Enough to delight a wide audience.
“I certainly recommend that festival-goers try Smoking BBQ’s great specialty, the ribs,” says Gregory Hubert. “Quebecers are used to back ribs, but we prepare ours ribs In the St. Louis cut, typical of the United States, a larger and tougher part of the beef that is delicious if well prepared. To achieve this, we cover the meat with a rub made with cayenne pepper, brown sugar, white sugar, onion powder and garlic. We then smoke it for five to six hours, then finish cooking it on a charcoal grill, brushed with a homemade sauce that caramelizes the surface.
The chef also advises festival-goers to try the brisket beef, which will come in several forms and will also be faithful to the Texan culinary tradition, namely simply salted and peppered, before being smoked over apple wood at a low temperature for 16 hours, then finished on the barbecue and sliced across the grain. “It’s such a tender meat that you can eat it with a fork,” adds the chef. That’s all it takes to make us impatient.
This content was produced by the Special Publications Team of Dutyrelevant to marketing. The writing of the Duty did not take part in it.