Summer is a season for barbecues

Montreal is a city of good food, good cooking and, above all, good entertaining! In honor of barbecue season, we've asked our butchers for their recommendations on selecting the best cuts of meat for your next visit. You'll be sure to impress your guests.

• At Boucherie les viandes Saint-Vincent in the Atwater Market, the team suggests beef or lamb ribs. He recommends searing the meat on both sides when the grill is hot, then continuing cooking over indirect heat. For rare meat, aim for an internal temperature of 57°C; for pink, 62°C; and for well-done, 70°C. For seasoning, a little salt is all you need to enjoy the meat.
• At the Boucherie du Marché des Saveurs du Québec in the Jean-Talon Market, the team works with whole animals, in close collaboration with the breeders, which means that the offer varies according to the arrivals. Ask the butcher for advice, and you'll make many discoveries. For example, you might be offered a lesser-known cut of beef shoulder. Don't worry, recommendations on the best cooking method will always follow!

"Learning to cook meat means accepting to make mistakes at first. The idea is to try." - Marco Arce of Boucherie du Marché des Saveurs du Québec.

• At Boucherie du Marché Maisonneuve, the Jodoin family offers only the best local products. Their famous 100% lamb merguez, for example, is delicious grilled.
• At the Boucherie Adélard Bélanger in the Atwater Market, the team recommends pork onglet aux fines herbes, to be cooked for 5 to 6 minutes on each side, then left to temper for 20 minutes. At the start of the summer season, the butcher's shop also pulls out all the stops for barbecues: a varied selection of ten brochettes on rotation all summer long, as well as Korean-style shortribs. Three excellent choices to impress your guests.
• At Boucherie Nordest in the Jean-Talon Market, Betsy recommends a marinated steak with teriyaki sauce, a tender cut ideal for BBQ, while owner Céline suggests a marinated beef onglet with mushrooms, balsamic and wine, a tasty piece often overlooked.

Lamb

With more than 900 breeders, Québec is the country's second-largest producer of lamb. In 2009, Charlevoix lamb was even recognized as a Protected Geographical Indication (PGI). A first in Quebec!

• Lamb shoulder: ask for a butterflied boneless shoulder that you can marinate for 24 hours and grill for 10 minutes on each side.

Beef

• Steak: for a tender cut, opt for loin cuts such as tenderloin and striploin. The rib-eye, with its strips of fat, is the cut of choice for BBQ enthusiasts. For a more affordable price, opt for top sirloin steak.
• Beef onglet is a relatively unknown cut among the general public. With its great tenderness, to try it is to adopt it.
• Beef shoulder: often associated with stews, shoulder hides pieces that your butcher can divide up to make perfect pieces for grilling.
• Shortribs: also known as spareribs, these are a great BBQ classic. Flank Brisket

Whether you're a novice or an experienced cook, the butchers at Montreal's Public Markets await you with friendly, quality service.