Murray Street
110 Murray Street
Ottawa, Ontario
K1N 5M7
Map
Tel: 613.562.7244
murraystreet.ca[/note]
[quote style=”1″]The art of salting, curing, and smoking meat,”as Murray Street’s Chef, Steve Mitton, defines charcuterie, is no easy task “It’s a lot of brining of fresh meats or taking whole muscles and being patient with it—either curing it in salts, liquid brines, dry brines, dry cures, slow smoking, long hanging times where you don’t touch the meat even if you’re tempted to feel if it’s firm or not.” The goal is to do it right for Steve, ensuring that his customers and regulars are completely satisfied with his exclusive charcuterie bar menu.[/quote]
If your taste buds are curious for a new type of delicacy in Ottawa, the art of charcuterie, as prepared by Murray Street restaurant, will grace your palate with new elegance. Although Murray Street has been around for over four years, it continues to make its mark on Ottawa’s culinary scene with this refined delicacy that requires a great deal of patience and hard work, ultimately resulting in the most divinely succulent prepared meats that you will have the pleasure of tasting.
From delicious, fresh made sausages, specifically the delectable Mettwurst, to the many freshly prepared pâtés, including the particularly popular Duck Liver mousse, and the array insanely savory salamis (which are my personal favorite), it’s the extra attention to the entire process, even before charcuterie, that puts Murray Street far ahead of the rest. Steve is completely dedicated to not only the freshness of his delicacy and respect for the sometimes arduous process it requires, but he is also adamant about his guiding philosophy regarding the treatment of animals that he uses in this process.
“I think the greatest part is that we use every part of the animal, which is why I got into charcuterie,” Steve explains. “It was the only feasible way to maintain that philosophy; to be able to use every last bit of the animal.” After witnessing disturbing wasteful practices of other, more large scale restaurants that he worked for in the past, Steve has made it his business to ensure great relationships with local farmers to check on how animals are raised, even down to the slaughterhouses, to make sure they’re treated well and as respectfully as possible all the way through. For Steve, its essential that he is proud of his product and process that it took to result in that final presentation of hard work, which also keeps costs low for customers without compromising the incomparable sensory experience that Murray Street charcuterie provides.
With its constantly evolving charcuterie menu, changing almost on a daily basis depending on the different meats available to Chef Steve, Murray Street continues to remain far above the rest because of this constant commitment to quality, customers, and convenience of it’s bar menu, serving as the main reason for it’s pool of regulars constantly growing, spreading the word to newcomers who simply cannot resist joining the pool once they’ve had a taste. Whether your company is a group of friends or a single glass of wine, you will undoubtedly enjoy the warmth, quality, and divine flavors of Murray Street and its incomparable charcuterie!
Photography. Andrew Carter