(L’Anse-Saint-Jean) The base camp is the ideal place for adventurers who want to recharge their batteries before going to attack the slopes of Mont Édouard, a superb mountain in the Bas-Saguenay region. . But what we don’t know is that the friendly inn also houses the facilities of Füm Füm, an excellent smokehouse that serves the Base Camp pub, among others. Discovery.
“I’ve always dreamed of having a grill restaurant,” admits Pierre Lévesque, owner of Füm Füm. In fact, I already had my smoking company, but it was very small, I was doing it for family and friends. But at some point, I had to make it legal, I went to get my certifications. But of course, at home, it was starting to smell a lot of smoke! »
It was in 2018 that Pierre Lévesque, a native of Montreal who had lived in Bas-Saguenay for years, had the opportunity to get his hands on the former Auberge du mont Édouard, a modest motel that he began to renovate no without taking advantage of it to set up its smoking facilities. As it should be, its products are therefore found advantageously on the menu of the Base Camp pub.
“My cold-smoked salmon is my first recipe, it’s become a classic, it’s really my biggest seller,” Pierre Lévesque tells us, sipping a beer in the Base Camp pub. It is therefore not cooked in the smokehouse, it is rather cooked in brine, before smoking. But don’t forget to give the salmon a settling time, otherwise you risk tasting too much smoke. »
Pierre Lévesque has repeated it to us several times: no question for him of abusing the taste of smoke, despite the fashion that sometimes pulls in this direction. “We did a lot of trial and error, and I realized that what you want is to taste the meat,” he says. We want to savor the piece of meat, we want to taste the fish, we don’t want to eat a bite of smoke! »
Building on his success with salmon, Pierre Lévesque also uses his cold smoker for bacon, which is sliced and cooked at the last minute before going to top pizzas at the Base Camp pub—it’s the only way to do it. to taste. However, you can buy on site and in a few shops in Bas-Saguenay its salmon as well as its delicious smoked sausage, which has everything from Italian prosciutto.
“It’s a piece of meat that is cold smoked and then I coat with spices before letting it decant for two months to reduce its water content,” explains the Base Camp boss. It’s actually the same as a prosciutto, but it’s an appellation contrôlée in Italy. But I don’t mind using it too much anyway; let them come and fetch me to sue me, that will allow me to go to Italy! »
Much more imposing, its hot smoker was made by a local welder, an impressive device fueled with maple wood. He smokes pork shoulder to make shredded beef, smoked meat beef and Dijon-rosemary chicken wings, three products sold to local and passing customers. However, two meats are reserved for pub customers: the chicken for the shish-taouk sandwich and the incredible ribs – as it should be surrounded by the sacrosanct pink smoke ring, or smoke ring for aficionados. “My ribs, I smoke them for three hours, after which I wrap them in aluminum foil so that the fat returns inside the meat”, describes the enthusiast.
Ah, Füm Füm also offers a nice variety of veggie foods at Base Camp. “But for sure there’s still the little smoky touch on the menu,” adds Pierre Lévesque with a wink.
