Name: Corned Beef-brine
Ingredients: 4 gallons water; 1 ounce saltpetre; 1 gallon coarse sea salt (formerly 'bay salt'); 1 quart molasses or 3 pounds brown sugar

Corned Beef-brine

Ingredients

4 gallons water
1 ounce saltpetre
1 gallon coarse sea salt (formerly 'bay salt')
1 quart molasses or 3 pounds brown sugar

Directions

In a large container, combine 4 gallons of water, 1 ounce of saltpetre, 1 gallon of coarse sea salt, and 1 quart of molasses (or 3 pounds of brown sugar).
Mix the ingredients well until fully dissolved.

Recipe from a historical cookbook (Internet Archive).

Transcribed from a scanned cookbook and modernised for today's kitchens. Where the book gave no heat or time, or said "a moderate oven", the temperatures and times here may be modern equivalents rather than the book's own figures.