To Corn Beef
Ingredients
Directions
Make the brine
To each gallon of cold water, put one quart of rock salt, one ounce of saltpetre, and four ounces of brown sugar. (It need not be boiled, as long as any salt remains undissolved, the meat will be sweet.)
If any scum should rise, scald and skim well; add more salt, saltpetre and sugar.
To every four gallons of water, allow two pounds of brown sugar and six pounds of salt, boil about twenty minutes, taking off the scum.
Boil and strain every two months, adding three ounces of brown sugar and half a pound of common salt.
Let it entirely cover the meat; add four ounces saltpetre.
Prepare and cover the meat
As you put each piece of meat into the brine, rub over with salt.
If the weather is hot, gash the meat to the bone, and put it in salt.
Put a flat stone or some weight on the meat to keep it under the brine.
The next day, turn it on the meat packed in the pickling tub; pour off this brine.
Sprinkle the meat with salt the next day, wipe dry before turning the pickle over it.
Canvas lids are excellent for covering, as they admit the air and exclude flies.
Mutton and beef may be kept sweet several weeks by simply rubbing well with dry salt and closely covering.
Turn the pieces whenever the vessel is uncovered.
It will keep good a year.
Nutrition, whole recipe (rough)
Counts 2 of 3 ingredients. The other 1 aren't in our nutrition table and add nothing above, so the real totals are higher.
What these numbers assume: 2 portions
| Ingredient | Portion assumed | kcal |
|---|---|---|
| Sugar | 1 tbsp (12.5g) granulated | 49 |
| Salt | 1 tsp (6g) | 0 |
| Water | not in our table | 0 |
One typical portion per ingredient; the recipe's quantities are not counted. A rough guide only, not for medical or dietary planning.
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. See the original page.
Explore the science
What each ingredient does
- Salt
- Preserves the meat by drawing out moisture and seasoning it through the brine.
- Saltpetre (in the method)
- Helps the meat keep its pink colour during long curing.
- Brown sugar
- Sweetens the meat and balances the sharpness of the salt.
The step that matters
Keep the meat under the brine. Any meat left above the liquid can spoil and dry out, so a weight is needed to keep every piece submerged while it cures.
“What each ingredient does” and “The step that matters” were written by Claude from this recipe’s own method and reviewed in samples by CompKitchen.
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