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Another Pickle for Tongues, Beef, and Hams

A brine for pickling tongues, beef, and hams, made with salt, sugar, bay salt, and saltpetre.

From an old cookbook · modernised transcription
By Eliza Acton · From a historical cookbook (Project Gutenberg) · 11 ingredients
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Another Pickle for Tongues, Beef, and Hams

Ingredients

Directions

Make the brine

  1. To three gallons of spring water add six pounds of common salt, two pounds of bay salt, two pounds of common loaf sugar, and two ounces of saltpetre.

  2. Boil the mixture over a gentle fire, removing all scum as it rises; when it cools it will be fit for use.

Prepare and cure the meat

  1. Rub the meat to be cured with fine salt, and let it drain for a day to free it from the blood.

  2. Immerse the meat in the brine, ensuring every part is covered.

  3. Allow the meat to pickle for the appropriate time: young pork 3–5 days, hams at least 14 days, tongues less, beef 1–2 weeks.

Maintain the pickle

  1. When the pickle has been in use for about three months, boil it up again gently and remove the scum carefully.

  2. Add to it three pounds of common salt, four ounces of sugar, and one ounce of saltpetre; it will remain good for many months.

By Eliza Acton. Recipe from a historical cookbook (Project Gutenberg).

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

Common salt
Preserves the meat and seasons it, drawing out moisture and inhibiting spoilage.
Saltpetre
Gives cured meat its pink colour and adds to its preserving action.
Common loaf sugar
Balances the salt's sharpness and adds a mild sweetness to the cure.
Bay salt
Adds coarse salinity to the brine, contributing to the cure's preserving strength.

The step that matters

Keeping every part of the meat covered in brine. Any meat left exposed to air can spoil or cure unevenly, because the salt and nitrate only penetrate and preserve where the brine reaches. Full immersion keeps the cure consistent throughout.

“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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