To Corn Beef
Ingredients
Directions
Prepare the brine
Cut the beef into suitable pieces for cooking.
Pack the beef loosely in a tight barrel and place a weight on top.
In a kettle, combine water, salt, saltpetre, and molasses.
Bring the mixture to a boil and skim it thoroughly.
Let the brine cool.
Cure the beef
Pour the cooled brine over the beef.
Let the beef remain in the brine until needed.
If the brine molds, pour it off.
Boil the brine again and skim it again.
Pour the hot brine over the beef.
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.
Explore the science
What each ingredient does
- Coarse sea salt
- Draws water out of the beef and seasons it, helping preserve the meat.
- Saltpetre
- Helps the beef keep its pink colour during curing.
- Molasses
- Adds sweetness and flavour to the brine.
The step that matters
Skimming the brine. Skimming removes impurities and proteins that rise to the surface as the brine heats. Leaving them in can cause spoilage or mould, so the brine must be skimmed thoroughly both times it is boiled.
“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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