Directions for Curing Beef
Ingredients
Directions
Prepare the brine
Prepare a brine by mixing 1 pound of saltpetre, 15 quarts of coarse sea salt, and 15 gallons of cold water in a clean, tight cask.
Stir the mixture frequently until dissolved and cover with a thick cloth to keep out dust.
Skim off any scum that rises to the surface regularly.
Salt the beef
For salting the beef, use a molasses hogshead cut in half with holes bored in the bottom to allow brine to drain.
Rub each piece of beef thoroughly with coarse sea salt, ensuring every part is covered.
Place the beef in the tub with the fleshy side down and sprinkle more salt on top.
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
- Saltpetre
- Supplies nitrate that cures the meat and helps keep its pink colour.
- Coarse sea salt
- Draws out moisture and seasons the beef, helping preserve it.
- Beef
- The meat being cured; salt penetrates its fleshy surface to preserve it.
The step that matters
Rub each piece of beef thoroughly with coarse sea salt. Salt must reach every part of the meat, because unsalted areas can spoil. Salt draws out moisture and slowly penetrates the flesh, so even coverage gives an evenly cured result.
“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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