To Corn Beef
Ingredients
Directions
Dry cure the meat
Rub the meat on all sides with the salt and saltpetre mixture until it no longer absorbs salt and the surface is dry.
Repeat this rubbing daily for three days, keeping the meat in a cold place.
On the fourth day, wipe each piece dry and clean.
Make the pickle
For the pickle, mix water, salt, saltpetre, and brown sugar in a pot, boil for 10 minutes, and let it cool completely.
Pack the beef tightly and pour the cooled pickle over it.
Check and maintain
Check the meat weekly to ensure it is preserving well. If not, wipe clean.
Rinse with clear water.
Rub in dry salt.
Place in a stronger pickle.
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 moisture out of the meat and penetrates it, which slows spoilage and seasons the beef.
- Saltpetre
- Curing agent that helps preserve the meat and keeps its colour pink during curing.
- Brown sugar
- Softens the sharpness of the salt and adds mild sweetness and depth to the beef.
The step that matters
Let the pickle cool completely before pouring it over the beef. A warm pickle can partly cook the outer layer of the meat and change how evenly the cure penetrates, so the meat should go into fully cooled liquid.
“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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