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Preserve

To Cure Hams or Beef

A method for curing hams or beef using a brine of water, salt, molasses, saltpetre, and ashes.

From an old cookbook · modernised transcription
From a historical cookbook (Internet Archive) · 5 ingredients
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To Cure Hams or Beef

Ingredients

Directions

Make the pickle

  1. In a large pot, combine 8 gallons of water, 12 lbs. of coarse sea salt, 3 pints of molasses, 4 oz. of saltpetre, and 1 shovel of ashes.

  2. Boil the mixture until no scum arises, then let it cool completely.

Pack and cure

  1. Pack the meat tightly in a cask, being careful not to disturb the mixture.

  2. Place a weight on top to ensure the pickle covers the meat by at least 3 inches.

  3. Cure large hams or beef for 6 weeks and small ones for 4 weeks.

  4. You can cure tongue in the same manner.

Recipe from a historical cookbook (Internet Archive).

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 seasons it while helping preserve it.
Molasses
Adds sweetness and a mild flavor to the cured meat.
Saltpetre
Helps preserve the meat and gives it its characteristic pink color.

The step that matters

Place a weight on top to ensure the pickle covers the meat by at least 3 inches.. Any meat left above the liquid is exposed to air and can spoil or cure unevenly, so keeping every piece fully submerged matters throughout the long cure.

“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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