Curing Legs of Mutton
Ingredients
Directions
Make the pickle and cure
Mix the salt, saltpetre, and molasses to create a pickle solution.
Submerge small legs of mutton in the pickle for 12 to 15 days.
For large legs, cure for 4 to 5 weeks.
Dry and smoke
After curing, hang the legs to dry for 1 to 2 days before smoking.
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 out moisture and slows spoilage, preserving the meat and seasoning it through.
- Saltpetre
- Helps preserve the meat and gives the cured meat its characteristic pink colour.
- Molasses
- Adds sweetness and depth of flavour that balances the harshness of the salt.
The step that matters
Matching the curing time to the size of the leg. Salt and cure penetrate meat slowly, so a small leg left too short a time may cure unevenly at the centre, while a large leg needs weeks for the pickle to reach the bone. Following the size-based times helps the cure reach through the whole joint.
“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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