Why it works: Sugar and molasses are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 11% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 9,225 recipes. Both carry ethanol, which smells alcoholic, ethereal. The science ↓
To Cure Beef
Ingredients
Directions
Cure the beef
Mix 4 pounds of salt and 5 pounds of sugar together.
Rub each piece of beef with the salt and sugar mixture and place it in an oak barrel, covering the bottom with salt.
Dissolve the baking soda and saltpetre in hot water, then add it to the remaining salt and sugar in the water.
Pour the brine over the meat and place a board on top with a weight to keep it submerged.
Let the beef intended for dried beef remain in the brine for 3 weeks.
After 3 weeks, remove the beef, place it in a tub, cover with water, and let it soak overnight.
Smoke and dry
String the beef and smoke it for a few days, then hang it from the ceiling over the kitchen stove or on a frame behind the stove, turning it once a day for even exposure.
Ensure the beef is well dried on the outside and free from rawness at the center.
Once dried, sprinkle with ground black pepper, place in paper sacks, tie tightly, and hang in a cool, dry, dark place, or store in an empty flour barrel covered closely.
Brine and serve
Boil the brine, skim well, cool, and pour over any bony pieces left.
These can be boiled and eaten hot or cold, and will keep for several months.
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
The flavor team
The pairs that carry this dish. Each one is judged two ways: how much their aromas overlap, and how often cooks already put them together.
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Sugar + molassestop 11% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together9,225 recipes
Shared aroma: ethanol (alcoholic, ethereal).
Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs
What each ingredient does
- Sea salt
- Draws moisture out of the meat and preserves it during curing.
- Sugar
- Balances the salt and adds sweetness while helping the cure mellow the meat.
- Baking soda
- Raises the brine's alkalinity, which helps the meat hold its colour and texture.
- Saltpetre
- Helps preserve the curing colour of the meat during the long cure.
- Molasses
- Adds depth of flavour and a dark, sweet note to the cured beef.
The step that matters
Let the beef soak after curing. Removing the beef and soaking it overnight in water draws out excess salt, so the meat is not overly salty when dried and eaten.
“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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