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Hung Beef,

Hung Beef is salted and dried beef cured with salt and saltpetre, then hung to dry.

From an old cookbook · modernised transcription
From a historical cookbook (Internet Archive) · 5 ingredients
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Hung Beef,

Ingredients

Directions

Cure

  1. Rub the beef well with salt and saltpetre in the specified proportions.

  2. Place the beef in a cask or tub and cover it with a board and weights.

  3. Leave it for about two weeks.

Dry

  1. After two weeks, remove the beef and hang it in the kitchen to dry for about three weeks.

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

Beef
The main cut, which firms and dries as it cures and hangs.
Coarse sea salt
Draws out moisture and seasons the meat, slowing spoilage.
Saltpetre
Helps preserve the meat's colour and adds to the cured flavour.

The step that matters

Rubbing the beef well with salt and saltpetre. Salt and saltpetre must reach every surface evenly. Thin or missed areas let moisture and bacteria remain, so those spots may spoil while the rest cures. Weights and a board keep the meat pressed in its brine during the 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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