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To Pickle Beef, Hams, Etc

A brine for pickling beef, hams, and other meats.

From an old cookbook · modernised transcription
From a historical cookbook (Internet Archive) · 5 ingredients
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To Pickle Beef, Hams, Etc

Ingredients

Directions

Make the brine

  1. Combine 4 gallons of water, 1½ pounds of sugar (or 1 pint of molasses), 2 ounces of saltpetre, and 9 pounds of salt in a pot.

  2. Bring the mixture to a boil, skimming off any scum that rises.

  3. Remove from heat and let it cool.

Use and reboil the brine

  1. Cover the meat with the brine every 2 minutes.

  2. Reboil the pickle, skimming off the scum, and add 2 ounces of sugar and 1½ pounds of salt.

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

Salt
Draws moisture out of the meat and helps preserve it.
Saltpetre
Helps preserve the meat and gives cured meat its pink color.
Sugar or molasses
Balances the saltiness and adds a mild sweetness.

The step that matters

Let the brine cool before covering the meat. Hot brine would begin to cook the surface of the meat and could partly set it, which slows even penetration of the cure. Cooling the brine first keeps the meat raw while the salt and nitrate work through it.

“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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