Pickle for Beef, Poke, Tongues, or Hung Beef
Ingredients
Directions
Make the pickle
In a large pot, mix 4 gallons of water with 1½ pounds of sugar or molasses and 2 ounces of saltpetre.
If storing for 1–2 months, add 6 pounds of coarse sea salt; for summer storage, use 9 pounds.
Boil the mixture gently, skim off any foam, and let it cool.
Cure the meat
In hot weather, rub the meat with salt and let it sit for 3 hours to drain excess blood.
Place the meat in a container and pour the cooled pickle over it until fully covered.
Every two months, boil and skim the pickle, adding 2 ounces of sugar and ½ pound of coarse sea salt.
Dry and hang
After removing tongues and hung beef, wash and dry them, then place in paper bags and hang in a dry, warm place.
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
- Saltpetre
- Gives cured meat its characteristic pink colour and helps preserve it.
- Coarse sea salt
- Draws moisture out of the meat and preserves it against spoilage.
- Sugar or molasses
- Balances the saltiness and adds a mild sweetness to the cured flavour.
The step that matters
Boiling and skimming the pickle. Boiling dissolves the salts and sugar fully, and skimming removes foam and impurities that could spoil the brine. Letting it cool before adding the meat keeps the meat from being partly cooked.
“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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