Pickle for Meat
Ingredients
Directions
Make the brine
Boil the water with salt, coarse sugar, and saltpetre.
Skim off any scum that rises while boiling.
Allow the mixture to cool completely before using it on the meat.
Reuse the brine
If reusing the pickle, boil it again and skim before applying to new joints.
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 carries seasoning into the fibres as it cures.
- Coarse sugar
- Balances the saltiness and adds a mild sweetness to the cured meat.
- Saltpetre
- Helps preserve the meat and gives cured meat its characteristic pink colour.
The step that matters
Skim off scum while boiling. Impurities and proteins that rise to the surface can spoil the flavour and clarity of the brine. Removing them as they form keeps the pickle clean for curing and for reuse.
“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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