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To Salt Meat

A method of preserving beef by rubbing it with coarse sea salt and optional saltpetre.

From an old cookbook · modernised transcription
From a historical cookbook (Internet Archive) · 3 ingredients
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To Salt Meat

Ingredients

Directions

Prepare the meat

  1. Remove any kernels from the meat.

  2. Rub the salt thoroughly and evenly into every part of the meat.

  3. Fill any holes where kernels were removed with salt.

Cure

  1. Turn and rub the meat with brine daily.

Timing

  1. Salt the meat as soon as possible after it is killed, especially in summer.

  2. In winter, allow the meat to rest for a few days before salting for better flavor.

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 round
The main meat, whose texture firms and whose moisture is drawn out and reabsorbed during curing.
Coarse sea salt
Draws moisture out of the meat, seasons it, and slows spoilage during curing.

The step that matters

Rub the salt thoroughly and evenly into every part of the meat. Salt must reach every area, including the spots where kernels were removed. Salt draws moisture out and forms brine, so untreated spots can spoil while other areas over-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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