To Collar Beef or Mutton
Ingredients
Directions
Cure the meat
Rub the meat well with coarse sea salt and saltpetre.
Let it sit in this mixture for 2-3 weeks, depending on thickness.
Season and bind
After brining, dry the meat with a cloth and season with mixed spices and sweet herbs.
Roll the meat tightly in a clean cloth, tie it at both ends, and bind it with broad tape.
Cook and serve
Place it in a pot of boiling water, ensuring it is covered.
Boil for about 6 hours if thick.
Once cooked, remove from the pot and hang it to cool.
After cooling, remove the bindings and slice as needed.
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 or mutton
- Forms the main body of the dish, becoming firm and sliceable after curing and boiling.
- Coarse sea salt
- Draws moisture out of the meat and seasons it during the long cure.
- Saltpetre
- Helps the meat keep its pink colour and adds a cured flavour during curing.
- Mixed spices
- Adds aroma and flavour to the outside of the meat before it is rolled and cooked.
The step that matters
Dry the meat before seasoning and rolling. Brined meat carries surface salt and moisture. Drying it lets the spices and herbs cling to the surface instead of washing off in the boiling water, and helps the wrapped meat hold its shape.
“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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