Hung Beef
Ingredients
Directions
Cure
Rub the beef well with salt and saltpetre.
Place the beef in a cask or tub and cover it with a board and weights.
Leave it for about two weeks.
Dry
After two weeks, remove the beef and hang it in the kitchen to dry for about three weeks.
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
- The main protein, which firms and dries as it cures and air-dries.
- Coarse sea salt
- Draws moisture out of the meat and helps preserve it during the long cure.
- Saltpetre
- Helps preserve the meat and contributes to the pink colour of cured meat.
The step that matters
Rubbing the beef well with salt and saltpetre. Salt and saltpetre must coat every surface evenly. Missed or thin patches cure unevenly and can let spoilage bacteria grow during the long 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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