To Corn Beef
Ingredients
Directions
Make the brine
Mix 1 gallon cold water, 1 quart coarse sea salt, 1 ounce saltpetre, and 4 ounces brown sugar in a large container until dissolved.
If scum rises, scald and skim it off, adding more salt, saltpetre, and sugar as needed.
Prepare and cover the meat
Rub each piece of meat with salt before placing it in the brine.
Place a flat stone or weight on top to keep the meat submerged.
Pour the brine over the packed meat in a pickling tub and let it sit.
Sprinkle the meat with salt the next day and wipe it dry before covering it with the brine.
Maintain the brine
Every two months, boil and strain the brine, adding 3 ounces brown sugar and ½ pound common salt.
Alternative method
For an alternative method, boil 4 gallons water with 2 pounds brown sugar and 6 pounds common salt for 20 minutes, skimming off any scum.
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
- Coarse sea salt
- Draws water out of the meat and seasons it through the brine, preserving it.
- Saltpetre
- Helps preserve the meat's pink colour and adds a cured flavour.
- Brown sugar
- Balances the saltiness and adds mild sweetness to the cured meat.
The step that matters
Keeping the meat submerged. Any piece of meat that rises above the brine is not cured and can spoil. A flat stone or weight holds every piece under the liquid throughout the curing time.
“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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