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The Dutch Way to Salt Beef

A method of curing beef with treacle, salt, and optional saltpetre, then drying and boiling.

From an old cookbook · modernised transcription
From a historical cookbook (Internet Archive) · 5 ingredients
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Why it works: Beef and sugar are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 37% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 5,435 recipes. Both carry beta-damascenone, which smells apple, rose. The science ↓

The Dutch Way to Salt Beef

Ingredients

Directions

Cure the beef

  1. Rub the beef well with treacle or brown sugar.

  2. Turn the beef often for 3 days.

  3. Wipe the beef, then salt it with common salt and finely beaten saltpetre and rub it in well.

  4. Turn the beef every day for 14 days.

Dry and press

  1. Roll the beef tightly in a coarse cloth.

  2. Press the rolled beef under a heavy weight.

  3. Hang the beef to dry in wood smoke.

  4. Turn the beef upside down every day.

Boil and serve

  1. Boil the beef in water.

  2. Press the boiled beef.

  3. Grate or cut the beef into shivers for a breakfast dish.

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

The flavor team

The pairs that carry this dish. Each one is judged two ways: how much their aromas overlap, and how often cooks already put them together.

  1. Beef + sugartop 37% of all pairs
    Smell alikelow
    Cooked together5,435 recipes

    Shared aroma: beta-damascenone (apple, rose).

Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs

What each ingredient does

Beef
The main protein, which firms and dries as it cures and is pressed.
Common salt
Draws out moisture and seasons the meat while helping to preserve it.
Saltpetre
Helps preserve the meat and gives cured beef its characteristic colour.
Treacle or brown sugar
Adds sweetness and moisture, and balances the harshness of the salt.

The step that matters

Turning the beef during the salt cure. Salt penetrates unevenly and the brine pools on the lower side, so parts of the beef can be under-cured and spoil. Turning it every day redistributes the salt and liquid so the whole piece cures evenly.

“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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