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To Salt Meat

A method of preserving meat by rubbing salt and brine into it over several days.

From an old cookbook · modernised transcription
From a historical cookbook (Internet Archive) · 2 ingredients
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To Salt Meat

Ingredients

Directions

Prepare

  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 every day.

  2. The 25-pound round of beef will be ready in 4 to 5 days.

Timing

  1. In summer, salt the meat as soon as possible after killing.

  2. In winter, let the meat sit for a few days to become tender before salting.

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

Coarse sea salt
Draws moisture out of the meat and forms the brine that preserves and seasons it.
Saltpetre
Helps keep the meat's red colour during curing and adds a cured flavour.

The step that matters

Rubbing the salt in evenly and filling the holes. Salt must reach every part of the meat, including spots where kernels were removed. Uneven coverage lets some areas spoil or cure unevenly, because salt moves into meat slowly by diffusion.

“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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