Beef Brine
Ingredients
Directions
Make the brine
Boil the water.
Add the coarse sea salt, dark brown sugar, and saltpetre.
Skim the mixture.
Let it cool.
Brine the beef
Pour the brine over the beef when cold.
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
- Seasons the meat and draws moisture out of it, helping the brine penetrate.
- Dark brown sugar
- Adds sweetness that balances the salt and contributes a mild molasses flavour.
- Saltpetre
- Acts as a curing agent that helps the meat keep its colour and adds savoury flavour.
The step that matters
Pour the brine over the beef only when cold. Warm brine begins to cook the outer surface of the meat and can cure unevenly. Letting the brine cool first keeps the meat raw and lets the salt and cure work gradually through the whole cut.
“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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