51 & 663 Foods to Eat – A Salt Beef Diary
If you thought that Salt Beef was a meat that you buy strictly from the butchers or supermarket, think again. With a little bit of prep and a few stock cupboard spices, and help from a friendly butcher to get a decent piece of brisket, you can make your own at home!
I enjoy cooking the dishes that my grandparents and great grandparents before them would have prepared. Salt beef is an Irish dish that originates from the 1800s and is still traditionally served with boiled cabbage in its cooked form, corned beef. Processed corned beef, purchased in a tin with a tiny key, is something different altogether; a compressed lardy lump of what smells and tastes a little like dog food. The texture is dry yet greasy, but also mushy and is often served in sandwiches with tomato ketchup. As you can see, homemade salt/corned beef has a much firmer texture.
In the US, the Americans have embraced the Irishness of the dish (many of them descending from Irish immigrant blood) and still serve it as part of St Patrick’s Day celebrations. But it is also served in the form of pastrami (after the meat has gone through the process of being seasoned heavily with black pepper and then smoked) which is thinly sliced and served in delicious sandwiches. I suppose that the thought of brining meat is a bit daunting but when you actually break down what you need to do – rub salt in meat, leave for 7 days, turning once a day – it is so easy that you’ll wonder why you don’t have a constant supply of it!
As an experiment, I used a smallish piece of brisket (1.3kg and unrolled) from my local butchers. This cost me about £18, but I was surprised at how large the piece of meat was. This has lasted the two of us for at least 4 different types of meals.
I then had to calculate the salt and spices needed by weight. Here’s a useful guide. You will also see that my rub contains citric nitrite (also known as Prague powder) which you can buy quite easily online.
In short, the citric nitrite/Prague powder is used purely for cosmetic reasons – it keeps the meat looking pink and, to some, more appetising. It is not essential and if you’d rather not use it, either because you just can’t get it or because of health concerns, then just omit it. If you want that pink deli beef look, this is what you need to use though.
Because this is a dry rub and not a wet brine, it is incredibly easy to prepare. This would be wonderful to turn out on Boxing day to great fanfare as you proudly announce “I salted this beef myself!”
Day 1 – The Brine
Bring your meat up to room temperature, a couple of hours before you want to start the brine. Then, grind up all the spices, and mix together with the salt, brining salt and sugar. Place this all in a large Tupperware container, big enough to hold the meat.
Now place your meat in the same container and mix well, making sure that the meat is thoroughly covered with the rub. Place in the fridge and, each day, give it a turn in the container, to make sure that it is evenly coated. Do this for 7 days.
Day 2 – How’s it looking?
By day 2 of the brining process, the meat has started to leach a lot of liquid. It is an amazing process to watch. The meat goes from the familiar pomegranate raw red to a rich dark brown, as if already cooked. The salt and sugar draws out liquid from the meat, thereby inhibiting the growth of micro-organisms that would cause the meat to spoil. You need to ensure that you use the correct amount of salt per kilo of brisket for a dry rub, ensuring this osmosis takes place and all the bacteria is killed off.
I am terribly excited about the finished article but still 5 days to go!
Days 3-6
Apologies for the blurriness of the image. This was taken on day 5, and you can see how the proteins in the beef are starting to breakdown. The beef already looks cooked, although still 2 days to go! It smells like pastrami, warming and fragrant and spiced.
There is not much else to report, other than it smells so good!
Cooking the Salt Beef – Day 7!
On the seventh day (my true love gave to me…..some boiled beef and cabbage) I eagerly drained and rinsed the beef. I tentatively sniffed it. There has been a strange smell being emitted from the fridge for some time now and I just can’t locate it. I suspect it might be a wayward turkey leg but I can’t be sure.
The raw but preserved piece of brisket smelt only of its spices, not unpleasant at all. Obviously some further investigation of the fridge is required.
Rinse the meat thoroughly before you even consider cooking it. It will be beyond salty at this point.
I then plunged the beef into cold water (in our slow cooker) threw in a couple of peeled onions, some carrots and celery.
A brownish scum may come to the surface, alluded to both the proteins in the beef being discharged and the salt preservative kissing goodbye to its beefy bed of the last 7 days. Skim that off, put a lid on the pan and let it simmer in its juices for the next several hours (in the slow cooker, this took about 6-8 hours, it will be quicker if you cook it on the hob).
I was intrigued and impressed to see that the beef retained its raw, crimson colour throughout the duration of the cooking time – a sure sign that the curing salt had worked.
After 8 long hours, I lifted the meat and its boiled vegetables out of the cooking liquor (which had a curious salty/sweet flavour) and, with the patience of the last 7 days finally leaving me, cut straight into it. I was greeted with a bright pink, shredded looking middle – kind of like an interior from a Shag painting.
Tip! Make sure you cut against the grain when slicing your brisket.
The flavour was vaguely reminiscent of the greasy slabs of corned beef that we get in tins over here, but considerably more flavourful (and not greasy). It was best in sandwiches, with sourdough bread, and smeared with mustard. I can certainly imagine why this was considered a great treat at Christmas time. The whole anticipatory process of salting the beef, all seven days of it, produces the most perfect (and not really that labour intensive) cold meat.
In conclusion
To conclude, things that might initially seem daunting or complicated can actually be very simple. I can just about muster up the strength of character to turn a piece of meat in salt cure once a day or bring a pan of chestnuts in sugar syrup up to the boil once a day for three days. What’s next? Jerky? Growing my own cacao beans to produce my own chocolate? You’ll be the first to know…
How to serve your salt beef
Salt beef is versatile. You can serve it in a sandwich (a la Reubens), or with boiled potatoes and cabbage, turn it into a hash, or serve it, shredded in tacos.
This post is also #5 in my 1000 Foods to Eat before you Die series. Mimi Sheraton notes that corned beef and cabbage is an essential Irish dish, one that she calls both “humble and succulent”.
SALT BEEF
INGREDIENTS
- 1 kg Beef brisket unrolled and trimmed of fat
- 20 g Salt
- 3 tbsp Brown sugar
- 1 tbsp Black peppercorns coarsely crushed
- ½ tbsp Coriander seeds coarsely crushed
- 5 Juniper berries crushed
- 1 Bay Leaf crushed
- ¼ tbsp Whole cloves crushed
- ¼ tbsp Ground mace
- ¼ tbsp Ground ginger
- 1 tsp Citric Nitrite optional
INSTRUCTIONS
- Grind together all the spices until a rough mix is formed, it doesn't have to be a powder, than add the salt and saltpetre (if using), mixing well.
- Pop the spices into a large Tupperware container (not metal).
- Place the beef in the container.
- Rub the mixture into the beef, ensuring its whole area is covered. This feels so therapeutic to do, although it takes ages to clean you hands afterwards! Don’t be afraid to massage the mix deep in to the beef, after all, as well as salting it, you want it to infuse with the deep flavours of the spices.
- Refrigerate for 7 days, turning over once a a day and re-applying any of the spice mixture that has sunk to the bottom of the container.
- After 7 days, remove from the refrigerator and rinse well.
Saucepan on the hob method
- Place into a large saucepan containing simmering unsalted water, an peeled, whole onion, a carrot and a couple of sticks of celery.
- Simmer gently for 2-3 hours or until tender (and depending on size).
Slow Cooker method
- Place into your slow cooker, along with a peeled, whole onion, a carrot and a couple of sticks of celery. Cover with water and turn your slow cooker to medium.
- Simmer gently for 6-8 hours or until tender (and depending on size).
- Serve hot with boiled cabbage and wintery vegetables or turn into corned beef hash by mixing with some fried onions and diced potatoes. Just to reiterate: there is no corn in Corned Beef. The term is derived from an old American reference to large grains of salt as ‘corn’, hence salted beef have ‘corns’ of salt embedded in it.
- This would also be delicious served cold in sandwiches or part of a ploughmans lunch perhaps or eaten, caveman or cavewoman style, by ripping off great big hunks and dipping into mustard…
