Some would say that salt beef/ corned beef and cabbage go together perfectly- an absolutely winning combination.
Though in my book, salt beef and travel journeysalways went together. No travel journey was complete without a trusty food bag by our side containing, amongst other things, a stack of salt beef sandwiches.
As children growing up in India, the long summer and Christmashols were something that we looked forward to with impatient anticipation . Some form of travel was always on the cards and whatever journey we were making, there was always a lavish homemade spread that was carefully pre-prepared and packed away to accompany us on our travels. Mince puffs, boiled eggs and pound cake were our standard travel fare. But the piece de resistance was mouth watering, white bread salt beef sandwichesslathered withbutter and mustard.No more than fifteen minutes into our journey, we would be begging that the food bag be opened so that we could start feasting. Let it not be said that we looked forward to our destination more than our journey.
'Salt beef', as it is commonly known in the U.K,India and other commonwealth countries, is typically a tough cut of meat that has been cured and preserved with salt and then cooked with aromatics (allspice, cloves, cardamom, coriander, ginger, garlic etc.). This is a way of preserving meat with salt.
Coarse salt is usually mixed with a tiny quantity of pink curing salt to cure the meat. The salts draw moisture out of the meat to create an environment that inhibits the growth of bacteria, making the meat less susceptible to spoilage. These salted meats were ideal to take on long journeys where no refrigeration was possible.
On a trip to London years later, I stopped in at the iconic 'Beigel Bake Brick Lane Bakery', best known for their fantastic salt beef sandwiches, so popular that there are often queues of hungry people out the door waiting to place their order.
I can proudly say that my salt beef recipe is just as good as 'Beigel Bake' and while I'll still wait in a queue to get one of their hugely popular sandwiches, I don't have to wait for a trip to London to get my salt beef sandwich fix.
In North America, Canada and Ireland, 'Salt Beef' is called 'Corned Beef', named after the large-grained rock salt, commonly referred to as 'corns', that are used to treat the meat. In the U.S, corned beefis typically served with boiled cabbage and potatoesfor St. Patrick's Day on March 17th, as part of the Irish- American tradition.
Brining beef couldn't be easier as long as you have the right type of corned beef salt. Typically, the curing salt used is salt-petre (sodium nitrate), which gives the meat a lovely, soft, pink color.
If cured with just ordinary salt (sodium chloride), the meat would have an unappealing grey color.My mother had her special source at the meat market who would supply her with a little bit of salt petre at a time.At the time, salt petre, was not the easiest commodity to come by in India given its magical properties to not just cure meat but to make gun powder as well. Of course, now in India, salt petre might not be the only thing one might have difficulty finding at the meat market.
Nevertheless, if salt petre is not available, curing meat with sodium nitrite, rather than sodium nitrate, is another popular option.
Now that I live in North America, getting my hands on corned beef salt or curing salt isn't too difficult. I use Prague powder #1 which is a combination of 6.25% sodium nitrite and 93.75% salt. This pink curing salt is also sold as Instacure #1 or Pink Curing Salt #1. Prague powder #1 is most effective when curing meat for a short time (about a week) and then cooking it, just as this salt beef recipe calls for.
Prague powder #2 is a mix of sodium nitrate, sodium nitrite and salt. It is typically used for curing meat over long periods (a month or more) like air dried serrano ham and salami. So, I would not recommend using it for this salt beef preparation.
As the packet indicates, only a small quantity of this powder is required to cure meat. Recommended levels are 1 teaspoon of Prague powder #1 per 5lb (2.2kg of meat).
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| Prague Powder #1, corned beef salt used to brine meats |
Important cook's note:
You will see that in my recipe, I have used a lot more than the recommended levels on the Prague Powder #1 packet. This is because there are two ways of curing meat.
1) Directly applying the curing salt to the meat (dry rub). The recommended levels above are to be used when directly rubbing the curing salt onto the meat.
2) Creating a brine by dissolving the salts in a specific quantity of water and submerging the meat in the brine. This is the method, that I use for making my salt beef. When using a brine, more curing salt is required in a particular ratio of salt : sugar : water.
There's a slight science to brining beef. This is the general formula for creating your brine. Be sure to use a weighing scale to weigh the salt since different kosher/ rock salts have different densities.
Coarse Salt/ Kosher salt- 75 grams
Sugar- 25 grams
Pink salt/ Curing salt/ Prague powder #1- 6.5 grams (approx. 1 teaspoon)
Water- 1 litre or 1/2 gallon (approx. 4 cups)
You should make enough brine to completely submerge the meat.
INGREDIENTS:
A cut of beef (preferably brisket):
☐One 2.5-3 pound cut of beef* (round or silverside are other alternatives to brisket)
Pickling spices: (Aromatics): Makes 1/4 cup
☐1/2 tablespoon whole black peppercorns
☐1 teaspoons whole cloves
☐5 whole cardamom pods
☐1/2 tablespoon whole allspice berries
☐1/2 tablespoon whole mustard seeds (brown or yellow)
☐1/2 tablespoon coriander seeds
☐1/2 tablespoon dried red chili flakes
☐3 large bay leaves, crumbled
☐1 teaspoon ground ginger
☐2 inch stick of cinnamon, broken into pieces
(Use 1 1/2 tablespoons of the pickling spice while brining and the remaining while cooking)
Brine:
☐1/2 gallon or 1.9 litres of water
☐150 g Kosher salt (approx. 1/2 cup of Morton's Kosher Salt). Different salts have different densities. Be sure to weigh the salt and do not rely on a cup measure.
☐ 13g ofpink curing salt (approx. 2 flat teaspoons)
☐1.5 tablespoons pickling spices
☐1/4 packed cup of brown sugar
☐ 3 cloves of garlic, minced
* For larger cuts of beef, increase the pickling spice mix and brine proportions accordingly. The most important thing is to use enough brine solution to completely submerge the meat.
STEP BY STEP INSTRUCTIONS:
STEP 1: Make the pickling spice
Combine all the dry spices (aromatics) together and dry roast the spices lightly on a pan over medium heat to release the fragrances.
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| Whole pickling spices used to brine meats |
Crush the spices coarsely using a mortar and pestle or in a dry grinder for a couple of pulses.
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| Coarsely crush brining spices with a mortar and pestle |
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| Or coarsely dry grind whole pickling spices in a blender |
STEP 2: Make the brine solution
In a separate saucepan, combine all the 'brine ingredients' together. (Water, sugar, kosher salt, pickling salt, garlic and 1 1/2 tablespoons of the pickling spice). Bring it to a boil, stir well to dissolve all the sugar and salts.
Allow the brine to cool.
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| Prepared brine for brining beef with corned beef salt and pickling spices |
STEP 3: Soak the meat in brine solution for 7 days
Once the brine has completely cooled to room temperature, transfer the brine to a dish and completely submerge the meat in the brine. It is important that the entire piece if meat is completely submerged, so use an appropriate sized dish.
Cover with cling wrap and then place a weight on the meat to keep the meat submerged. A couple of cans of beans or a small bag of rice or pulses does the trick.
Place the dish on a tray (to catch any unwanted spills) and then refrigerate for 7 days.
Allow the meat to soak in the brine for 7 days, flipping the meat in the brine solution once a day.
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| Soak beef in brine solution |
STEP 4: Soak the meat in fresh water
Below is what the meat will look like after being brined for 7 days. It won't look pink, rather a bit grey. But, don't worry about it. After it is cooked and sliced, the insides will be pink.
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| Appearance of beef after 7 days of soaking in brine |
After 7 days of brining the meat, remove the meat from the brine solution and wash the meat well. Discard the brine solution and spices.
Fill the dish with clean, cold, fresh water and soak the washed meat for about 2 hours to flush out some of the excess salt.
STEP 5: Cook the meat
Discard the water that the meat has been soaking in before following the instructions to cook the meat.
To cook salt beef/ corned beef in a pressure cooker:
Cover the meat completely with fresh water, close pressure cooker lid, sprinkle the remaining dry pickling spice into the water. Bring to a boil on high flame, until steam emerges from open valve. Put the stopper on the pressure cooker and wait for one whistle.
After one whistle, reduce the heat to low and cook for 70 minutes. Allow the cooker to cool naturally before opening.
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| Cooked corned beef in pressure cooker |
To cook salt beef/ corned beef on stovetop:
Place the meat in a large pot/ dutch oven which has a lid. Sprinkle in the remaining dry pickling spice. Add cold, fresh water to completely cover the meat. Water level can be up to one inch over the meat. Bring to a boil. Once boiling, cover the pot and reduce the heat to low so that the meat is just about simmering. Cook for 3-4 hours.
To cooksalt beef/ corned beefin Instant Pot:
Add 3 cups of cold, fresh water to the Instant Pot. Place the trivet inside. Place the meat on the trivet and sprinkle on the remaining dry pickling spice. Close and lock the lid. Turn venting knob to sealing position. Select high pressure and cook for 90 minutes. Allow approximately 15 minutes after cooking time for a natural release. Then turn venting knob to venting position and open the lid carefully.
To cooksalt beef/ corned beefin a crock pot:
Place the meat in a crock pot and sprinkle it with the remaining dry pickling spice. Cover the meat with fresh, cold water. Cover the crock pot and cook on low for 7-8 hours.
STEP 6: Slice the meat
The way you slice the meat is very important.
Firstly, allow the meat to rest for at least one hour before cutting it. If not, all the lovely juices will run out of the meat when you cut it and you will be left with dry salted beef.
Secondly, after removing as much of the fat cap as you like (brisket has a large portion of fat), be sure to cut against the grain of the meat. If you look at the picture below, you will see the grain running in long strands from left to right. Hold your knife to make a 'T' against this grain and slice the salted beef in thin slices. This will give you soft, succulent slices rather than long, stringy, chewy pieces.
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| Time to make a sandwich! |
Recipe adapted fromSimply Recipes
Check out my my other Anglo Indian or Global inspired recipes by clicking on "ANGLO INDIAN" or "GLOBAL" below.
