1903 The still-room by C. Roundell

The StilLRoom

In cooking pickled or salted meat, two things must be recollected. First, that, in order to make salted meat tender, it must be put into cold water when first placed on the fire. Secondly, that it is next to impossible to cook salted meat too slowly. Spiced Round of Beef, — Procure a round of beef weighing from thirty-five to forty pounds ; remove the bone, and lay the beef in a stone pan. Well rub into the meat all over (not omitting the sides of the round as well as the top and bottom) a mixture made of four pounds of salt, two pounds of coarse brown sugar, a quarter of a pound of saltpetre, and two ounces of sal prunella from the chemist. Turn the beef every day, and well rub into it the brine which it makes. Let it remain in pickle for one month. When ready for cooking, let the beef be closely bound into shape with coarse webbing. Lay it in a large kettle or pot, and cover the beef with broth as cold as it can be to remain liquid. Add plenty of rough vegetables, such as carrots, turnips, onions, and celery, all sliced. Dry in the oven a sufficient quantity of ginger, cloves, mace, and peppercorns to make two ounces of each when dried and pounded fine in a mortar. Add these to the beef. Bring the broth slowly to a very gentle boil, and then keep it simmering very gently for twelve hours, turning the beef over at the end of six hours. It must on no account be allowed to boil, or it will be hard and tasteless. Remove the kettle from the fire, but let the beef remain in it 24