English(?) Round Beef
Posted: Sun Feb 26, 2012 3:41 pmThis is a recipe from a Swedish cookbook from 1918. I don't know how English the recipe actually is, but it sure came out delicious, both hot and cold!
I calculated three days of curing time per centimeter of thickness, which was too short (see the picture below). It don't think it affected the taste though, but it would have affected its lasting properties if I hadn't cooked it at once. I recommend five days of curing per cm, which should suffice.
Recipe
For curing
2 kg lean beef, in one piece, trimmed (in US it's the tougher part of the round, in UK,it's the silverside)
60 g salt including cure
30 g dark sugar (e.g. Muscovado)
2 tbsp juniper berries
1 tbsp white pepper
1 tbsp black pepper
1 tbsp allspice
For cooking
The cured meat (above)
Water
2 onions, peeled and quartered
1 large carrot, in chunks
1 piece of root celery equal to the amount of carrot (or a few stalks ordinary celery)
1 small piece of parsnip (optional)
1 leek, green part only
2 cloves garlic
1 large bunch parsley stalks
3 bay leaves
1 tsp dried thyme
1 tsp peppercorns
Method
Crush or grind all the spices. Measure the thickness of the cut of meat. Rub the meat throrughly with half the cure and spices. Cover and keep refrigerated (0-4 C). Pour off the juices that form. Apply the rest of the cure and spices after four days. Calculate five days of total curing time per centimeter of thickness.
Rinse and scrape off the spices. Tie the meat nicely. Put in a pot and add the vegetables listed above. Add water to cover. No salt. Slowly bring to a boil and let simmer on low heat until the meat is tender (depending on the meat, this takes 1½ - 3 hours or more).
Carefully examine the direction of the fibres in the meat and slice at an angle across the fibres, so that they get as short as possible. Long fibres in boiled meat, that tend to get stuck between the teeth, are very unpalatable.
Either serve hot with e.g. mashed potatoes, mustard and horseradish; or let cool and slice thinly, like pastrami.
The stock can be strained. It makes an excellent base for a soup.
Some pictures
Spices, salt and sugar:
Ground:
Measuring the thickness:
Half of it rubbed into the meat:
19 days later. Cleaned and tied:
In the pot:
Part of it served hot, with a potato and celery purée, mustard, wild horseradish and cornichons (Note: the meat was not cured through after 19 days, which is clearly visible here. I revised the recipe accordingly):
The rest thinly sliced:
I calculated three days of curing time per centimeter of thickness, which was too short (see the picture below). It don't think it affected the taste though, but it would have affected its lasting properties if I hadn't cooked it at once. I recommend five days of curing per cm, which should suffice.
Recipe
For curing
2 kg lean beef, in one piece, trimmed (in US it's the tougher part of the round, in UK,it's the silverside)
60 g salt including cure
30 g dark sugar (e.g. Muscovado)
2 tbsp juniper berries
1 tbsp white pepper
1 tbsp black pepper
1 tbsp allspice
For cooking
The cured meat (above)
Water
2 onions, peeled and quartered
1 large carrot, in chunks
1 piece of root celery equal to the amount of carrot (or a few stalks ordinary celery)
1 small piece of parsnip (optional)
1 leek, green part only
2 cloves garlic
1 large bunch parsley stalks
3 bay leaves
1 tsp dried thyme
1 tsp peppercorns
Method
Crush or grind all the spices. Measure the thickness of the cut of meat. Rub the meat throrughly with half the cure and spices. Cover and keep refrigerated (0-4 C). Pour off the juices that form. Apply the rest of the cure and spices after four days. Calculate five days of total curing time per centimeter of thickness.
Rinse and scrape off the spices. Tie the meat nicely. Put in a pot and add the vegetables listed above. Add water to cover. No salt. Slowly bring to a boil and let simmer on low heat until the meat is tender (depending on the meat, this takes 1½ - 3 hours or more).
Carefully examine the direction of the fibres in the meat and slice at an angle across the fibres, so that they get as short as possible. Long fibres in boiled meat, that tend to get stuck between the teeth, are very unpalatable.
Either serve hot with e.g. mashed potatoes, mustard and horseradish; or let cool and slice thinly, like pastrami.
The stock can be strained. It makes an excellent base for a soup.
Some pictures
Spices, salt and sugar:
Ground:
Measuring the thickness:
Half of it rubbed into the meat:
19 days later. Cleaned and tied:
In the pot:
Part of it served hot, with a potato and celery purée, mustard, wild horseradish and cornichons (Note: the meat was not cured through after 19 days, which is clearly visible here. I revised the recipe accordingly):
The rest thinly sliced:
