Monday 27 September 2010

Corned Beef, or 1 other thing to do with unused gunpowder.

First of all, apologies for this 'Lifestyle' post being over here, but I wanted to get the taste of haunted houses out of my mouth. So here is a recipe (of sorts).

When I was in Cornwall a week ago, we had a few dinners in a local hotel, and one of them had a starter which was home cured corned beef. It was bloody fantastic - forget Fray Bentos tinned stuff, this corned beef is nothing like it. It is lean, pink and - above all - one of the most sympathetic things you can do with the carcass of a bovine, if you are going to be bothered with killing it in the first place. It has to be tasted to be appreciated, so I am hoping that the process that I have started tonight will - in 3 weeks time - produce a product which is similar to that wot I scoffed in Cornwall.

Since the chef at the Garrack Hotel refused to come out of his lair to speak to me, I had to do a little research about proper corned beef, and the first thing I discovered was to do with the name. The 'Corned' part of has nothing to do with cereal, it is an old English term for small granules, which is the form they used the salt in when curing. So that's that cleared up.

I won't go into the entire recipe tonight, but I will mention that it includes the ingredient Salt Petre, otherwise known as Potassium Nitrate. It just so happens that I have a lot of potassium nitrate, as it is used in the manufacture of gunpowder. (I made my own gunpowder once - or tried to). Salt Petre has been used for years in the curing of bacon, but has recently got a bad press for causing cancer and impotence, neither of which particularly bother me at present, on the grounds that I have been eating the stuff for years, and I have had more erections than I have had bouts of cancer, but time will tell if I am suffering from overconfidence, or something more serious. The S.P. stops the meat from turning a dead grey colour, and keeps it nice and pink, like undertakers try do with us humans when the time comes. It's only a pinch anyway, and will get washed out as much as possible, then boiled far ages.

To cut a long story short (for the time being) The above picture is of my bits of brisket, quietly soaking up the carcinogens, and waiting to be turned into one of the best forms of cured beef that Britain produces.

I will let you know in about 3 weeks time, when I pull the jar out of the cupboard, boil the contents for about 3 hours, then drain and cool.

11 comments:

  1. I've just realised that the photo looks like upside-down, pickled Pixie, but that's just two peppercorns and a garlic clove. Relax (unless you're a cow...).

    ReplyDelete
  2. Not the prettiest picture I have ever seen...but I'm curious how it all turns out.
    I remember making beef tea for a friend who was very sick a few years ago...that was pretty ugly to look at too.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Hello, Tom. Will you be bringing this to the Willow Manor Ball? Or will you be marketing it? I absolutely love corned beef! I also watched A Canterbury Tale for the first time last summer! I think Michael Powell was defnintely a first editon when it comes to directing. (I have been a big fan of I KNOW WHERE I'M GOING for many years.) I am going to enjoy reading more of your posts, I can tell.

    ReplyDelete
  4. Well Tom, you are one mixed bag of a man. I never know what you will be up to next. From making your own gun powder to corned beef....we are always entertained.

    ReplyDelete
  5. Your ugly friend was sick, Jacqueline? How was he/she after the beef tea?

    Welcome, FireLight! No, this will be for home consumption only - like the poisonous mushrooms. I'm so glad that you like the Powell and Pressburger fims - aren't they magic? I think I have most of them on DVD, and 'Black Narcissus' is another favourite. I had the good fortune of meeting (sort of) Jack Cardiff a few years ago, before he died (of course). As you must know, he was their preferred cameraman, who also shot films like 'Amazon Queen', etc. 'I Know Where I'm Going' is one we watch about 5 times a year. I think I have memorised the entire script. "Tobermory calling, Tobermory calling, Tobermory calling". There you are - that's three lines I have remembered already!

    ReplyDelete
  6. Ha ha Raz! Who are you calling a mixed bag?????

    ReplyDelete
  7. Yes, indeed it is Leeds Castle, which I have yet to see on my own....this is a borrowed image with some touch ups! I do know that whenever there are black swan swimming on the water, that they have been imported from a little place down the road from me -- Merrytown, Alabama-- not far from the world class ASF (Alabama Shakespeare Festival). When the grounds manager was first stocking the pond in front of the ASF theatre...he put in a call to Leeds Castle to inquire about where they found their swan, and the man there directed him to a farm in Merrytown!! I understand that it is considered "the Lady's Castle" as so many women love its beauty! It is high on my list of castles for my next trip across the pond to Merry Olde England! Do tell me what you did there! I am intrigued!
    Click here for a visit to the ASF! http://www.asf.net/index.aspx

    ReplyDelete
  8. Well, the click may not work...just type it in! LOL

    ReplyDelete
  9. She took one look at the tea and threw up...not my finest friend-hour.

    ReplyDelete
  10. I presume the beef is soaking in brine? I wonder where you buy your saltpetre. I've tried to get hold of some for my paté making etc, but they just look at me as if I'm a terrorist.

    I used to make bombs when I was at school, we must swap recipes sometime.

    ReplyDelete
  11. I made (or helped to make) a 13 foot high grotesque mask in Welsh Tufa stone for the new Grotto there, Firelight. I was working for the sculptor Simon Verity at the time - he who did the letter-cutting for the English memorial garden at Ground Zero. He also made all the figures for the west front of St. John the Divine at NYC, which he started just after I stopped working for him. Leeds castle is where they holed up Ronald Regan on his last visit here. I've seen those black swans, FL - Nice to know they were your neighbors.

    You've inspired an explosive post, Cro. In it, I'll tell you about the salt petre. I would post you some, but you cannot (legally) send it through the post.

    ReplyDelete