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This is an old recipe, one that our ancestors knew well when they did not have a local meat market to drop by. This is a good way to store the meat from a large animal that has been killed and butchered if you do not have a fridge or a freezer handy. Corned meat is excellent survival food, and is also very, very good eating.
Corned meat is done in a large crock or barrel, and is best when it cures at fairly cold temperatures. A root cellar or cave is good, but anywhere the temperature is relatively cool and even will do. If it is rather warm where you are corning the meat, add an extra half pound of salt. Kill your animal, bleed it well, and cool it as well and as quickly as you can. If you can leave the animal hang in a cool spot for a day or two to a couple three weeks, so much the better. Then bone the meaty parts of the animal that you want to corn and cut the meat into regular shaped pieces, big enough for a meal or two. Put the pieces loosely into the crock or barrel, and cover well with a brine made of:
- 10 oz sugar
- 2 oz sodium nitrate, opt, see below
- 1/2 oz sodium nitrite
- 3 lb salt
- 2 Tbl black peppercorns
- 1 tsp cloves
- 6 large bay leaves
- 4 Tbl mixed pickling spices
- small handful garlic cloves
- enough water to make six gallons
Make more brine if needed to cover meat well. Place a weighted clean plate on meat to keep it under the brine and cover the container with light cloth to keep out bugs. Stir the meat around a bit every few days. Keep the crock as close to a steady 38 degrees as you can. If you must keep it in a warmer place, for every 15 degrees average temperature above 38 degrees, add one more pound of salt to brine. The nitrate and nitrite above is optional, and mostly used to give the meat a nice red color. If you plan to store the meat for a long time and crowded in the crock, a bit of nitrate, a couple teaspoons per six gallons of brine, will eliminate any possibility of botulism. Under normal conditions, this possibility is zero. The corned meat is ready to eat after 12- 15 days of curing. Wash well, put in pot and simmer slowly until nice and tender.
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