Spiced Salt Beef

Preamble
"This used to be a great Christmas dish all over the British Isles, and recipes come from Scotland, Wales, Ireland and England. The curing mixture is almost exactly the same as for mutton hams, but Elizabeth David adds juniper berries to the mixture itself, and has worked out an exact and successful method of cooking the joint."

Ingredients
5-6 lb Joint Of Silverside or Round cut and tied for pickling
3 oz Brown Sugar
1/2 oz Saltpetre
4 oz sea or kitchen Salt
1 oz Black Peppercorns
1/2 oz Allspice Berries
1 oz Juniper Berries

Method

First rub the beef all over with the sugar. Leave it for 2 days in a deep pot. Crush the other pickling ingredients together, and rub the beef over every day for 9 days (11 in all). The salt and so on turns liquid, but continue to rub it into the meat just the same. Keep the dish covered. (A large joint will need a proportionate increase in spices and in curing time - eg a 12 lb joint will take 16 days in all.)

To cook the beef, rinse quickly to remove bits of spice. Put it into a close fitting pot with about 8-10 oz water. Cover the top of the meat with shredded suet to keep it moist during cooking time. Fix on the lid with two layers of greaseproof paper or foil, so that the juices cannot evaporate. Bake in a very low oven, Mark 1, 275 degrees F, for 45-50 minutes per pound. Leave in the pot to cool undisturbed for 2-3 hours. Then remove it to a board (drain off all the fatty liquid first), cover it completely with greaseproof paper and put a 2-4 lb weight on top. Leave it for 24 hours. Serve with horseradish sauce and a green salad, or diced avocado pears with a vinaigrette, and wholemeal bread and butter or jacket potatoes.