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📝 Description
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🥘 Ingredients
2 lbs. of treacle, 1/2 lb. of saltpetre, 1 lb. of bay-salt, 2 pounds of common salt.
👨🍳 Method
Two days before they are put into pickle, rub the hams well with salt, to draw away all slime and blood. Throw what comes from them away, and then rub them with treacle, saltpetre, and salt. Lay them in a deep pan, and let them remain one day; boil the above proportion of treacle, saltpetre, bay-salt, and common salt for 1/4 hour, and pour this pickle boiling hot over the hams: there should be sufficient of it to cover them. For a day or two rub them well with it; afterwards they will only require turning. They ought to remain in this pickle for 3 weeks or a month, and then be sent to be smoked, which will take nearly or quite a month to do. An ox-tongue pickled in this way is most excellent, to be eaten either green or smoked.
📜 From Mrs Beeton's Book of Household Management (1861). Public domain.
⭐ Reader Reviews
Honest opinions from readers who have explored this book.
I tried my hand at making Mrs. Beeton's pickled ham, and let me tell you, it was a journey. I expected a sweet and salty concoction, but what surprised me was the depth of flavor the bay-salt brought to the mix. It added an earthy, slightly floral note that cut through the richness of the treacle and the sharpness of the saltpetre. I found the process itself to be quite meditative, rubbing down the ham and letting it cure over the weeks. This recipe is definitely for the patient weeknight cook who wants to dive deep into the art of curing. The wait is worth it — the final product was incredibly tender and packed with complex flavors. I served it thinly sliced with a simple mustard sauce, and it was a hit. Next time, I'll try my hand at pickling an ox-tongue, as Mrs. Beeton suggested. It's amazing how a recipe from 1861 can still delight and surprise in the modern kitchen.
