Pickled Meats
Submitted by mdwright
Old-fashioned pickled beef tongue or pork cured with salt, pickling spices, brown sugar, and garlic. Dry-rubbed and refrigerated for weeks, then simmered low and slow until fork-tender.
YIELD
1 batchPREP
15 minCOOK
2 hrsREADY
1This is heritage charcuterie, the kind your great-grandmother made without a recipe card. A dry rub of salt, pickling spices, brown sugar, and minced garlic gets worked into beef tongue or pork, then the meat sits in the fridge turning weekly until it’s deeply cured.
Cooking is a two-water method: start in cold water, bring to a boil, discard that water, then start fresh. It sounds fussy but it removes the sharpest edge of the salt and gives you a cleaner, more rounded flavor in the finished braise.
Slice thin and serve cold, or use it in hash, sandwiches, or alongside braised greens.
Kitchen Tips
- Saltpeter (potassium nitrate) helps the meat retain its pink color during curing. It is traditional but optional; the flavor holds without it.
- Turning the meat once a week distributes the cure evenly. More often is fine.
- The meat is done when a fork slides in with no resistance, usually 2 hours of gentle simmering.
Ingredients
Directions
Mix the Salt, spices, Sugar and Garlic together.
Rub into the meat thoroughly.
Set into a pan, cover well and put into the refrigerator turning once a week or more.
To cook, put into cold Water and bring to a bOil.
Discard the first Water and cover the meat again with more cold Water, bring to a bOil and reduce the heat simmering gently until tender.
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