Foods of England - Corned Beef

Corned Beef

Meat and Meat Dishes

Salted beef joint. Known at least since Robert Burton’s ‘The anatomy of melancholy‘ of 1621; “Beefe..corned, yong, of an oxe.” (OED)

Old-fashioned salt beef is only locally encountered, largely in the south, in traditional butchers in England, but is still commonplace in North America and occasionally in Ireland. The stuff in cans is more properly ‘bully beef‘

Original Receipt from ‘Cassell’s Dictionary of Cookery‘ (Cassell 1883)

Beef, Corned.
Lay a large round of beef into a good pickle. Let it remain for ten days or more, turning it every day. Put it into a stewpan with sufficient water to cover it, and let it boil very gently until it is thoroughly done. Corned beef is often smoked before it is boiled. Allow half an hour to the pound after it has come to a boil.
Probable cost, 1s. per pound.

Originally ‘corned’ just meant salted, the ‘corns’ being the grains of salt, so Corned Beef can be the sort of whole, salted, beef joints used to make boiled beef and carrots.

Old-style Corned Beef
Image: www.vivianolds.co.uk

MORE FROM Foods of England...
Cookbooks ● Diary ● Index ● Magic Menu ● Random ● Really English? ● Timeline ● Donate ● Royalty ● English Service ● Food Map of England ● Lost Foods ● Accompaniments ● Biscuits ● Breads ● Cakes and Scones ● Cheeses ● Classic Meals ● Curry Dishes ● Dairy ● Drinks ● Egg Dishes ● Fish ● Fruit ● Fruits & Vegetables ● Game & Offal ● Meat & Meat Dishes ● Pastries and Pies ● Pot Meals ● Poultry ● Preserves & Jams ● Puddings & Sweets ● Sauces and Spicery ● Sausages ● Scones ● Soups ● Sweets and Toffee ● About ... ● Bookshop ●

Email: [email protected]