To Dry Beef for Summer Use

Ingredients

• beef
• salt
• bran
• water

Instructions

1. Select beef pieces from a well-fatted animal in mid-February. Remove long ribs and saw off backbones as close as possible so the piece lies flat. Salt the beef as directed and allow it to rest for one fortnight. Transfer to brine and keep for three weeks. Remove from brine and wipe thoroughly dry. Rub all over with bran. Hang in a cool, dry, dark place, suspended so it does not touch anything, to protect from flies. Over the summer, examine occasionally and after prolonged wet weather, lay in the sun for a few hours. Tongues may be dried the same way: pierce a small hole in the root, thread twine through it, and suspend.
2. Before use, soak the dried meat in a good quantity of water overnight. Boil in a large quantity of cold water, boiling steadily and skimming the pot until the bones are ready to fall out. For tongue, continue until the skin peels off easily. Remove the skin from both beef and tongue before serving.