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Hunter's Round, or Spiced Beef

A historical recipe from Housekeeping in Old Virginia, by Marion Cabell Tyree (1878).

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A historical recipe

Housekeeping in Old Virginia, by Marion Cabell Tyree (1878). Project Gutenberg eBook #42450.

From an old book: a historical recipe, not current advice. Its methods, additives and storage may be unsafe by today's standards. Its words name: curing or salting meat. Check current food-safety guidance before following this.

United States

Known as an American recipe, with similar versions prepared across other nations.

  • Curing. Old curing amounts and salts may be unsafe. Use current tested guidance.

Ingredients 5 ingredients

  1. 3 ounces saltpetre
  2. 1 ounce cloves
  3. 1 ounce nutmeg
  4. 1 ounce allspice
  5. 1 pint salt

Cook safely

Keep children and pets away from the hob and the oven, and keep oven gloves and a lid within reach.

  • Oven and hot trays. Use dry oven gloves for trays and dishes: a hot tray looks just like a cold one. Open the oven door away from your face and let the first rush of heat out.
  • Sharp knives. Cut on a board that doesn't slip (a damp cloth under it helps), and curl the fingers of the hand that holds the food.

Method

  1. To a round of beef that weighs twenty-five pounds, take the following: 3 ounces saltpetre.
  2. 1 ounce cloves.
  3. 1 ounce nutmeg.
  4. 1 ounce allspice.
  5. 1 pint salt.
  6. Let the round of beef hang in a cool, dry place twenty-four hours.
  7. Take out the bone, and fill the space with suet and spices mixed.
  8. Rub the above ingredients all over the round;
  9. put in a wooden box or tub, turn it over occasionally and rub a small quantity of salt on it.
  10. Let it remain three weeks.
  11. Then make a stiff paste of flour and water, cover the round with it and set in the oven.
  12. Bake three hours slowly.
  13. Remove the paste when cold, and trim neatly the rough outside, and slice horizontally.
  14. Served only when cold.--Mrs.
  15. W.
  16. A.
  17. S.

Plating

Cookware for this recipe

  • Chef's knife
  • Cutting board
  • Spatula
Source Public domain in the USA
Credit

From Housekeeping in Old Virginia, by Marion Cabell Tyree (1878). Digitised by Project Gutenberg, eBook #42450 (https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/42450). Public domain in the USA; its status may differ elsewhere.

What was changed: As printed, from the book's text; Project Gutenberg's header and licence removed. Ingredient lines were read out of the text by a program. A historical recipe, not current advice.