Salted beef – bef sale

Salted beef or bef sale is prepared from thin slices of rump or brisket and flavoured with cracked pepper and cloves. Salting is a method that was traditionally used in the Seychelles to preserve  beef for future use.

Salted Beef and salted Green turtle meat- What is the relationship ?

Some historical trivia first

The green turtle (Chelonia Mydas) or torti was a valuable resource to the Seychellois having contributed to the nutritional, economic and cultural fabric of the islands. It was an extremely important source of protein for the Seychellois from time of the settlement of the islands until 1994 when it became fully protected under the Wild Animals (Turtle) Protection Regulations.

Most of the green turtles were harvested around the outlying islands and ,  because the live turtles were quite heavy to ship from the outlying islands and also took a lot of space on the schooners, most of the meat was salted and packed in barrels and then shipped to Mahé.

Kitouz, fokitouz and  kitoza !

The salted turtle meat is locally called kitouz. It was considered a major delicacy and cooked primarily as a coconut curry with brenzel or aubergine. In fact, the two ingredients marry so well together that it has coined a local Creole expression ‘tou kitouz y annan son brinzel’, meaning, “everyone finds his/her perfect match”.

As the harpooning or harvesting and eating of turtles is now illegal, and salted turtle meat   will not find its place on our dining table any more, salted beef is a good alternative and, when cooked with coconut milk and aubergine, is reminicent to salted turtle meat. This is why it is at times known as fokitouz meaning  ‘false kitouz’.

Interestingly enough, the word kitouz could have derived from the Malagasy word ‘kitoza’ which is  a traditional Malagasy meat product made mainly from beef strips of 20 to 50 cm long and 2 to 4 cm wide, salted and then dried and/or smoked for preservation. It was previously prepared for kings and nobles. This method of meat preservation would have been introduced to the Seychelles by the Malagasy slaves in the early days of settlement.

Salting beef in Seychelles

Beef was rarely salted  in the Seychelles. The main reason was that there were very few cows being reared on the islands and any local cow that was slaughtered was sold out on the same day. This is still the case to-day. However, sometimes a cow or  bull would be put down on one of the outlying islands  and  because of the quantity of meat involved and because  there was no way to get the meat to the inner islands in time, the meat had to be salted to be able to be transported on the first available schooner.

Apart from being salted, the meat was also sun-dried to ensure longevity. It would then be packed in gunny bags and shipped. The workers of the outlying islands had to be very conversant with the salting process as a means of preserving fish and meat. In fact it was part of life on the outlying islands as well as being a major source of income. It was a way to ensure consistent supply of protein; and fish, birds , green turtles, pork were all salted. Most were shipped by schooners to Mahé Island to be sold in the local markets and some were even exported. Some were also kept for local consumption as well as used on long fishing trips. Currently, only fish is salted on the outlying islands and transported to Mahé.

How does the salting work?

The two main ingredients that must be used to salt or cure meat are salt, and nitrates and nitrites, with salt being  the primary ingredient.  Salting consists of two steps, firstly the physical addition of the salt and secondly the absorption of the salt into the meat. As the meat absorbs the salt, the structure of the protein changes and the osmotic properties of the meat are altered which kills a lot of the microorganisms.

The use of Saltpeter

The other ingredients that are also used to salt or cure meat is nitrites or nitrates which are either a potassium or a sodium salt. The nitrates, also known as saltpetre, and locally known as salpet, derives from from the French ‘salpêtre’, which is a naturally occurring chemical that is widely used as a food preservative. Excessive use of saltpeter is harmful to health and should therefore be used as directed on the label. 

Saltpeter imparts a bright reddish, pink color, which is desirable in a cured product. In addition to the colour role, it has a pronounced effect on flavour by acting as powerful antioxidants. Antioxidants are compounds that prevent the development of oxidative rancidity, which would reduce the keeping quality. It also prevents the growth of a food poisoning microorganism known as Clostridium botulimum, the bacteria that causes botulism.

No Salpeter in this recipe

We do not use any saltpeter in this recipe, for the simple reason that it is of a small quality; the cured meat will ultimately be partially dehydrated and then frozen; and there is also no need to enhance the colour of the salted beef.

However, when meat is salted in large quantities, as was the case on most outlying islands, the Seychellois will definitely add saltpeter, because the meat had to be stored for a considerable time.  It was traditionally kept in a potis which is a large earthenware jar, shown below, and left in a dark corner or cupboard or bife.

Some sugar is also, at times, added to the salting process. It serves two purposes. First of all, it adds extra flavour, and secondly, it counteracts the harshness of salt.

Uses for salted meat

Although today we still cure meat, it is not done to preserve it as such, but to savour the unique flavour that can be achieved by the process and the different dishes that can be made from them. Salted meat is  very versatile  and is used in a large variety of dishes including in fricase   with young pumpkin; pilaf rice and curries; stir-fry with marsh spinach; cooked in lentils; cooked in a coconut curry with breadnut seeds or jackfruit seeds ; curried with raw pawpaw, the list  is endless.

Cold smoking of salted beef

In days gone by, some households would smoke some of the cured beef by hanging it over the hearth or foye so that the smoke that originated from the daily cooking of the meals would add a faint smoke flavour to the meat.

Salting the beef

Salted beef or bef sale is not to be readily available these days, so why not make your own,  and this is how: 

Access you preferred meat cut

Buy about 1 kg of lean meat, rump or even brisket is fine. It would be a waste to salt your fine cuts like the sirloin or fillet. The reason that you need to use lean cuts is to limit the amount of fat, which cannot be penetrated by the salt solution. Fat will consequently oxidize and become rancid.

Prepare the salt mix

Prepare enough salt mix to cover the surfaces for your sliced meat. The traditional mix is simply made up of salt, like cracked peppercorns and cloves.  You may decide to be creative and add some other spices like coriander seeds, bay leaves and mustard seeds.  But bear in mind that your salted beef will be boiled and washed before you cook it and that most of the  effect of the extra spices will be lost.

Prepare your Meat

Slice the meat about 1 cm thick and rub the salt mix on both sides of the sliced beef. Avoid incising the meat further, because the meat will, most of the time, be boiled and then ‘pulled’ or manually shredded before cooking.  If you incise the meat, it may fall into small pieces when ‘pulled’. Place the salted meat in a stainless steel or glass container. You can stack them on each other. Cover with cling film and leave in a cool place for one day to allow the salt to work.  

After the first day, you leave them in the same container or transfer them in a zipped bag and refrigerate for about 3 days, and turning the meat over every day so that the salt and the brine that has formed can penetrate the meat properly.  By the end of the third day, the beef would have been well cured. The advantage of the zip bag is that it makes it easier for you to turn the meat over without creating any mess.

Dehydrating the salted beef

The next step is to partially dehydrate the beef. Remove the slices from the tray or the zip bag, place them, in a dehydrator, one layer high, for a few hours. Or, as was traditionally done, you may choose to place the cured slices outside in the summer or tropical sun for two days. If you choose to place them outside in the sun, you will need to protect them from pests and insects. Your cloth-line is an ideal location for such a project! Place the tray of cured beef on a tray and cover it with some lace cloth and place it on top of your cloth-line! Traditionally they were placed on a tartar, which is a table with chicken wire top located in the yard. Your dried salted meat should still be pliable and not too dry. You are not making biltong or beef jerky! Once done, place in a zip bag and freeze. It will last for a very long time.

As already mentioned, for this recipe of salted beef or bef sale, we do not use any saltpeter for this dry salting process because we are not salting a large quantity and also because the drying process as well as the ultimate freezing are enough to preserve the meat for quite a while.

In the next post, we will discuss how to curry the salted beef or bef sale in coconut milk and aubergine.

Here is your recipe for Salted Beef- Bef Sale

Did you make this recipe?

I hope you will enjoy cooking this dish. Please let me know how it turned out for you. If you have a different version of the recipe or have related questions, please leave your comments below.

LEAVE A COMMENT
Your email address will not be published