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
- 1 kg lean meat- rump or brisket
- 500 g rock salt
- 1 tbsp cracked pepper corn
- 1 tbsp cloves- whole
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Prepare salt mix in a bowl by mixing the salt,cracked black pepper and cloves and keep.
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Slice the meat about 1 cm thick and rub salt mix on both sides of the sliced beef. Avoid incising the meat further, because when you will ultimately shred it for cooking it may fall apart into small pieces.
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Place the sliced beef 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. Salt inhibits the growth of micro-organisms by drawing water out of microbial cells through osmosis.
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After the first day, refrigerate the salted meat for about 3 to 4 days. Turn 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.
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The next step is to partially dehydrate the meat. Remove the slices from the tray or bowl and place them flat , a layer high, in a dehydrator for a few hours. Or you may choose to place the cured slices outside in the summer sun for two days. Your dried salted meat should still be pliable and not too dry.
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Once done, place in a zip bag and freeze.
The reason why you need to use lean cuts is to limit the amount of fat, which, because it cannot be penetrated by the salt solution, will oxidize and become rancid.
If you choose to place the salted beef outside in the sun, you will need to protect it from pests and insects. Your cloth-line is an ideal location for such a project! Place the cured beef on a tray and cover 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.
For this recipe,we do not use any saltpeter because we are not salting a large quantity of meat and also because the drying process, as well as the ultimate freezing, are enough to preserve the meat for quite a while.
You may decide to add extra spices to your salt mix. 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.