Trying to find a good source for Salt Beef.

[Spinster]

Rubbermaid trunks with a good tight lid.

[Marine Mike]

One that doesn't leak. I lucked into a 3 gal. crock. Jas. Townsend and Son shows oak barrels in his videos. New wood barrels may initially leak so you may have to soak the barrel as a first step. I don't think you can get cheaper then Rubbermaid style tubs as Mrs. Lawson has suggested.
The meat needs to be weighted to stay in the brine.

[dogcompanylt]

I would imagine a nice stone crock would work, my family has one we use to make sour krout in. I am hoping to make a batch of salt pork here in the next few weeks in it to see how it turns out.
However, I would imagine that one could use a tupperware dish that was deep enough to hold all said pork and salt/brine.
In fact I might try half of the pork im going to use in the crock and half in tupperware to see which gets better results.
Hope this works.
Ryan Gray

[dixieflyer]

Thanks folks, the plastic "tubs" by Rubbermaid had crossed my mind.

[Spinster]

Warren,

Lets make sure we are all on the same page before somebody makes an expensive mistake -there are so many styles of tubs.

The 'Roughneck' line has a lid that dips down into the rim of the tub, wrapping it inside and out. It does not just sit on top with those snap on handles. This enables you to put in meat, salt, brine, and a weight to sink, and take brine right to the rim, with a bit overflowing as you pop the lid in tight. This gives a good airless seal. Oh, and set that bad boy exactly where you want it in a cool dry place Before you load it.

Prior to using, the Rubbermaid container should be scrubbed out with soap, shocked with bleach and rinsed well. Most plastic containers are exposed to pesticide or deliberately treated in the manufacturing process. If you are ambitious, go to a restaurant supply house and purchase food-grade containers instead.

Once event time comes, a few days before, transfer the meat to a well soaked and sanitized barrel and fit the head back on, making sure you have plenty of brine.

Don't forget, the regs say you can only pack one hog head per barrel to meet quartermaster specs. I don't know how the quartermaster feels about cow heads.

[dixieflyer]

Thanks Tere!

[dogcompanylt]

I do not mean to revert back to salt pork, but I guess this could also be asked of salt beef.
I am just wondering do you soak your piece of meat in water to get the brine out a day or two before you take it to an event?
Then you would just throw it in a poke sack for the event?
I would ask this of a mess mate, but I am currently not a member of any yet.

All help is more then welcomed.
Ryan Gray

[Pvt Schnapps]

I do not mean to revert back to salt pork, but I guess this could also be asked of salt beef.
I am just wondering do you soak your piece of meat in water to get the brine out a day or two before you take it to an event?
Then you would just throw it in a poke sack for the event?
I would ask this of a mess mate, but I am currently not a member of any yet.

All help is more then welcomed.
Ryan Gray

That's probably what you should do to make it edible, and in fact Sir Garnet Wolseley ("Soldier's Pocket Book" 1871) recommends soaking it at least eight hours, preferably over night. But once you've done that it's no longer preserved.

That's one of the problems with issuing salt meats at events. They take time to prepare, unless you want to eat extremely salty food. (Though Billings, in Hardtack and Coffee, mentions sandwiches of uncooked salt pork between two pieces of hardtack). There's a reason soldiers were ordered to take several days of "cooked rations."

Alternatively, Horace Kephart in "Camp Cookery" (1910) recommends parboiling salt pork, or soaking it at least an hour in cold water. The smaller the pieces, the more effective this will be. This you can do in the field without too much trouble if you get the time.

Another approach is to forget about salt pork or salt beef, for which the armies often supplanted beef on the hoof. Instead, try getting the cheapest, leanest cut of beef you can find and simmer it (at home) in a mix of three or four parts water to apple cider vinegar (enough to cover the pieces). This will cook and tenderize the meat, as well as preserve it to some degree. If you're concerned about spoilage over the weekend, cheat and freeze it ahead of time. It will thaw by the time you want it and can be broiled or boiled again.

[dixieflyer]

Many moons ago, during an Atlanta Campaign event, our mess decided to recreate the rations as indicated to us in the journals and diaries of the Federal soldiers we were portraying which was fresh beef on the hoof. One of our number procured a beef shoulder and iced it down in the trunk of his car. When he arrived at the event on a Thursday night, they cut it up and issued it out to all the members who had to immediately cook and consume it that night, and subsist on nothing more than hardtack and coffee for the next three days. No problem as this was in keeping with those we were portraying as they complained of having to do this in their writings.

Just an alternative.

[Spinster]

To speed the process of dealing with salt meat, the Federal Issue Mess Kettle is an ideal vessel for the purpose.

Chunk the meat into palm sized portions, and set to boil. Boil one hour. Change the water. Boil one hour. Change the water. About the third change of water takes care of the task. It's still salty, but in amounts a man needs in campaign weather.

Now, the last time I saw this done was the salt meat issued to the Western Brigade for At High Tide. At the time, it seemed like the Fires of Hell had gotten up on that sultry June night. They started boiling about dark and quit about midnight, using about 18 kettles with each group of men tending their own.

It was good meat when Charles dumped the barrel off the truck, and still good on Sunday when I scooped some with my hand as I'd already packed the officers mess gear.

I never heard who got the frog. Of course, it was dark.....