small box each ground cloves and ground allspice (about 1 oz.?
1 1/2 cups salt 3/4 cup sugar 2 tablespoons saltpeter (optional; all it really does is keep the meat pink) 4 to 10 pounds of boneless beef. My mother uses chuck because she likes the taste; her grandmother used prime rib, boned, rolled, and tied. The tougher cuts work fine, since it gets sliced paper-thin in the end. In a non-reactive container (hereafter referred to as “the crock”, although a large bowl with a plate to cover works fine) large enough for all ingredients, mix the spices, salt and sugar. Rub the saltpeter into the beef, then drop it into the crock and rub the spice mixture into it. (You may want to use rubber gloves to save on scrubbing your hands.) Cover and set out from under foot; the garage works fine in the winter when this is traditionally done. Use the fridge if you’d rather. Every day for 7 to 14 days (depending on the size of the piece(s) of meat you’re curing), turn the meat and rub more of the spice mixture into it. After a day or so, the mixture will be wet f
