Row­ley Leigh’s Spiced Beef

(serves 10 at least)

1 2‑kilogram piece of brisket, with fat but no sinew or membrane
100 grams Demer­ara sugar
15 grams saltpetre
125 rock or sea salt
30 grams black peppercorns
15 grams allspice
15 grams juniper berries

Rub the beef with the sug­ar, top and bot­tom, cov­er with cling­film and refrig­er­ate overnight. The next day, grind the spices coarse­ly in a mor­tar and pes­tle or in a food proces­sor and com­bine with the salt and salt­pe­tre. Rub this mix­ture vig­or­ous­ly into the meat, cov­er again with film and refrig­er­ate for 10 days, turn­ing the meat from time to time and ensur­ing it is even­ly exposed to the cur­ing mixture.

After 10 days, remove the meat from its brine and rinse off any adher­ing spices. Place the meat in a tight-fit­ting casse­role with two inch­es of water. Cov­er with grease­proof paper and the lid of the casse­role. Place in a mod­er­ate oven 150C for three hours so that it gen­tly steams and braises.

Remove the meat from the oven and leave to cool in the casse­role. Once cool, remove to a dish and place a weight­ed plate ‑four tins of toma­toes is the usu­al pre­scrip­tion — on top. Refrig­er­ate overnight. The next day, serve the meat cold, in thin slices.