Title: Jane Grigson's English Brine
Categories: Pork Preserve Meat British
Yield: 1 Recipe

7	pt	Water
1 1/2	lb	Sea or coarse salt
1	lb	Dark brown sugar
2	oz	Saltpeter
1		Bayleaf
1		Sprig thyme
10		Juniper berries; crushed
10		Peppercorns; crushed

Boil hard for 5 minutes. Leave to cool. Clean crock or bucket and lid with soda dissolved in boiling water, rinse well, and leave to DRAIN dry. Pour in cold brine, though a muslin lined strainer. Immerse the meat (duck, pork, beef, mutton) and keep it below the surface by laying a piece of boiled wood, or scrupulously clean plate on top. Cover and keep in a dry place at a temperature below 60øF Salting time. ============ This depends on the thickness of the meat. Trotters, 24 hrs, a leg of pork can take 10 days. NB. Joints required for roasting rather than boiling will be improved by a 12 hour soak in brine, without tasting too salty afterwards.

In home conditions, in a cool larder, meat can be kept in brine for up to a fortnight or three weeks, sometimes longer. The moments islands of white mould begin to float on the surface, remove meat and throw away the brine. The crock will need washing in boiling soda again. The meat will be OK.

Recipe Charcuterie and French Pork Cookery - Jane Grigson

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