§ 38. Dried Beef
The round and shoulders are the parts most commonly used for dried beef. The pieces should be cut with the grain, so that the muscle fibers will be cut crosswise when the dried beef is sliced for table use. It should be cut in about the same sizes as for corned beef, and packed in vessels in the same manner. The pickle should be made as follows: for each one hundred pounds of meat, weigh out six pounds table salt, three pounds of granulated sugar, and two ounces of saltpeter. Mix these pieces thoroughly. Before the meat is placed in the jar, each piece should be well rubbed with the spice mixture. Dissolve the remainder of the spices in four gallons of boiled water that has been allowed to cool. Pour this pickle solution over the meat in the jar until it is completely covered. Weight the meat down, as in the case with corned beef. The pickle solution should be watched and, in the case of tendency to become ropy, should be handled as in corning beef.
After ten days, the meat should be removed from the pickle and hung up in an airy out-house to drip and dry. When dry, which should be in about 24 hours, it can be smoked, as in the case of smoking ham. The drier the climate, the more easily can the meat be dried and smoked. It is difficult to dry and smoke meat in the Canton region unless done in December and January, before the rains begin.