Homemade Salt Beef
, Updated Jun 28, 2025
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Making Salt Beef sounds intimidating but could not be easier and the results are pretty spectacular. Once you make this homemade salt beef recipe once you will be looking for excuses to make it again!
Make sure you check out my Homemade Pastrami recipe!
Ready to conquer Homemade Salt Beef? All you need is a little time and a handful of ingredients before you can enjoy delicious, tender salt beef you can be truly proud of!
I will let you into a little secret too… This recipe is so E A S Y. Really, really easy. My husband, who occasionally gets misty-eyed when remembering the Montreal smoked meat of his youth, was in food heaven!
We ate our salt beef piled-high on rye bread with mustard and pickles. It really was incredible and didn’t last longer than a day.
Here’s what you will need
Before you decide to make homemade salt beef there’s a few things you will need.
- A large container that can contain the submerged meat and brining liquid plus a weight (see below). A large plastic box is best or you can use the container of your slow cooker as I did. Make sure you check the container fits in your fridge before starting this recipe!
- To ensure meat is completely submerged and will remain submerged for the entire duration of the curing process you will need to weigh it down. Add a plate on top of the meat and weigh it down with something heavy like a water bottle.
- Salt: use pickling salt or kosher salt.
- Curing salt (Prague Powder No 1) – this is not essential to the recipe but will give the salt beef its characteristic pink-red colour. Read more about it below.
- Digital scales for accurate measuring
- Herbs and spices
Prague Powder No 1
Prague Powder No 1 is a curing salt which contains contains 6.25% sodium nitrite 93.75% salt. It is also called Instacure #1 or Pink Curing Salt #1. The brand is not important, so long as it contains 6.25% sodium Nitrite.
The usual ratio for this cure is 1 teaspoon of curing salt per 5lb (2.27kg) of meat, that is around 2.5g per 1kg of meat. However this rule does not apply to brining.
Since this recipe is using the curing salt diluted in water as a brining solution, 30g (2 tbsp) for 5 litres (1.3 gallons) of water is within the recommended limits for brining that’s up to 7 days, as in this recipe.
Prague Powder No.1 can be purchased on Amazon, but it is not essential to this recipe. However you must use it if you want the beef to have that characteristic pink/red colour. It is important that you weigh the curing salt accurately, so if you haven’t got a digital scale, now’s the time to invest in one.
NEED TO KNOW: Prague Powder is often coloured pink in order to distinguish it for regular salt – don’t confuse it with Himalayan Pink Salt! Curing salt prevents bacteria from forming and maintains the meat’s red colour. Always refer to the packet instructions to calculate precise amounts to use, bearing in mind the weight of the meat, length of brining process and amount of water.
HOW TO MAKE SALT BEEF
Full measurements and instructions can be found on the printable recipe card at the bottom of the page. Please take a look at the steps and video before attempting this recipe!
Brine the Beef for 7 Days
- PREPARE THE BRINING SOLUTION Dissolve the salt and Prague Powder in the hot water. Add all the spices and then top with cold water to cool the brining solution.
- BRINE THE BEEF Immerse the brisket in the cold brine, add a plate on top and use a weight to keep the meat submerged for the duration of the brining process. Store in the fridge for a week, turning the brisket every day to distribute the salt.
Cook the Salt Beef
- RINSE YOUR BEEF After 7 days, rinse the meat very, very thoroughly several using cold water. I find soaking the beef for a couple of hours is also helpful in removing the excess salt.
- COOK THE BEEF Place the beef in a large pot full of water and slowly bring to the boil. Simmer gently for 2-4 hours depending on size. Alternatively cook in an Instant Pot with 4 cups of water for 70 minutes and allow for natural release.
- SERVE YOUR SALT BEEF Once meat is tender remove from pot and transfer to a warm dish. Slice thinly (only slice as much as you need) and serve piled high on rye bread with mustard and pickles. You can warm the sliced salt beef in the microwave before making the sandwiches.
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Have you made my Salt Beef Recipe? Post a photo on my Facebook page, share it on Instagram, or save it to Pinterest with the tag #supergoldenbakes. I can’t wait to see your take on it!
Homemade salt beef
Video
Ingredients
- 5 pounds (2.25kg) beef brisket
- 1 ½ pounds (600g) salt
- 2 tbsp (30 g / 1oz) Prague Powder no 1 (SEE NOTES)
- 5 liters | 170 fl oz hot water
- 2 tbsp ground black pepper
- 2 tbsp allspice
- 1 tbsp ground ginger
- 2 bay leaves
- 2 sprigs thyme
Instructions
Prepare the brine
- Dissolve the salt and Prague Powder in the hot water. Add all the spices and then let it cool.1 ½ pounds (600g) salt, 2 tbsp (30 g / 1oz) Prague Powder no 1, 5 liters | 170 fl oz hot water, 2 tbsp ground black pepper, 2 tbsp allspice, 1 tbsp ground ginger, 2 bay leaves, 2 sprigs thyme
Cure the beef
- Immerse the brisket in the cold brine, add a plate on top and use a weight to keep the meat submerged for the duration of the brining process.5 pounds (2.25kg) beef brisket
- Store in the fridge for a week, turning the brisket every day to distribute the salt.
Rinse the Beef
- After 7 days, soak the beef in cold water for 3 hours and then rinse the meat several times using cold water. Do not forget this step!
Cook the Beef
- Place it in a large pot full of water and slowly bring to the boil. Simmer gently for 2-4 hours depending on size. Once meat is tender remove from pot and transfer to a warm dish.
Serving your Salt Beef
- Slice thinly (only slice as much as you need) and serve piled high on rye bread with mustard and pickles. You can warm the sliced salt beef in the microwave before making the sandwiches.
Notes
Nutrition
Nutritional information is always approximate, and will depend on quality of ingredients and serving sizes.
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Hello. I know this is an old (ish) post, however I’m a little confused why you have used 30g Prague powder for 2.25 kg joint. The recommendations for the powder suggest 2.5gms per kg meat so surely you should have only used 5gms?
Hi Fion I was following a recipe in a cookbook which I actually worked on (and therefore trusted). If your powder has a different recommendation then do follow those instructions.
Hello, this sounds and looks fabulous! I can’t wait to try it. I noticed that Smokedust do a salt beef cure. Is there any particular reason you chose to use their Prague Powder 1 instead for your recipe?
It probably wasn’t available when I made this recipe several years ago. Also suspect it is exactly the same thing.
Great tutorial, thanks for this yummy recipe!
I love salt beef and I have made it before. I will however be giving this recipe a try and I will check out the link for prague powder, as I didn't use this last time and I was a bit sad it wasn't pink.
Looking good as ever Lucy, have a great 2015 and I agree with your healthier plan, it's not dissimilar to what I have in mind 🙂
Writing about Patisserie doesn't leave me much room for healthy recipes, I resolve to share more cake in 2015 though!
I don't know how you do it! I had to start including savoury recipes early on and even so all my baking has landed me into a hot mess… All my own doing, mind you
Oh my, I want to reach in my screen and sneak a slice to munch on… delicious #MBPW
The sandwich looks amazing and the beef is cooked to perfection!
This salted beef just looks incredible lucy.. and looking at those sandwiches has just made me SO hungry. Delicious!
Looks delicious, and I love the innovative use of the slow cooker pot for the brining!
That look's great and is making me very hungry!! I was wondering if we could feature your article with credit to yourself? Kind regards sam
Hi Sam – you can feature a (credited) image with a link back to the blog for the recipe but please do not repost the whole recipe.
This looks amazing!! I totally want to make my own salt beef sandwich – yum!