> Where have you been getting salt beef in the past? As an avid reader
> of 19th century naval fiction I have heard of salt beef, but had no
> idea that it was still made or sold to the public (except as corned
> beef).

At the grocery store! When I lived in Ontario, I could easily go to A&P or
Loblaws and buy a "tub" of it. Where I live now it seems to be harder to
find, which is funny because I moved to the east coast :-) I can often find
the labels for it at the grocery stores but they sit infront of an empty
shelf. I'm sure I could find it if I looked harder, but I do most of my
traveling on foot.

>> My issue is, that it's not getting tender as salt beef usualy did,
>
> In Patrick O'Brian novels, the Royal Navy salt beef is often referred
> to as "salt horse"; tender doesn't seem to have been relevant then.

No it probably wasn't relevant, and may not have been tender then (age
probably plays a big role here), but they way it is made now it is great
after 30-45 minutes of boiling.


> the
>> corned beef tastes great but is very tough texture.
>>
>> My plan at the moment is to cut it in very thin slices instead of cubing
>> next time. I think there might be a better alternative? Anyone know a
>> good
>> natural way to tenderize corned beef while keeping it cubed?
>
> Long slow simmering may do it, slice across the grain if you can.


Yes, the length of time is much greater for corned beef so I discovered, but
turns out quite nice.

If you have never tried naval beef, well, it doesn't look very nice compared
to corned. It is extremely fatty "chunks" most with random bones attached,
it can really look like a low quality meat, but it tastes great. I usualy
spend 30 minutes cutting and trimming the fat and bone away from the meat.
You can easily feel the salt crystals in and around the meat before it is
cooked, much more salt than corned I think. Certainly isn't the healthiest
stuff around, but lots of good food isn't.