Potted Beef

Step 1

Dice the stewing beef up into cubes and place in a bowl. Choose a bowl or jar which is going to fit nicely into a pan of boiling water later and leave enough space around the edge to lift it in and out easily.

Step 2

Add 6 tablespoons (about 100ml) of water and 1tsp salt and mix with the beef.

Step 3

Cover the bowl with foil and place into a pan of water that is just boiling. That meant leaving it on the lowest setting for me to avoid it boiling over. And basically leave it to boil for 2 1/2 hours - handy for Dalesfolk to get on with other chores while it boiled away on the stove or range. I checked mine a couple times and and gave it a little stir every half mainly because I was curious to see how it was getting on.

Step 4

When fully cooked the meat should flake apart easily. Take the bowl out of the pan, remove the foil, drain and then mash it up with a fork together with some seasoning (i just used salt and black pepper but you could use whatever you fancy) - or just give it a pulse in a mixer so that it is nicely mashed up into a course pate like paste.

Step 5

Press the beef into either small glass jars or pots and then seal the top with a thin layer of melted butter. This sealing allows the potted beef to keep for several days without deteriorating which would have been handy before refrigerators - even electricity - were commonplace on remote Dales farms..

Step 6

Serve either on toast or crackers with some salad and pickles, or in sandwiches. I decided to serve mine on some toasted homemade sourdough bread which was hit the spot nicely and was a popular choice with the family.