Irish Spiced Beef
Cork's Christmas tradition: beef rubbed with spices and sugar for a week, then simmered and served thinly sliced. Start it now.
AI assistance: the introduction, ingredient list, method, tips and FAQ on this page were drafted with an AI writing tool, working from long-established traditional methods. Named editor who reviewed it: owner to supply How we work
- Prep
- 20 min
- Cook
- 3 hr
- Total
- 3 hr 20 min
- Makes
- 12 servings
- Difficulty
- Involved
- Course
- Main
- Cuisine
- Irish
Spiced beef is a Christmas tradition from Cork, sold by butchers in the English Market there every December. A joint is rubbed with salt, sugar and warm spices for about a week, then simmered until tender, pressed and served cold in thin slices.
It needs only a few minutes a day, but you must start about a week ahead.
Ingredients
Spice cure
- 100 g soft dark brown sugar
- 50 g fine sea salt
- 1 tbsp black peppercorns
- 1 tbsp allspice berries
- 1 tbsp juniper berries
- 6 cloves
- ½ tsp ground mace or nutmeg
Beef
- 2 kg silverside or topside of beef, in one piece
- 1 onion, halved
- 1 carrot
- 2 bay leaves
Equipment
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Method
- 1
Grind the peppercorns, allspice, juniper and cloves, then mix with the sugar, salt and mace.
- 2
Put the beef in a close-fitting non-metallic dish and rub the spice mix all over it. Cover and refrigerate.
- 3
Every day for 5–7 days, turn the beef and rub in the juices and spices that collect in the dish.
- 4
Rinse off the spices, put the beef in a large pan with the onion, carrot and bay, cover with cold water and bring slowly to a simmer. Simmer gently for about 3 hours, until very tender.
- 5
Leave to cool in the liquid, then lift out, wrap and press under a weighted board in the fridge overnight. Slice very thinly to serve.
Tips
Serve cold with brown bread, mustard and chutney, or in sandwiches on St Stephen's Day. Keep the beef in the fridge, below 5°C, throughout the curing. For another Christmas joint, see honey-glazed gammon.
If it goes wrong
| Problem | Likely cause | Fix |
|---|---|---|
| Beef is grey inside, not pink | No saltpetre in the cure | This is normal for a home cure; it tastes the same |
| Too salty | Cured too long | Soak in cold water for a few hours before simmering |
Frequently asked questions
Why is shop-bought spiced beef pink?
Commercial cures usually contain saltpetre or similar nitrates, which keep the meat pink. A home cure without them gives grey meat with the same flavour.
How do I keep the beef safe while it cures?
Keep it covered in the fridge (0–5°C) the whole time, then simmer it until it is cooked right through.
How long does cooked spiced beef keep?
Well wrapped in the fridge, about 5 days. It also freezes in slices.
Sources
- How to chill, freeze and defrost food safely, Food Standards Agency (GOV.UK), 18 December 2017. Checked 6 October 2026.
Guides for this recipe
Some of these guides contain shop links, which are affiliate links (disclosure).
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Card photos: A chef's knife with a wooden handle, Frank Schulenburg via Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0, cropped; Kitchen knives held on a wall-mounted magnetic strip, Phil! Gold from Pikesville, MD, USA via Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 2.0, cropped; Copper pans and a kettle on an old kitchen range, Silar via Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0, cropped; A small stainless steel saucepan with a lid, Cooks & Kitchens from Darlington, UK via Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 2.0, cropped; Sliced boiled bacon with cabbage and a creamy white sauce, Miss Ayumi via Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 2.0, cropped; A barmbrack cut open to show the dried fruit inside, Solo Beckett via Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0, cropped; A bowl of Irish beef stew with potatoes, beside a pint of Guinness, User:Jpatokal via Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0, cropped. All credits: image credits.