Tom Durcan’s Spiced Beef
An award winning and traditional taste of Cork
Craft butcher Tom Durcan is a master of spiced beef. It has won him honours in Blas na hEireann for several years (annually from 2010 through to 2022) and numerous gold medals from the Craft Butchers of Ireland.
Spiced beef is a Cork tradition that goes back centuries when the merchant ships would cure the meat for longevity. The curing of beef in salt and spices meant that by keeping the joints in a cool larder room the would be edible for weeks. Often associated with Christmas time, the dish is firm favourite on the festive dinner plates across the county. Now of course it is available year round and the spiced method is done purely for it’s great taste.
For those who haven’t experienced this slice of heaven, spiced beef is a prime cut, marinated in a spice cure for anything up to two months. Recipes for the cure vary and are often handed down through families and kept as closely guarded secrets. Tom’s recipe is adapted from Jim Kidney’s butcher shop whom he worked for when a young boy. A secret blend of salt and spices. The success is that the joints are marinated in the cure for a month, preferably two and stirred every day to ensure the marinade infuses right through. Tom chooses the eye of the round, which is the cut next to the top side.
At Christmas, over six tonnes of Durcan's spiced beef goes across the counter into the hands of happy festive shoppers. And Tom’s own personal favourite way of enjoying it is served cold and sliced, with caramelised Spanish onions, on crusty buttered white bread. Simple.
Durcan's award winning Spiced Beef is available cooked and sliced in Centra and Super Valu supermarkets nationwide.
Cooking instructions
The secret of cooking is slow simmering over low heat to make the meat moist and tender.
First note the weight of the meat. Remove all packaging and place in a pot of cold water. Bring to the boil and simmer slowly.
To eat the spiced beef warm, cook for 50 minutes per kg. To eat cold, cook for 40 minutes per kg and then leave the meat cool in the cooking liquid to retain its moistness.
Delcious eaten warm with some potatoes, red cabbage and rich gravy made from the cooking liquid. Or thinly sliced as a cold cut and served as an open sandwich with sweet red onions.
spiced Beef Carpaccio
Tom has gotten together with his friend Denis Cronin, chef at the Michelin award winning Mad Fish restaurant at Cronin’s Pub in the fishing village of Crosshaven, to come up with a simple yet stylish recipe for spiced beef. It’s a Cork twist on an Italian Classic, Spiced Beef Carpaccio.
Spiced Beef needs to be sliced really thin to make carpaccio. And this can be a difficult task for the amateur butcher. If you don’t have access to a pro-grade meat slicer (you could ask your friendly local butcher to help) or a really sharp chef’s knife (and a steady hand) Durcan’s do sell their beef sliced to order.
A pro tip – freeze your spiced beef first – this makes it far easier to slice wafer thin with a meat slicer.
Slice the beef as wafer fine as you can. Ideally, the meat pieces should be almost see-through.
Arrange the slices on a large cold plate, using roughly twelve slices, covering the whole plate. Place a bunch of leaves in the centre and drizzle with olive oil. Finally garnish with shavings of cheese, a small wedge of lemon and serve with a side dish of fresh ground pepper and sea salt.
If first frozen, the beef will come to room temperate after approximately three or four minutes after slicing and is ready to be served.
It’s perfect as a light bite on a warm summer’s day or as a spicy, different starter.
