Lord Craven How To Salt & Drye Neates Tongues

This recipe is drawn from the 'Lady Craven's receipt booke', a manuscript collection of culinary and medicinal recipes compiled in England between 1702 and 1704. The work reflects the domestic skills and networks of elite women in the early 18th century, with attributions to fellow aristocrats, indicating both the exchange of culinary knowledge and social connections. During this period, preserving meat was vital for survival outside of the fresh-selling seasons. Beef tongues were considered both economical and a delicacy, prized for their rich flavor, and preserving them through salting and smoking was common in large households. This method aligns with broader European traditions of charcuterie and meat preservation, and showcases the ingenuity and resource management typical of aristocratic English households.

Preparation would have begun in the kitchen with large ceramic or wooden bowls and tubs for washing the tongues. For salting, wooden or ceramic crocks were used to store and cure the meat. After curing, the tongues would be strung with sturdy pack thread—an early thick kitchen twine. Drying and smoking took place in the walk-in kitchen chimney, a staple of grand homes, where lathes (wooden rods) or iron bars were rigged across the chimney space to suspend the meat. Hay and sawdust were burned or smoldered below to gently smoke and dry the tongues, imparting both preservation qualities and subtle flavor.