Spiced Beef , and a Castle Retreat for Rural Sybarites

Spiced Beef for New Year's Buffet
General Sir Charles, my late grandfather, was a traditionalist when it came to Christmas fare. 'If it was good enough for my grandparents, is good enough for me' was his gruff bark, as he harked back to life on the Scottish estate near Loch Lomond back in the 1870s before he shipped out to India to serve Queen and Empire. In this my parents liked to humour the Old Warhorse and serve up what he considered a traditional Christmas dinner, until the onset of war and the Battle of Britain changed all that in 1939/40.

The Christmas turkey began to find favour over John Bull's 'Roast Beef of Old England' early in the 19th century. It was cheaper and its size right for the average Victorian family. But beef still ruled supreme in many households, or at the very least was offered, as at Queen Victoria's table, as an alternative to turkey.

As for The General, nothing pleased him better over Christmas than Spiced Beef, a traditional Irish delicacy which had been in the height of English fashion in later Victorian times, but has been forgotten now for many decades, a culinary loss. It is delicious hot. But I like it best cold, eaten the day after Christmas, or for the New Year's Day buffet (both are public holidays in Britain). It goes superbly with cold turkey, cold ham, tongue, and Leicestershire Pork Pie, and I serve this with my own home-pickled walnuts, pickled onions or pickled red cabbage, and a dark, spicy, red tomato chutney.

Here is my recipe for a 3lb party piece of brisket or silverside of beef. Prepare a mixture of freshly ground cloves, nutmeg and allspice, (half teaspoon of each), 2 tablespoons of brown sugar, one tablespoon crushed black peppercorns, a crushed bayleaf, a pinch of thyme, half an onion finely chopped, and 8 oz coarse salt. Rub the meat all over with the spice mixture and then drizzle lightly with treacle or honey. Cover and place in the fridge. Continue to rub in the mixture every day for six days. On the seventh day tie firmly with string, place in a pot of warmed water and simmer gently for 3 hours. Remove and allow to cool. Baked russet potatoes or hot crispy garlic bread will complete the meal handsomely.

My Castle Retreat for Rural Sybarites
On a visit to the Buchanan lands around Loch Lomond in the early summer of 1998, my Lady and I were fortunate to discover Culcreuch Castle at Fintry off the A.811 between Stirling and Glasgow. This is the 700 year old ancestral home of the Barons of Culcreuch, Lairds of Clan Galbraith. It is now a beautiful quiet country house hotel and restaurant run by the chatelain, Andrew Haslam and his wife.

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