From bagel bars all over London to restaurants in some of the country's finest department stores salt beef has an extremely loyal following.

People flock to restaurants just for a sandwich  or a platter of beef. There is something about salt beef which means that once you have tried it, you just have to go back again and again.

Whilst salt beef is central to Jewish cuisine, it is popular throughout the world, under a variety of different names. The American love of salt beef comes from Irish immigrants, and whilst it came to be thought of as peasant food in Ireland it became a delicacy in America – particularly in New York. The Americans know it as corned beef, because the large pieces of salt which were originally used for curing the meat were known as corns of salt. Pastrami, another New York delicacy, is simply salt beef with a coating of herbs and spices.

Historically, salt was used as a means of preserving beef, and this is how the product came by its name. However, due to refrigeration and modern production techniques, only a fraction of the amount of salt used then is now needed - and even then, most of it leaves the meat during cooking. But the basic principal remains: beef is left to soak in vats of brine with special curing salts, and it is this process that gives the meat its unique characteristics.

Before the war Salt Beef was very popular in London, in spite of the amount of effort involved in getting the dish to the table. Gradually the number of places serving the dish dwindled away, and salt beef nearly became a thing of the past. Enter J L Henson, who in the 1960s bought an old a tripe factory in London’s Kings Cross. A small side-line was salt beef, still being made in the old-fashioned way, supplying the few places in the Capital that still sold salt beef sandwiches.

Being a fan of salt beef himself, Mr Henson then set about marketing the product, and once it became known that it was available commercially, ready cured, more and more people started to offer salt beef sandwiches to their customers and demand began to rise. It seemed that Londoners hadn’t forgotten about salt beef at all .

It was soon obvious that a rather more sophisticated production technique was required. A commercial recipe was developed, and over the next couple of years the cure was perfected. This cure is a closely guarded secret to this day. By using only the best briskets available and by ensuring an even distribution of cure throughout the meat, for the very first time a consistently high quality product was available to restaurateurs and caterers. 

Forty years later the same production methods are used. The cure has been further developed so that even less salt is used, but the taste and texture of Hensons briskets is still the same. The beef comes from grass-fed steers and heifers from carefully selected farms in Ireland. Curing takes place in state-of-the-art facilities, but even now the curing process still takes several days.

Today, salt beef is widely available in restaurants, sandwich shops and bagel bars across the capital, and it is becoming increasingly popular throughout the country. Because cooking time can take up to four hours many people treat themselves and eat out rather than cook it themselves, and whilst a salt beef sandwich will cost as much as a gourmet burger, it is worth every penny. It is very simple to prepare, though. Cooking is a slow process (the meat will be very tender indeed) it can easily be prepared in advance and reheated later. It is equally delicious hot or cold.

In 2005 Hensons launched pre-cooked Salt Beef for the catering market, so even the smallest, busiest café or sandwich bar can now offer this premium product to their customers.

Have we tempted you? Then maybe you’d like to place an order for delivery to your door by overnight carrier. If you are a caterer or restaurateur in London and the South East then check out Hensons Foodservice for next day delivery. If you have any more questions about salt beef you can email us at saltbeef@hensons.lls.com or check out our frequently asked questions page.