Boiled Beef and Carrots

Boiled Beef and Carrots is made from salted beef.

Immortalised by the old music hall song, this is a truly traditional Cockney dish. The length of time the meat is soaked depends on how salty it is. The greyish colour turns pink when cooked.

Here's a recipe with pictures of how to make it

  

"Boiled Beef and Carrots" is a comedic musical hall song published in 1909, and composed by Charles Collins and Fred Murray. The song was made famous by Harry Champion who sang it as part of his act and recorded it. The song extols the virtues of a typical English, and particularly Cockney, dish.

Listen to the song here:

Chorus:

Boiled beef and carrots,

Boiled beef and carrots,

That's the stuff for your "Derby Kell",

Makes you fit and keeps you well.

Don't live like vegetarians

On food they give to parrots,

Blow out your kite, from Morn til night,

On boiled beef and carrots.

'Derby Kelly' is Cockney Rhyming slang for Belly

'Kite' as slang for cheque appeared in the 1920s. At that time, it usually meant a blank or stolen one, generally made out in the knowledge that there were insufficient funds to meet it! Much earlier, back in the very early 19th century, 'kite' was used as a joke - in reference to the child's flying toy - to mean a financial document used to try to raise money on credit. Doubtless, the modern usage was at least based on the older one.'