Spiced Beef
From the Appletree Press title: A Little Irish Cookbook by John Murphy & Illustrated by Karen Bailey, 1986

Spiced beef is an Irish dish traditionally eaten at Christmas time. It tends to be rather expensive to purchase as it is quite labour intensive to make, though it uses a modestly enough priced cut. It can be made at home, but it does take time.

The Ireland Guide (http://ireland-guide.com) suggests Spiced Beef as one of the foods to have around when family and friends stop in over the holidays: "Whether you’re planning to have people around for a drink or just like to be prepared for unexpected guests, everyone needs a few tasty standby dishes to hand at this time of year. . . Traditional spiced beef makes the perfect contrast to turkey and it’s great to have it on standby for quick meals (as part of a buffet with a choice of salads, perhaps). . . Store in the fridge until you need it, and then slice thinly to serve with salads or make up into bite-size canapés using brown bread and a fruity chutney."

7 lb/ 3 kg even-sized piece of topside or silverside (See note below - in U.S., this is the bottom round)
2 tsp each ground cloves, milled black pepper, allspice, cinnamon, mace and saltpetre
2 tbsp black treacle
2 tbsp brown sugar
cold water to cover
bottle Guinness
1/2 cup salt

Combine all the ingredients except the beef, water and Guinness. Place the beef in a bowl and cover with the mixture. Rub it in once or twice a day for a week.

Tie up the meat into a good shape and place in a pan. Cover with cold water to which a bottle of Guinness has been added. Simmer gently for 5-6 hours. When cool, press lightly between two plates. The beef is usually served cold, thinly sliced, with pickles or chutney.

Note:

Silverside is a cut of beef from the hindquarter of cattle, just above the leg cut. It gets its name because of the "silverwall" on the side of the cut. This is a long fibrous "skin" of connective tissue, which has to be removed for it is too tough to eat. The primary muscle is the biceps femoris. Silverside is boned out from the top along with the topside and thick flank. It is a 2nd class roasting joint, or may be sliced for minute steak or beef olives, or split in two to produce a salmon-cut.

In most parts of the U.S., this cut is known as outside or bottom round; traditionally, a hindquarter is laid on the cutting table with the outside down or to the bottom, as opposed to the inside being on top.