Sorry, have to jump in here. That's actually a myth. According to "The Science of Good Food" ...
"If anyone had ever tried the practice he probably wouldn't have lived long enough to pass it on. The mistaken notion probably comes from the fact that before refrigeration was commonplace, many ingredients were heavily spiced and salted for preservation. The level of spicing in historic recipes seems unpalatable to us today, so we rationalize that it could only be desirable as a way of masking flavors that are even more distasteful." Many other modern food-history references debunk this myth.
As for the preservative power of spices still in use today, look no further than sausage.
All that aside, I had this recipe in a thick stack I just sorted through last week, tossing out the ones I figured I'd never actually make. This one got pitched, but here it is again. A sign?
