The Ottawa free trader. [volume] (Ottawa, Ill.) 1843-1916, 1847-01-08
AGRICULTURAL.
From the Prairie Farmer.
the PRESERVATION or MgaTs.

UP and preparingmeats for use. Recipes
and directions have been 81 often publish
ed f'r The proper doin, Of it, that were il.
not FOR the fact that so much mcatis in
tolerably cured as 10 be har Ily eatable, is
met with. i, might be supposed that er.
cry body knew how to d, the work well.
Meats badly put np, are not always
Simply unpalaIeahle they are oflen un,
wholesome. Beef or hams. for instance.
sailed to the ionghness of rope. are spe-
cially ndgestibe; aud pork half cured or
injected with "rusi," is no better, II MI
worse.
Hams.-To cure lhese--to ttreo cal
Ions of water put abou, pnulds Of SUI
gar, (of pinto( molasses for each pound
Of sugar Instead four ounces fs4linelre,
and eight pounds Of rock or Turks Island
salt, with table spoonful Of sa!aratus -
lIea, these together over si,w fire til
all is dissolved, sklmming OF The scum
as it rises, and pour ii over the hams
This my be done while the lilIor is
hot, or ii may be cooled FIRST. Z he above
preparation will answer for 100 pun q
OF meat.
The same preparation may be ke2, ar.
ter the hams arr taken ont, and used FOR
curing tongues or beef or mutton Intend
ed for drglag; or Tor curing meats whcl
are not to be long kept,
The hams may lie il the pickle from
three to six cr eight weeks, according to
their size; bit if they lie more than three
weeks, il is well to take them up an re-
pack them. When taken out Of The pickle
let them soak in c,ll water f,r eight Or
ten hours; then hang them up to dry for
the same length Of time, and proceed to
smoke them.
IN smoking, lang ,he hams wii tn.
siriF md 3oen ihi- prevents Dhe'
slripPmg d. la wr q lie merit az
aoas greatly .o's |.,er sase mav
he nsde SO cob. aatsrg r.ru. % aav
hard, c.s0 "an sa'H .1u By.
asa gae.y HH .# H- Ha.-
lar. So ar,. tt aa he end ...
better J. ID lsa ,sas. ~ .aa..,. s.r.
The sm1hia. may be r1mn#s4 longer
shorier az iiii1-ai-d 90 keep the f.
If meat is 10 he KEEP, over summer, anl
the smoke is cooled before j.. reaches lAs
hams, it may be continued with adglu.
iage fhr four or six weeks.
C'e9r Prk.-Ilege nothing is wanted
but good salt. Some add liule water;
but the less the better. People di1ar in
their modes Of cutting pork--some diyi.
ding il into strips and Others into small
square pieces, Ii cut into strips, it is
easily packed BY placing the strips edge.
wise. The desideraium is to pack ii so
close, as TO leave as few inter tees rs pos
sible, In packing, frs, put in layer Of
salt, thea one Of pork, aud SO on. fI,ing
in all the holes with salt, so tia, the pork
shall be entirely covered with it. Clear
pork will not take up more salt than it
needs, however much may be pat upon it.
The qualify Of the meat will depend very
much upos tie kind of salt used. Rock
or Turks Island will give very diT,r-
ens flavor from that impaired by The fine
New York salt.
Bed.-Many persons can never sue
coed in keeping beef sweet. There is
perhaps very lille more trouble attending
1t, than in keeping pork, provided one
knows how.
A COOL recipe is as flllows TO 100
pounds Of meat make pickle consisting
Of four gallons Of water, eight pounds of
salt, three Of brown ,ugar, three ounces
sallpelre, AMI one ounce Of pearlash.-
Pack down the meat, sprinkling salt be-
tween the layers, and having boiled and
skinned the pickle, pour i, over the
meat, covering il entirely. Meat in pickle
of any kind must be kept down, so as to
be covered, either by placing weights up.
on it, or by some other mode.
Another method, prac,iced by seine, is
10 take four quarts Of rock salt, pounded
fine. four ounces Of sa'lpetre, fine; four
pounds brown sugar, mixed tngeth f.
The above will cure 100 pounds of meat,
which is to be packed down ia ii. II
scum rises, sprinkle on some more salt.
!! will be observed that sugar or mo.
las5es, in these preparations. is subsli,u-
ted for salt. LIS power of preserving
meat is very great, fully equal to tia, Of
salt, while i! does not impart that acid
taste to tho meat which il acquires from
the latter, We have kept mac ,-meai
four years perfectly sweet, in mol asses,
with only salt enough 10 give i, flavor.
Bacon In New England, hams,
when smoked, were called bacon; but the
term, at the West, has more extended
Specification. Here it means the whole
hog; though the better ana more com.
mon way is to take only the two hams,
two shoulders, two sides, and the cheeks
using in other ways the upper half Of
the head, with the ribs and all the bones
and lean meat, uJuaiy taken out when
clear a1rk 10 b. sll,rd.
Tha l7le oil aarg. tis well deserts.
ol b. oarr,gal Scion Robinson, She, ee
v'll alnp BIS lfm.a1as, a eommuniaa.
Odd ~, t.t. ..psU 3 rr.at. t.I.e| ,t