Ellsworth American. [volume] (Ellsworth, Me.) 1855-current, 1865-12-29
aalisttll aurous.
Pork Hams.

81 have no smoke house, exclaimed
Mr. Saith, chow shall smoke my hams
His ncighoor jones answered him, ~,
that's easy enough. put some strings
through the head of barrel, and tie them
fast to three or four hams, then dig Il lit.
tie hole IN the ground, in which | make
smudge of siNdust, over which | set the
barrel, AMI keep the fire going pretty snug
and they smoke enough in three or four
days"
The above is an overheard railroad con-
versation. With due Difference to MIR.
Jones, We reply publicly to his private re-
mark, that he knows no more about max
ing good hams than the pig that produc-
ed them. | would "a soon sit dawn to
piece of smoked sole-leather a. his barrel.
cured hams. :
La the first place, hams should be pIac,
ed so far from the FIRE that the smoke viii
be absolutely cool before it reaches them.
Then they should be hung in Il room open
ta the atmosphere, not tight ike barrel,
and should not be smoked rapidly as they
would be in barrel, until ,early black
en- the outside. \ moderate smoke made
twice us many days as a ham weighs
pounds, will make good sweet smoked
meat. Never commence smoking until
your hams have hung long enough alter
liking out Of the pickle to be thoroughly
dried. The English dry their hams and
use them without smoking. They are
far preferable that way to hams smoked
IS those recommended above, in barrel
or any similar contrivance.
Many persons have spare rooms about
their buildings sometimes in the garnet
Of a dwelling, in which hams can be smok-
cd, by making fire outdoors, or ina
stove, and conducting the smoke through
a long pipe. We have seen very nice
smoke. house where the IRE was built fit-
ty or sixty feet from the building, in
little oven dug in the ground, the smoke
being conducted through covered trench
un hillside to the base Of the building,
AID then through wooden pipe to the
garrett, where the meat was hung upon the
raftcrs. During the smoking operation
window was kept open in each end OF the
room.
Remember, as rule, the slower you
smoke the meat the better. The best
woed is green hickory, then maple, beech,
asa, apple tree.-Never use locust; the
bark imnarts an unpleasant flavor to the
nett. Several other kinds OF wood DO
the same. Corn-cobs make very sweet
bacon. Never u.e any wood that makes
black smoke. Never use rotten wood,
nor sawdast. The last day of smoking it
is good plan to burn few red pepper
pods,
Is to curing hams, doctors disagree.
| believe | have as good hams as ever
were eaten. by using SIX lbs. salt aud trur
ozs. saltpetcr to 100 lbs. pork, putting
the salt dry upon the meat as soon as pos
sib}e after it was dressed We have also
made excellent hams in Il pickle made as
follows:
Weigh the hams or shoulders and take
s per cent. of the weight-that is, s lbs.
per ewt.-of rock salt, and put 1t in
kettle Of water aud heat it, aud skim off
all the scum that will rise. Then add l
quart Of molasses, , lbs. OF white sugar.
il Is. saleratus, ID lb. saltpeter, or 2
ozs. alspice for loo pounds of meat.
Boil all together and skim again, and let
i cool, and pour it over the meat, adding
water enough to cover it
To those who prefer sugar-cured hams
we offer the following recipe:
To cure a ham OF fifteen pounds weight
requires one pound of good brown sugar,
two ounces refined and ground saltpeter,
half pound of ground sea-salt First
NEUTRALITY-SUSPICIOUS., and cover the face
Of the ham with sugar quarter Of an
inch thick; on the fIth day rub the skin
side with sugar Second application
saltpeter and mixture Of three parts
sugar aud one part salt; on the seventh
dag rub as before. Third application
half sugar aai half salt; in seven days
rub as before. Fourth application
same as last; in seven days rub with halt
sugar ana salt; clean the flesh side Of the
ham. Fifth app'ication-very good nc.
laeses got sorghum )as long as the meat will
absorb it. Saturatc the ham with sugar
as you would in preserving fruit; the salt
Is only TO favor it; for hams intended for
boiling, anl.which requires more salt, you
may use salt according to your judgment
and gain more time. The ham is now
cured, and for purposes of boiling it will
be found delicious
One word more about the special adj
vantage Of curing with sugar; tat cured
with salt is repulsiye to weak stomachs;
consequently large portion is trimmed
of aams intended for the American mar.
ket that in England is always retained,
for two reasons-economy and preserving
the juices. Stomachs that reject fat
when sailed, find it palatable when cured
with su 5ar.-SoZoa Robinson.
Relies FOR TIE JOURNEY OF LiFE.-Nev-
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