Knoxville weekly chronicle. [volume] (Knoxville, Tenn.) 1870-1875, 1873-12-17
FIELD AND FARM.
lnrinc ana preserring 1Ienl..


Mr.. Il. Guild read a paper before the
Pinceton New Jersy) Farmers Club, OF
which the following is an abstract: He
begins by explaining and enforcing the
superiority of well-matured meat over
that OF younger animals, and the neces-
sity of cooling off the animal heat prompt
Iy and completely, before any further
steps are taken. lie then explains the
use of salt in the preservation of meat,
drawing an analogy between its action and
that of heat in the process of cooking,
and showing that as little salt should be
used as is consistent with the preseTva-
ton of the meat, and that in the curing
of dried meats brine should be altogether,
excluded. He then continues rs follows:
What are known in market as sugar
cured hams - are packed in bulk with
ground salt, at such times, or from time
TO time. as convenience may dictate; the
time they remain in bulk is also gov
erned by convenience. They are at
length packed in hogsheadS, filled
with what is called sweet pickle-com-
posed OF salt, saltpetre and molasses.
Many of them are shipped from the
West in this condition, smoked here and
sold for Jersey hams. The consequence is,
there is little uniformity in their quality.
Some of them are very good; others over
sailed, hard and tasteless.
The celebrated Burlington hams of the
olden time lNewbold, l think was the
time,) were cured in this wise:
To twelve hams, S lbs. sugar, lbs salt
peter, los. fine salt rub the hams with
this mixture, and let them be one week in
a cask with the skins downward; then
make pickle of the strongest coarse salt,
of sufficient strength to bear an egg; add
three quarts Of hickory ley refined by
boiling when cold, cover them.
The receipt of Abraham Hunt, of Gren-
tom IN.,,s4 H. -
saltpeter, J bushel fine salt, and ! gals
molasses mix them well together, and
rub the hams well let them lie twelve or
fourteen days then make pickle that
will bear an egg, and cover the hams with
it. After lying three or four weeks in
pickle, rub them with bran and hang them
up to smoke.
The recipe I have adopted for my own
use is as follows: For i hams, 10. salt
peter, y lbs. fine salt, gallon mOlasses.
These ingredients, when well mixed, will
have about the consistency and appearance
of dampt, brown sugar. Rub them thor
oughly with mixture, lay them singly on a
dry platform. At the end of one week rub
them again at the end of the second week
again rub them and hang them up 10
smoke ; let them dry thoroughly, but do
not smoke them more than ten days.
1t will be perceived that all the foregoing
recipes embody the same principles and
differ only in the mode of compounding the
ingredients and their application and I
am frequently amused to see some newly
1edsed agricultural journal publishing a
recipe for curing bacon hams, when, in
principle if not in words, it is precisely the
same that was used more than half a CEN
fury ago,
In regard to smoking meat, it has been
practiced in this country since time i'm
memorial, but do not deem it essential
to its preservation. Many persons like a
slight flavor of smoke, Others do not. Meats
cured for the English market are neuer
smoked, and l have known persons to
kiln-dry their meats as they would cure to-
bacco. 1t is necessary, however, to have
it thoroughly dried.