Huntsville gazette., 1882-11-11
A Plain and Easy Way Of Curing Hams

The principal thing in curing hams is
to get them just salt enough to keep
them and not so salt as to injure the
flavor and cause them to get hard.
Hams should be neatly trimmed and cut
rounding, to initiate as close as possible
the hams of commerce.
Trim closely, so there shall be no
masses of fat left at the lowest extremity
of the hams. The shoulders may be cut
in shape convenient for packing, and
they should be salted in separate pack
ages from the hams.
Hams are cured by both dry sailing
and brine. When dry sailing is en-
ployed the hams are rubbed often with
salt and sugar. Between each rubbing
they are punched up on platforms or
tables, the surface of which is spread
with layer of salt, and each ham is
also covered with salt. When taken up
to rub, which is usually done five or six
times, a shallow box is at hand in which
to do the work.
When brine is used, prepare pickle
strong enough to float an egg and stir
into it sufficient amount of sugar and
molasses to give it a sweetened taste.
Some add little saltpeter to color the
meat, while others claim it tends to
harden the meat. In moderate quanti-
ties, it is generally accepted as bene-
fetal. Cover the hams with pickle and
place the packages where the tempera-
ture is uniform and above freezing.
For hams of twelve pounds four weeks
will be sufficient; large hams must re-
main in brine longer time. In gen
eral, three to seven weeks embraces the
extreme of time required for domestic
curing of hams, varying as to size OF
! hams, temperture and time when they
will be required for use. When 1t Is
designed to preserve hams through the
summer they must not be removed from
the pickle too soon.
Shoulders require much the same
treatment as do hams, and both should
be carefully smoked. The preservative
principle of smoke is known as creosote.
Smoke made by burning corn cobs is
highly esteemed, but those engaged in
curing meat on a large scale prefer the
smoke obtained from dry hickory that
has been stripped of its bark. The
smoking process must not be too much
hurried or the creosote will not have
time to penetrate the entire sub stance of
the meat. Ten days smoking is usually
sufficient, unless the pieces are very
| large and thick.
| A process in ham curing practiced by
some of the leading packing houses con-
| sists in creating the smoke in an oven
outside of the smoke-house and passed
through underground pipes into it. The
| cmoEa RISING from, tho h0or tn tho ton
of the house, encounters two opposite
currents of air drawn from the outside.
These currents cause the smoke to form
into rapidly revolving horizontal col
umn which passes among the hams.
| The smoke is not warm, and there is no
| heat to melt the hams or hot air to
| blacken them The hams under this
process are smoked in very much less
| time than by the old method.
While canvassing hams has nothing to
do with their flavor it is a protection
from insects, and will pay the farmer
for the extra labor. 1t should be done
before warm weather. Wrap each ham
in coarse brown paper and then sew it
up in cotton cloth cut to suit the size,
following the shape of the ham. When
covered as described, dip them iu wash
made of lime water and colored with
| yellow ocher. Hang up in cool place
to dry. The wash closes the interstices
| of the muslin, and the whole forms 8
| perfect protection q ainst insects. The
room in which any kind of cured meat
is stored should be dry and cool, and
| the darker the better. Western RurI.