The Valley Virginian. [volume] (Staunton, Va.) 1865-1895, 1885-11-26
Preserving Hams.

4 The writer used for many years, success
fully, the following recipe for curing.
smoking and preserving hams To a bar
rel of hams Of from twenty-five to thirty,
after rubbing them over with fine salt,
pack them, the meat side up, AID let them
lie three days. Then make a strong brine
sufficient to cover them, strong enough to
float a ne WY laid egg or potato. To this,
before pouring on the hams, add one gal
Ion Of fine cane m0lasses or eight pounds
of cane sugar, one half pound Of salt
petre: dissolve thoroughly before mixing
Pour over the hams until covered care
fully weighted down. Let them remain
| in this in cooi place, but not cold enough
to freeze. for six weeks. At the end Of
this time take out the pickle and let them
drain, bu1 while they are damp rub on the
flesh side. and upper end, black or red pep
per copi9usly. The pepper should be as
fine as dust. Then hang up and smoke.
| And for this prepare pure smoke it IS
Just rs important us to have everything
else. The best is made of green hickory
or sugar tree wood. And there should lie
nothing impure or foul in smell about the
smoke house. The meat, especially the
fat part of it. rs rapidly imbihes the i'm
! purity and ill.ilayor as it does the smoke.
Iilk houses and smoke houses should be
absolutely pure No foul soap grease. or
decayfng vegetables or rotten wood should
be about it. 1t is II good plan to thor
oughly whitewash the smoke house before
/ hanging up the meat. When well smoked
cover with thick muslin, which any handy
man or woman can do and then white
wash Witha thick lime. wash and hang
away in cool mot damp)airy room. If
it be dark SO much the better.
The State Agricultural Society of Mary
land offered msgnifcent reward of four
premiums for the best cured hams. The
| first premium was awarded to z. E. Ham
ilton, who cured according to the follow
ing recipe
ITO every 100 lbs of meat, eight pounds
of best pork salt. two ounces of saltpetre.
two pounds brown sugar, one aud quar-
ounces of potash, and four gallons of
water; mix them and pour over the hams
after they have lain in the tub two days,
which had been rubbed with fine salt when
put in. Let them remain in this pickle
for six weeks, then let them dry several
days before smoking.
Six gallons of soft or rain water, nine
pounds Of rock salt, three ounces of salt
petre, one quart of molasses, three pounds
of brown sugar, one and a half ounces of
pearl ash. The saltpetre and pearlash to
be dissolved before putting into the pickle.
Boil and skim. Rub the hams thoroughly
with fine salt before putting them into the
tub to get all the blood out of them. 1t
would be well to recollect that nearly all
commercial saltpetre is badly aduIterated.
and is not more than. half .saltpetre. But
he adulteration.. is generally so badly done
any one can tell it. If not pure more
must be used.
There is also recipe which is said to be
the English mode of curing hams. They. !
as soon as the meat is cut up, rub it |
thoroughly with fine salt. Repeat this
the fourth day, adding to the saltpetre at
the rate of one pound to seventy pounds of
meat. Then mix one pound of brown |
sugar and one of molasses, and rub them |
every day for two weeks. This is pro-
cess of dry curing Then smoke with
hickory chips.
Some persons instead of canvasing, to |
keep hams from mold, bugs, or flies, hang
them in a cool dry place, and rub them
every two or three weeks thoroughly with
cider brandy, high-wines or alcohol, 1t is
however, suggested that if the operators
in such cases are not prohibitionists, they
should be muzzled before going to the
smoke house.-Ioeca State Register.