The Maryville times. (Maryville, Tenn.) 1884-1944, 1886-01-27
NOW TO CURE HAMS. 4
Simple Instructions for Those DESTROYS Of
Having Fine Cured Meats.

!, The principal thing is to get the hams
just salt enough TO keep them, ana not
so salt as to injure the flavor, and cause
them to get hard. Hams should be
neatly trimmed, and cat round, to i'm
itate, as closely as possible, the hams
Of commerce. Trim closely, 70 there
shall be no masses Of fat left st the
lower extremity Of the hams. The
shoulders may be out in shape con-
venient Tor packing, and they sbould
be saltedin separate. packages from the
haIns.SF Hams are. cured by both dry
salting and brine. When dry sailing
is employed, the hams are rubbed often
with salt and sugar. Between each
rubbing they are punched up on plat
forms or tables, the surface of which 10
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, q 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 i.
sufficient amount Of sugar and mo
lasses to give 1t sweetened taste
Some add, . little saltpctcr to, coloI
the meat, while othere claim it tends
to harden the meat. In moderate
quantities it is generally accepted
as beneficial. Cover the, hams
with. pickle, and place the packages
where the temperature is uniform and
above freezing. For hams Of twelve
pounds, four weeks will be sufficient;
large hams must remain In brine q
longer time. In general, three to
seven weeks embraces the extremes Of
time required for domestic curing Of
ham, varying as to size Of hams, tenn.
perature and time when they will be
required for uae When It Ia desired to
preserve hams through the summer
they must not be removed from the
pickle too soon. Shoulders require
much the same treatment ~ do hams.
and both should be carefully smoked.
The preservative principle Of smoke is
known a. creOsOte. Smoke made by
burning corn-cobs is highly esteemed,
but those engaged in curing meat on
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 creo-
sote will not have time to penetrate
the entire substance of the meat. Ten
days smoking is usually sufficient, UNI
less the pieces are very large and
/ thick. A process in ham-curing prac-
! ticed by some Of the leading pack
Z lighthouses consists in creating the
smoke in an oven Outside of the smoke
house, and connected with il by under
ground pipes, The smoke, rising from
the floor to the top Of the house, en-
counters two opposite currents of air,
drawn from the outside. These cuz-
rents cause the smoke to form in rap
idly-revolving horizontal column,
which passes among the hams. The
smoke ia not warm, and there is no
heat to melt the hams OF, hot air to
= blacken them. The hams, npder this
, process, are smoked in very much less
time than by the old method. While
canvasing hams has nothing 70 do with
their flavor, it is a protection from in
sects, and will pay the, farmer for the
extra labor. It should be done before
warm weather.. Wrap each ham in
coarse brown paper, and then sew il
up in cotton cloth cut to suit the size,
following the shape of the ham. When
covered as described, dip them in a
wash made Of lime water and colored
!! with yellow ochsr. Hang up in . eool
place 10 DRY. The wash CLOSES The
interstices Of the muslin. and the whole
forms perfect protection against in
sects. The room in which any Kind d
cured meat is stored should be dry an(
COOL and the darker the betteS. Pops
~ Seitace Ness. = ' 's'i''''''''' ~