Iron County register. [volume] (Ironton, Iron County, Mo.) 1867-1965, 1890-05-01
AGRICULTURAL HINTS.
ABOUT DRIED BEEF,
How Beef Can Re Perfectly Cured With
out Using Salt.

How Beef Can he Perfectly Cured With
out Using Salt.
l have recently been watching an ex'
pertinent in keeping beef without salt.
Two farmers in this vicinity during dry
ing weather in early winter killed a
beef. and having hung it up in the air,
used the meat as they wanted 1t all
winter. One of them says that his meat
treated in this way has never become
spoiled. Another man in West Chester
keeps meat for dogs in the same way
and claims that none was ever spoiled
that had been hung up in good weather.
On January p l bought half a beef that
had been killed the day before. lieut. it
up and sailed what We did not want to
use fresh. The rib-pieces were cut up
into convenient sizes and hung up in
room l had built on top of the house for
drying beef in summer. The weather
had been warm and moist for some time
but cleared off on the day the animal
was killed, and remained clear about
four days. The beef cooled nicely and
dry crust got on the outside of the
pieces that were hung up before the
weather had changed: then followed
some of the worst weather for keeping
meat L ever hne" III tlG WlHIcE
On examination, four weeks after it had
been hung up, twas in perfect condition.
To salt beef for drying, l separate the
rounds at the seams. or use any good
pieces that / can get in that way without
bone. In pieces cut in that way there
are no pockets that do not dry out, and
in cutting across the end one always
cuts squarely across the grain, which
makes the shaved meat much tenderer.
There will be some small pieces, but
they can be used before they get too
dry. In sailing, | begin with the largest
pieces; rub them all over with fine salt,
leave on all of it that adheres, and pack
as closely as / can in tub. In two
days 1 take the meat out, drain off the
bloody brine, and resalt and pack as
before. Pieces that are not more than
an inch thick will be salt enough at this
time. The other pieces | take up in
the order of their thinness, leaving the
thickest for eight or ten days.
Some years ago while attending the
West Chester market, a friend suggested
that a trade in shaved beef might be
esta blished there. l was SO we'll pleased
with the suggestion that l bought a
quantity of rounds of beef, cured them,
bought meat-shaver and went to work
shaving and selling SO fast that the sup
ply was exhausted by the middle of Au
gust. 1 determined to try to salt some
then. I purchased round: cut it up
into small pieces, left no seams, sailed
the pieces as above described, but neg
lected to change the brine on the sec
ond day. The weather being very warm
the blood spoiled and tainted the meat.
/ prepared temporary frame with
tight top and bottom, covered the sides
with wire gauZe, set it up on top of the
wood-shed and hung the meat up in it.
In less than week the smaller pieces
were ready for shaving and were not
tainted in the least. The meat was
sweet and good in August. I then built
the drying-room on top of the house 1t
is ten feet long, four feet wide and four
feet high, and is tight at the top. bot
tom and ends, and for one foot at the
bottom of the sides.
The upper three feet of the sides are
covered with wire gauze and the meat is
hung on hooks screwed into the wooden
ceiling. The entrance is through trap
door from the attic below. The only
trouble | have had with the meat hung
up here has been from shippers. The
ordinary fly gauze is not fine enough to
keep the skipper-hy out. A skipper can
not enter the meat except through
seam or blood-veSsel, hence the neces-
sity for cutting all seams out. Meat
should not be left in salt after it has be-
come thoroughly salted.-Rural New
Yorker