The Marietta journal. [volume] (Marietta, Ga.) 1866-1909, 1895-05-02
HOME CURED MEATS.
How Farmer That Understands the Bust
ness May Make Money.

- = - AA1OA AAs-b .AStSISNaHuS Tic 11ub1-
ness May Make Money.
Curing meat properly for the mar
ket IS frequently the surest way to
make. profits, especially when fresh
pork is SO low that it hardly pays to
raise it. Generally home cured meat
can find local market at fair prices,
many consumers preferring such
meats to those cured on a large scale
| by the packing houses. Good, home
smoked hams or shoulders are sweet
er and juicier, and a farmer can COM
mand fancy prices for his products
II he understands his work.
Picked meats are very popular in
these days, and there is a good de-
mand for them. To pickle shoulders,
bellies and hams or any kind of meat
about seven pounds of salt should be
mixed thoroughly in four gallons of
water with five pounds Of sugar and
an ounce and half of saltpeter.
Boil this mixture in some large tin
vessel, and then as the scum and
| dirt rise to the surface skim off care
fully. Next pack the meats to be
picked very carefully into water
tight barrel that has been previous
ly washed and scalded out. Pour
the curing mixture While cold over
this meat until every part of the
| RnnfnOfS &c nnxyn1,n1 To 4lo, a.
sorb some of the liquid, more must
be poured on so that no meat is ex-
posed to the air. If the meat is to
be kept for year. the picking proc
ess should be repeated in about
week. Pour off the old liquid, dry
off the meat and scrape off any
mold that might be on it and then
pickle again with new sweet brine,
as before This mixture is sufficient
for 100pounds of meat, and the same
should be added for every additional
100 pounds.
In smoking hams and shoulders
great deal depends upon the smoke
house, for q good one is really rare
thing to find upon the farm. The
smokehouse, to do well, must be per-
| fectly dry and when closed free from
frost. 1t must be we'll ventilated. If
very fine wire netting covers over
| tho vent holes in summer, the meats
can be kept in the s1nok ehouse with
out danger of being infected with
insects. In the lower part of the
smokehouse the smoke should be
made, and this should pass through
holes in the upper partition, where
the meat is hung. The upper story
can in this way be kept scrupulously
clean, and this is very important
point. Where the fire andEmeat are
all put in the same place Without any
partition between, the ashes from
the fire and dirt will Ne sure to get
on the meat. BlaGkened meat is
hardly as salable anywhere, and it is
hard to smoke meat to crisp brown
without blackeAing it without hav-
ing the fire chamber separated from
the place where tllolmeat is put. The
smoke should be light, thin smoke
and not a deep, black, Sloudy smoke
that will cover everything with SCOT.
A layer of corncobs and then one of
maple or oak sawdust, then pieces of
wood and then more sawdust until
the furnace is full will make clean,
thin smoke all night. PineSticks or
sawdust should never be used, as it
taints the meat, but hickory is good.
Every few days the outside air
should be admitted by opening the
door, as this will dry the meat.
Before smoking rub the hams and
sides thoroughly on both sides with
mixture of salt and saltpeter and
then pack the meat closely, sailing
down between each layer. The meat
should remain packed in this way
from two to four weeks, according
to the size, and then it will be
ready for smoking. -Germantown
Telegraph.