The free press. (Poplarville, Miss.) 1890-19??, 1897-03-11

that much of the home curing is i'm
nroperly done. But this need not be
so. In the first place the farmer who
proposes to cure his own meats can
specially feed the animals SO as to
start with really superior meat Tor
curing. The work of curing 1T Is not
difficult nor hard to learn. 1t only
needs a little careful attention to de-
tails. and nowhere in life are good re-
snlts obtained without this attention.
In the first place, it must be remem-
bered that meat is not fit for salting
until it is entirely free from animal
heat, and yet it should not be frozen,
or penetration by the salt will be pre-
vented. For pork cover the bottom
of the barrel with salt to the depth OF
three inches, then pack the strips OF
pork in circles, the rind facing the
slaves, but with deposit of salt IN
tervening. Put layer of salt between
each LAYER of pork. When the mid
dlings have been packed in this way,
prepare brine sufficient to cover the
pork. using oil that the water Will
take ND. In other words, make 1t what
is called ga saturated solution. Bring
the brine to boil, skim it and when it
is cold pour it over the pork. A good
cover is a necessary part OF a pork
barrel, and the pork should be weighted
down SO that it will always be covered
with the brine.
Trim the ham and shoulders and
rub them with salt to extract the
blood. Pack as before, and put on a
pickle consisting of pound and half
of salt to pound of brown sugar to
each gallon OF water, with an ounce OF
saltpeter to 100 pounds OF meat.
Bring the pickle to boil. skim 1t and
pour it over when cold. Hams should
remain in the pickle from four to SIX
weeks. Care should be taken not to
let the hams press against each other,
as "bone spoil" is then likely to set in
before the hams are thoroughly
salted. Those who cure carefully re-
move the hams from one barrel to an
other as often as twice week until
the curing is we'll toward completion
This prevents the faint OF the bone.
The value of hams, shoulders and
bacon largely depends upon the smok'
ing. Salt cured hams and shoulders
should be make perfectly clean and
yprinkled with fine black pepper. OF
with equal parts OF black and red pep
per, which is preferred by some.
Loops for hanging should be inserted
in each piece. The smokehouse should
be SO arranged as to guard against
fires. and should have brick OF
earthen floor. Moderate quantities o.
meat may be smoked IN an inverted
barrel. The fire should be started
with dry stuff and then smothered witt
green, hard wood chips. preferably
hickory. Sometimes the chips are toe
dry and they should then be wet. The
point to be sought for is carefully
regulated fire that will not go to heat
nor make q blaze, and yet will keep
smoking all the time. A very good
practice is to use hard wood sawdust,
and fire it in q large iron kettle. This
is safe; the sawdust never makes any
blaze, and always makes good vcllmd
of smoke. Wet corncobs are uset by
many with success, but after all, tlerb
is nothing like hickory chips. Wood
that gives off disagreeable odor rust
be especially avoided. Slow smoIng
is preferable to quick, and smokin at
intervals of, say, half q day twie q
week is preferable to continuous
smoking. The longer the smoking is
carried on, the better will be the ceor
and the better the protection against
the bacon bug. In smoking il a
smokehouse the meat should be
changed, that nearest the fire mood
toward the wall, and that nearest he
wall brought toward The centre in pr
der to secure uniformity. In he
spring the hams can, if necessary,be
sewed up in coarse cloth, whitewasled
and packed away in clean hay OF
straw. The Indicator.