The Calhoun chronicle. [volume] (Grantsville, W. Va.) 1883-1984, 1897-03-30

proposes to cure his own meats can
specially feed the animals so as to
start with really superior meat for
curing. The work of curing 1T is not
difficult nor hard to learn. 1t only
needs little careful attention to de-
tails, and nowhere in life are good re-
suits obtained without this attention.
In the fret place, it must be remem-
bered that meat is not fit for sailing
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
teryening. 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 all that the water will
take up. In other words, make it what
is called "a saturated solution" Bring
the brine to q boil, skim it aud when it
is cold pour it over the pork. A good
cover is 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 aud
rub them with salt to extract the
I blood. Pack as before, and put on a
pickle consisting of pound and half
of salt 10 a pound of brown sugar to
each gallon Of water, with m ounce of
saltpeter to 100 pounds of meat.
Bring the pickle to boil, skim it 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,
a. "oone 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 well toward completion.
This prevents the tain Mt the bone.
The value of hams shoulders and
bacon largely depend supon the smok-
ing. Salt cured hams and shoulders
should be make perfectly clean and
sprinkied with fine fblack pepper, or
with equairparts of black apd 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 or
earthen floor. Moderate quantities of
meat may be smoked In an inverted
barrel. The fire should be started
with dry stuff and then smothered with
green, hard wood chips. preferably
hickory. Sometimes the chips are too
dry and they should then be wet. The
point to be sought for is a carefully
regulated fire that will not go to heat
nor make blaze, and yet will keep.
smoking all the time. A very good
practice is to use hard wood sawdust,
and fire it in a large iron kettle. This
is safe; the sawdust never makes any
blaze, end always makes good volume
of smoke. Wet corncobs are used by
many with success, but after all, there
is nothing like hickory chips. Wood
that gives off u disagreeable odor must
be especially avoided. Slow smoking
is preferable to quick, and smoking at
intervals OF, say, half day twice
week is preferable to continuous
smoking. The longer the smoking is
carried on, the better will be the color
and the better the protection against
the bacon bug. In smoking in a
smokehouse the meat should be
changed, that nearest the fire moved
toward the wall, and that nearest the
wall brought toward the centre in or:
der 10 secure uniformity. In the
spring the hams can, if necessary, be
sewed up in coarse cloth, whitewashed
and packed away in clean hay or
straw. The Indicator.