The progressive farmer. [volume] (Winston, N.C.) 1886-1904, 1900-11-13
No39

ready for the important and finish
ing process of smoking it. The meat
house is, of course, one with dirt
floor, where the fire for the smoke is
made in the center of the room, so as
to be as far as possible from the
walls. A few live Goals are laid and
a fire is made of some dry stuff, and
as it gets well to burning, the fire is
smothered with green hickory or
oak wood, and basket of green
chips from the wood-pile where oak
or hickory wood has been cut, is also
kept at hand, and if too dry, are wet
! with water and used to keep the fire
smothered so as to produce a great
smoke with but little blaze. Care is
taken not to allow the fire to get too
large and hot, so as to endanger the
meat hung next to it. Should the
fire get too strong, as it sometimes
will, it must be quenched with water,
a bucketful of which is kept ready
at hand
Oak or hickory chips or wood give
the best color to meat. Some woods,
as pine, dilanthus, mulberry and per-
simmon, are very Objectionable, i'm
parting disagreeable taste to the
meat. Corn cobs make good smoke
for meat
Cloudy and damp days are the best
for smoking meat. It seems to i'm
bibe the smoke more freely on such
days, and there is also less danger of
fire. The smoke need not be kept up
constantly unless one is in haste to
sell his meat. A Lalf day at time,
two or three days in the week, for
two or three weeks, will give the
meat that bright gingerbread color
that is generally preferred. Itshonld
not be made too dark with smoke.
It is well, after the meat is smoked
nearly enough to have an occasional
smoke all through the spring until
late in May.
The above outline is the us4l;sl
course and is considered best. Of
course, the work may be finished up
in week from the time of hanging
up the pork. Some smoke more,
some less, according to their fancy
as to color. The more it is smoked
the better the bacon will keep. But
it need not, and, in fact, should not,
be made black with smoke.
It is necessary before the smoking
is quite through with, to remove the
meat that is in the center just over
the fire to one side, and put the meat
i from the sides in the center. The
meat directly over the smoke takes
color faster than that on the sides,
though the house may be kept full Of
smoke constantly.
Some farmers who do not care to,
risk the safety of their meat by hay-
ing a fire under it, set up an old stove
on the outside and have the pipe TO
let it into the house. A smolderlDg
fire is then kept up with corncobs
or oak chips. But there is about as
much danger this way as the other.
The stovepipes may becomes SO hot
as to set fire to the wall of the house
where it enters, or blaze may be
carried within if there is too much
fire in the stove. There is some RISK
either way, but we prefer the other
plan With properly built smoke
house there is not much danger by
the method we have described.
The meat is now cured, and if opE
directions have been observed, the
farmer has supply of bacon the
best the world can show, and as coed
as art or science can produce. Meat
cured as we have meant thatit should
be, as the ne pEats ultra of good bacon.
and we do not think there is much
to be learned further in the practical
part of this art. The process may,
indeed, be too slow for this impa-
tient, rushing age. Many may pre-
fer ''short CUT from the slaughter
pen to the broiler or baking pan,
may pooh, pooh, our plan as old
timed and old fogyish, and with their
pyroligneous acid may scout onr
vulgar smoke and get their bacon
ready for eating in two hours after
the salt has struck in. But we viii
risk our reputation as a practical
farmer that they never can show
such meat by their method as we
can by the mode herein described
There is meat and meat. Theirs
may be good enough for canniBals or
Hottentots ours, we wager, viii be