The Ocala banner. (Ocala, Marion County, Fla.) 1883-194?, 1912-02-16
GOOD METHOD OF CURING
PORK


About a year ago publicity was CIV
en- to the method of curing pork
which had been found very satisfac-
tory Prof. H. ]. Waters, president of
the Kansas Agricultural College. The
department of industrial journalism
at that college now issues the follow
ing:
Since President Waters direc-
tions were first printed letters have
never ceased coming, but recently
since work began on a slaughter
house for the college in which to
fork out all these details before the
students, the interest has increased
amazingly. Farmers in Idaho and in
Maine, in Texas and in Montana have
written asking for directions, saying
they had lost their original copies.
Here, a little more fully. are the
rules as used in President Waters
own operations of curing pork:
ITO 1000 pounds of meat take the
following: Forty pounds of common
salt, 10 pounds New Orleans sugar,
pounds black pepper, ~ pounds
saltpetre, " pound cayenne pepper.
Weigh the meat and take such parts
of the ingredients as the weight is a
part of 1000. Let the meat cool thor
oughly. After thoroughly mixing the
ingredients, one-half of the amount
should be rubbed well into the meat.
Put the meat in a dry, cool place. Let
remain in two weeks, then rub on the
remainder of the cure and let it lie
about six weeks, when it is ready to
hang. Never use warm or moist
place.
''It is important that the meat be
well rubbed each time the cure is
applied, and that plenty of the cure
be forced into the hook end and
around the joints. Less cure should
be used on the thin sides than on the
joints. The heavier and fatter the
meat, the longer the time required for
curing. The warmer the weather, the
quicker the meat will take the cure.
"The best time to kill will be in
cool weather, after December 1 to
February LIST. You can kill in No.
vember if the weather is cool, but
there is much danger that the wealth
er will turn warm again. Kill at the
beginning of the cold wave. You will
produce the finest flavor if you give
the meat two or three months of cool
weather hanging, before the warm
days come. About the right size hog
is IT'S to 225 pounds, and $50 to 100
pounds for handy-sized ham. You
should have March or April hog.
while in general a light straw
color would indicate sufficient smok-
ing, it is always safe to try piece
of thin bacon or shoulder to be GER
tain that the process has been car
ried far enough to give proper flavor
and cure. The hams may be kept
one, two or three years without detri-
ment. No deterioration will take
place for even five years if a ham is
properly cured.
Smoking should be done slowly.
1t should occupy four to six weeks,
little every day, and with little heat
Slow smoking gives a delicate flavor
After the smoking is finished, wrap
each piece in paper, put in an un-
washed flour sack and hang in a dry
place.
"The brine cure requires the same
materials, minus the pepper. When
the meat has cooled, rub it with salt,
and let it drain over night. Pack in
clean barrel with the heavy pieces,
hams and shoulders, at the bottom
For every 100 pounds, use s pounds
of salt, 2 pounds brown sugar, and 2
ounces of saltpetre. Dissolve in four
gallons of water and cover the meat
with it. Thin sides should remain in
this four to six weeks and hams six
to eight weeks. After it has dried
thoroughly, smoke as in the dry
cure.
ITO determine just when the meat
has been cured take one of the Shout
ders, saw off two or three steaks and
note the color of the lean. If the in
ner muscles are turning a red tinge
and the outer muscles are quite red.
the indications are that it is suffi-
GENTLY cured. 1t is best to fry these
steaks. If the outside is a bit too
salty and the inside not salty enough,
it is time to quit curing. Hang it up
for smoking. Southern Cultivator,
Atlanta Ga