Omaha daily bee., 1917-06-15
Preserving Meat and Fish
By Frederic j. Hqskan.

Washington June l2-There is another way in
which you can work patrotcally this summer for
next winters food supply besides preserving fruits
and vegetables. You can salt some fish, and can
as much meat and soup as your storing space will
hold.
Canned roast beef, for example, is very con-
venient food to have on the pantry shelf in win
ter The same method is used in canning meats
as in canning fruits and vegetables, only in the
case of beef it must be blanched for half hour
instead OF few minutes 1t should then be cut
into small pieces; the gristle, bone and excessive
lat removed, and then packed into jars. Gravy
from the roasting pan is the best liquid in which
to pack il, but pot liqud-concentrated to one
half its volume-may also be used After the jars
are filled they should be sterlzed for four hours
in a homemade canning outfit or for one and a
half hours in steam-pressure kettle generating
fifteen pounds OF pressure.
When the sterilization process is completed
remove the jars, invert to cool and test the joint
and wrap them in paper to prevent bleaching,
II man succeeds in killing more wild ducks
than the family can eat his wife should can them
The canning should be done as soon as possible
after the fowl is killed, however. The first step
is to draw the bird, wash it carefully and put it
aside to cool. Then cut it into convenient Sec
tions, place in wire basket OF a cheesecloth bag
and boil until the meat begins to fall away from
the bones. Remove the meat from the bones and
place it in the glass jars, covering it with pot
liquid, after it h. been concentrated one-half add
level teaspoonful of salt to each quart of meat,
and partially seal the jars. Sterlze for three and
half hours in a homemade outfit and one hour
in steam pressure cooker generating fifteen
pounds of pressure. Follow the same instructions
in regard to inverting the jars and wrapping them
in paper This last procedure should never be
omitted in canning any kind OF product.
For family hat 1kes couo ,,,tI, d;,,ar
the home made product constitutes saving. But
you do not have to buy roast in order to get
soup materials. You can buy beef hooks, joints
and bones containing marrow, at a low price In
asmuch as the canning process requires good
deal of time, it is better to buy large quantities
at one purchase. Ten pounds, for instance, is
good amount to buy. The first step is to strip off
the fat and meat and crack bones with hatchet
or cleaver The broken bones should be put in
thin cloth sack and placed in large .;cttle con-
tanning two gallons of water, where they should
be allowed to simmer-not boil-for six or seven
hours. This should make about two gallons Of
stock Sterilize forty minutes, and pack accord
ing to the same directions.
If to this soup stock you add vegetables, it
makes delicious vegetable soup. A recipe for
vegetable soup, compiled by the Department of
Agriculture, and used extensively in the canning
clubs throughout the rural districts of the coun-
try calls for quarter of pound of lima beans
one pound of rice, half pound of pearl barley,
pound OF carrots, one pound of onions, one me-
dium-szed potato, one red pepper, one-half pound
OF flour, four ounces of salt and FIVE gallons OF
soup stock. First soak the lima beans and rice
for twelve hours. Cook the barley for two hours
The rest of the vegetables should be blanched in
boiling water and Their dipped in cold water. Then
mix all the materials together and fill the jars
flour and stir in the soup stock boil for three
minutes and add the salt. Pour this over the
vegetables and partially seal the jars Sterzc
for ninety minutes in homemade outfit. If you
use smaller quantity of soup stock cut down the
amount of vegetables accordingly.
In sailing fish great deal OF care should be
taken in the preliminary preparation. If fish is
large, has soft fms, small scales and thin skin it |
should be scalded, but not skinned Next remove
the head and vscera. Also remove as much of
the backbone as possible and the tail. Then, If |
the fish is too large to 60 into the container |
cut it to the proper length.
After thoroughly preparing the fish, washing
them in water containing little salt and being
careful to remove the blood near the backbone,
they are ready for curing. A tight keg or barrel is
better for this than any other kind of contaner
Under no circumstances use tin container. Place
a thick layer OF coarse salt on the bottom of the
barrel on the top of which spread laye1 of fish
one deep. Sprinkle this layer we'll with salt and
then add another layer of fish, and so on until the
barrel is filled or until your supply of fish is ex
hausted. A strong brine will form from the salt
and moisture of the fish, in which they should be
left for a week or ten DAYS
They are then washed, repacked in freshly
made brine strong enough to float fresh egg
After week this second brine should be drawn
off and the barrel filled with Saturated brine"
This means brine in which few grains of salt
will be seen on the bottom after long period Of
stirring. When the fish are packed in this third
brine and the barrel thoroughly tested for leakage