Gunnison news-champion., 1922-11-03
ARE YOU PROVIDING TABLE
WITH HOME CURED MEATS.

Do you like cured ham and bacon7
OF course you do, and wouldn't Il be
good idea TO fix good supply of
home cured hams and bacon for next
SUMNER The season for curing meat
IS close at hand Many farmers fol-
low the practice Of selling their hogs
and buying back their meat as they
use il. This practice is not only in
convenient, but very expensive
Meat, and especially pork, can be
grown and cured ~ home for much
less than the purchased meat, 70 say
nothing Of ready market for good
cured hams, sides and shoulders
Curing meat on the farm passed the
experimental state many years ago
and Is now an economical means OF
providing meat throughout the year.
AT present prices ! hog weighing
zoo lbs-. 1--we weight at $3.50 per
hundred Is worth $500. II il dresses
15 per cent, which is about average.
the dressed weight would be 100 lbs,
20 that the dressed hog is worth about
Sl2.65 per hundred. excluding the cost
Of labor, which is not high, 'as two
men can easily kill and dress six or
eight hogs in a half day.
When one considers that any of
NAAF AAF.- otskhN ANouA A4Af
butcher shop as fresh meat costs at
least % cents per pound and the cured
product much more. the economy of
following the practice Of curing meat
on the farm Is very evident. The
farmer cannot afford to sell his hogs
FOR . cents . pound and pay 80 cents
10 30 cents for cured bacon, ham or
shoulders and 20 cents TO 25 cents for
lard.
Tire farmers Of Colorado lose sew
eral million dollars each year by fail
ing 10 make the meat that is actually
used on the farm. Considering that
the meat from five hogs on an aver
age is consumed by each family in
Colorado. il would mean the slaughter
ing each year in Colorado of about one
million hogs. The Year Book of Colo
rado shows that in 1921 only 81 .302
hogs were actually slaughtered in
Colorado. Where did the rest of our
meat come from7 We bought II from
other states, possibly made from hogs
which were raised in the corn belt
states, or from hogs shipped out of
the state.
One recipe, which is an old standby
for brine cured meat, is as follows:
For each 100 lbs. of meat use
9 pounds salt.
2l2 pounds sugar or sirup, brown of
cane.
ounces saltpeter.
4 gallons of water
Allow four days cure for each pound
in ham or shoulder: three days for
bacon and smaller pieces.
The brine should be made the day
before it is used, 81 that it will cool.
All the ingredients are poured into the
water and boiled until thoroughly
mixed. Place hams and smaller pieces
on top. Pour in the brine and be sure
il covers the meat thoroughly. In five
days pour off the brine and change the
meat. Place the top meat on the bot
tom and the bottom meat on top. Re-
peat this operation again on the tenth
and eighteenth. If the pickle becomes
ropy take out container, and boil the
brine, or better yet make new pickle
When each piece of meat has received
the proper cure take ii out of the
pickle, wash it In luke warm water,
string and hang it in the smoke house
Smoke the meat untif it has good
chestnut color.
For smoking use hickory. or any of
the hard Woods, or cottonwood and
aspen and willow. Corn cobs are good.