Every Step in Canning Part 29

It is worth every farmer or farmerette's attention to spend some time on this problem as it pays so well in the resulting, good tasting meat. Why not have a superior grade of home-cured meat as easily as a poor grade? Work carefully and accurately done will produce good results while work slovenly or carelessly done can produce nothing but poor results. To cure meat so that it is not only delicious but has good keeping qualities is an art and accomplishment worth striving for. A pride in this work is just as fine and worth while as the housewife's pride in her culinary skill or the pride of any other professional in his or her line of work. To-day we are thinking of food and its problems as never before and it behooves us all to put more time, thought, care and skill on all things that pertain to foods. And as meat is such an essential item in our diet, meat problems should receive their due attention.

All meat that is to be cured should always be thoroughly cooled and cut into the desired convenient sizes before it is put into the brine or packed in dry salt.

The pieces most commonly used for curing are the ham, shoulder and bacon pieces from pork. From beef we use the cheaper, tougher cuts such as the plate, shoulder and chuck ribs. Mutton is seldom cured and preserved.

The ham should be cut off at the hock joint, the spare ribs taken out of the bacon, and the ragged edges trimmed off smooth. If ragged edges or scraggy ends are left these portions will become too dry in the curing and will practically be wasted.

After all the animal heat is removed from the meat and it is properly cut it is then ready for the curing. If salt is put on the meat before the animal heat is all removed, it will have a tendency to shrink the muscles and form a coating on the outside which will not allow the generating gases to escape. Meat should never be in a frozen condition when the salt is added as the frost will prevent the proper penetration of the brine and uneven curing will be the result.

METHODS OF CURING MEAT

The two most common methods of curing meat are first the brine or sugar cure process and second the dry-curing process. For general farm use the brine cured process is the better. It requires less time, less effort and not such an exacting place for the work. On most farms it is impossible to secure a desirable place in which to do the dry-curing as the meat is exposed to rats, cats, flies and other insects. The dry-curing requires considerable time to rub and salt the meat at different times while the only attention that is necessary for brine-curing is to properly prepare and pack the meat in the vessel and prepare the brine for it.

UTENSILS FOR CURING

If possible use a round container for the curing. It is easier to put the meat in tightly, and the s.p.a.ce can be used to better advantage. A hardwood barrel of some kind is excellent. Sirup, mola.s.ses or lard barrels which have been thoroughly cleaned are very satisfactory. If you use a vinegar or an oil barrel it should be well burned on the inside before using. Stone crocks or jars are sometimes used but they are expensive and c.u.mbersome to handle besides the constant danger of loss of brine from breakage.

PRESERVATIVES

For curing the meat the farmer usually uses salt, salt peter, white or brown sugar or mola.s.ses. These are the necessary preservatives. The others such as boracic acid, borax and soda are often used for sweetening the brine and to keep it from spoiling but are not absolutely essential. The salt extracts moisture and acts as a preservative. The sugar or mola.s.ses imparts a nice flavor and has a tendency to keep the muscle tissue soft in contrast to the salt, which has a tendency to make it hard and dry. So the salt and sugar have two distinct functions to perform, the one to harden and preserve, the other to soften and sweeten. If you have a favorite recipe that has proved satisfactory and you want to use sorghum or mola.s.ses instead of sugar add one pound more of the mola.s.ses. If you have been accustomed to using 2 pounds of sugar then use 3 pounds of the other sweetening.

Salt peter is not absolutely necessary as far as the preserving is concerned but it helps to hold the red color of the lean meat. If salt peter is not used the lean meat will be gray in color. It may possibly be a little tenderer if the salt peter is not used as the salt peter tends to harden the meat. Chili salt peter can be subst.i.tuted in place of salt peter, if only four-fifths as much is used.

THE SUGAR BRINE CURE

All formulas for the sugar brine cure are practically the same varying only a little in the proportions of sugar, salt and salt peter. If you have a formula that you have tried for years and have found it to be satisfactory there is no reason you should attempt a new one. But for those who want to try a different formula or recipe I will give you this reliable one that is widely used and indorsed by several agricultural colleges.

The container should be scalded thoroughly. Sprinkle a layer of salt over the bottom and over each layer of meat as it is packed in, skin down. When full, cover meat with boards and weight down with a stone so that all will be below the brine, which is made as follows:

Weigh out for each 100 pounds of meat, 8 pounds of salt, 2 pounds of sugar (preferably brown) or 3 pounds of mola.s.ses, and 2 ounces of salt peter. Dissolve all in 4 gallons of water. This should be boiled, and when thoroughly cooled, cover the meat. Seven days after brine is put on, meat should be repacked in another barrel in reverse order. The pieces that were on top should be placed on the bottom. The brine is poured over as before. This is repeated on the fourteenth and twenty-first days, thus giving an even cure to all pieces. Bacon should remain in the brine from four to six weeks, and hams six to eight weeks, depending on the size of the pieces. When cured, each piece should be scrubbed with tepid water and hung to drain several days before smoking; no two pieces should come in contact. For all curing always use dairy salt and _not table_ salt, as the latter contains starch to keep it dry and this starch may cause the meat to spoil. If you carefully follow these directions you will have delicious sugar-cured hams and bacon.

CORNED BEEF

It is desirable to have an ample supply of corned beef on hand. For this any part of the beef may be used but the parts usually selected are the plate, rump, cross-ribs and brisket, which are the tougher cuts of the meat. The brisket and plate are especially good because of the character of the fat, which is somewhat like a tissue. Cut all around the meat to about the same thickness, so that it will make an even layer in the barrel. It is best to remove the bone, although this is not necessary. Be sure to start the pickling or curing while the meat is perfectly fresh, but well chilled. Do not wait like some farmers do until they think the meat is beginning to spoil and then salt it down just to save it. Allow ten pounds of dairy salt to each 100 pounds of meat. Sprinkle a layer of the salt in the bottom of the crock, barrel, or whatever container is used. Have the salt about one-fourth of an inch in depth. After the layer is in the bottom of the container put the cuts of meat in as closely as possible, making the layer five or six inches in thickness, then put on another layer of salt, following that with another layer of meat. Repeat until the meat and salt have all been packed in the barrel, care being taken to reserve salt enough for a good layer on the top. Cover the meat with a board and weight down with a stone and _not_ an _iron_ weight. Do not allow any meat to project from the salt or mold will start and the brine will spoil in a short time. Let the meat stand over-night.

Prepare a brine by boiling 7 pounds salt, 3 pounds brown sugar or 6 pounds mola.s.ses, 2 ounces baking soda, 2 ounces salt peter and 4 gallons water for every 100 pounds of meat. This quant.i.ty of brine should be sufficient to cover that amount.

Remove any sc.u.m that rises to the surface and filter the hot brine through muslin. Set the brine aside, best over-night, to become perfectly cold before using. In the morning tip the container in which the meat is packed so that all liquor which has separated from the meat over night may drain off. Cover the meat with the cold brine. Put the container in a cool place. The curing will be more satisfactory if the meat is left at a temperature of about 38 degrees F. Never let the temperature go above 50 degrees F. and there is some risk with even a temperature of 40 degrees F. if it is continuous. The sugar or mola.s.ses in the brine has a tendency to ferment in a warm place.

After about five days the meat should be overhauled and repacked, putting the pieces which were previously on the bottom on top. Pour back the same brine, and five days later repeat the overhauling. This may seem like some trouble and possibly look like a useless waste of time but it is well worth while as it insures a more rapid and uniform curing of the meat.

When unpacking the meat watch the brine to see that it is not ropy or moldy. If you find either condition existing remove the meat and rinse each piece with cold water and after scalding the container pack the meat as at first with a little salt. Scald and skim the brine and after it is cold pour it on the meat as before. You can use corned beef if necessary after a week in the cure, but it is not thoroughly cured until it has been from 20 to 30 days in the brine. If kept for sixty days it will be salty enough to need freshening before cooking.

If the meat has been corned during the winter, and is to be kept until summer, watch the brine closely during the spring as it is more likely to spoil then than at any other time.

PLAIN SALT PORK

Rub each piece of meat with dairy salt, and pack closely in a container. Let stand over-night. The next day weigh out ten pounds of salt and two ounces of salt peter for each 100 pounds of meat, and dissolve in four gallons of boiling water. Pour this brine, when cold, over the meat, cover, and weight the meat down to keep it under the brine. The pork should be kept in the brine until used.

SMOKING CURED MEATS

Of course many farmers never attempt to smoke their cured meats but use them directly from the brine but if possible it is more satisfactory to smoke them before using for several reasons. First, the process of smoking helps to preserve the meat. The creosote formed by the combustion of the wood closes the pores of the meat to a great extent thus excluding the air and helping it to keep and at the same time makes the meat objectionable to insects. In the second place, pickled or cured meats taste better and are more palatable if smoked.

Of course the smoking must be properly done and the right kind of fuel must be used.

The Smokehouse and the Smoke. It is not necessary to have a regular smokehouse--although it is a delightful addition to any farm. Here again a community meat ring is of great advantage. One smokehouse will answer for many families. This is the ideal arrangement and it can easily be managed if you are progressive and anxious enough to supply your family with delicious meat the year around saving time and money.

If, however, you have to do your own smoking and smoke only a small quant.i.ty at a time a barrel or box will answer. Overheating of the meat must be guarded against.

Green hickory or any of the hardwoods or maple should be used for the smoking. Pine or any other resinous woods should not be used as they give a disagreeable flavor to the meat. If it is impossible to get hardwood use corncobs rather than soft wood. The corncobs will leave a dirty deposit on the meat, which is carbon. It is not objectionable only from the standpoint of "looks." The meat which you are going to smoke should be removed from the brine the day before the smoking. A half hour soaking in cold water prevents a crust of salt from forming on the outside. Do not hang the meat so that any two pieces touch as this would prevent uniform smoking.

Always start with a slow fire so as to warm the meat up gradually.

Thirty-six to forty-eight hours of heat as near 120 degrees F. as possible will be sufficient under most circ.u.mstances.

How to Store Smoked Meats. A dry, cool cellar or attic where there is good circulation is a good place for storage. If the meat is to be used soon the meat can hang without coverings but for long keeping you will have to wrap it when cold in waxed paper and then in burlap, muslin or canvas bags and then hang it, after it is tied very tightly to prevent insects from getting in, in a room with a cool uniform temperature.

Some farmers get satisfactory results by wrapping the meats in strong bags and then burying them in oat bins.

SAUSAGE

Frequently when animals are butchered on the farm there are often wholesome portions of the carca.s.s that are not used. All tr.i.m.m.i.n.gs, cheeks, liver, tongue, breast and other pieces can be made into bologna, headcheese or some other form of sausage. Sausage making is an art worth acquiring. There is always a good demand for fresh and smoked country sausage, so if you wish to sell some you will have no trouble in finding a market for your product if it is a good one.

To make sausage you should have a meat grinder, which is an absolute essential on every farm. If you do not have one already then buy a No.

22 or No. 32.

In addition to the grinder you will need a stuffer attachment which costs very little. A knife, cord, string, a clean tube and casings or muslin bags will complete your equipment. The muslin bags can be of any size but the easiest to handle are 12 inches long and 2 inches in diameter. If the sausage is stuffed into these bags they must be paraffined for home use. If you do not want to bother with casings or bags put the sausage in stone crocks or tin pans with a layer of lard or paraffin on top.

The best sausage is made by using 3 parts of lean meat to one of fat.

When using the grinder, distribute the lean and fat meat as uniformly as possible.

You are not necessarily limited to pork sausage, for there are many other delicious varieties you can make. They vary in the different kinds of meat used and in the different seasonings and spices.

Breakfast sausage has bread added to it; frankfurters are smoked pork sausage in casings; liver sausage has pork and beef or veal and bread in it; and blood sausage, as its name suggests, has blood (preferably from a hog) added to it. Then there is tomato sausage which is made of pulp from fresh tomatoes, pork sausage and crackers. Summer sausage is made in the winter and kept for use during the summer. After being dried and cured it will keep for months. Brain sausage is delicious.

To make it calves' brains are mixed with lean pork. Cambridge sausage has rice added to it.

Headcheese is usually made from the hog's head but odds and ends also can be used not only from pork but from beef and veal.

Sc.r.a.pple usually means the head and feet of hogs but it can be made from any hog meat. It is a good food as it uses cornmeal. It makes a change from fried mush and most men working on a farm relish it.

Sausage can be made from mutton mixed with pork in much the same way as beef is used for similar purposes. A general formula would be 2 parts of mutton to 3 parts pork with seasonings.