NOTES ON HAM AND BACON CURING.

Bruce Herald, Volume XXIX, Issue 2955, 26 April 1898, Page 3

NOTES ON HAM AND BACON CURING.

d/fowi tJi&Agricillpurql Gazette of N.B.W. • r o■■ Dissolve _* Black Horse ' brand Li verpooi coarse satft in water until the liquid is strong enough to jSqat a potato. To every gallon adoilquarter pound sal prunella, quatter nofflui saltpetre, four pounds brown sugar. i>l«Bp}ye.t_oTOughly ; add;balf pouffd ..whole spice to every gallon (3ewing the spice j.n a cotton bag.. to prevent.it mixing with f_e ptcklejf. ""•'"-- ''' •••"•-• Bdil tbe pickle for an hour ; when cold it ;; is! ready for use. "• > This pickle can be ■•'kept- in constant use if it is boiled every two months, and" - replenished with spice, sugar, etc. ; boiling causes all blood, fat, etc., to rise to ;. the aurface, when such rm ? tterß can be easily : skimmed off. _ ickle properly looked after becomes J stronger aud more valuable with' age, and '< will last a long time. The pork' must be cold, or it will not take the salt properly ; the colder the flesh tbe easier it is to cure, proving the advantages of a refrigerator. Pump pickle into tbe shoulders and hams ; from two to four injections in the shoulder, and two to three in the hams, according to their size. : Have bacon tank No. 1 empty. Cover bottom of tank with a thin layer of aaU, then place a layer of bacon, taking care, should any ofHjthe sides overlie each other, : to put a sprinkling of salt bet weeTN Sprinkle salt all over the pork, and also sprinkle very > lightly with saltpetre; then pack another layec of bacon crosswaye upon the first, and j I so on until all the bacon is in tank. When l packing the tank, keep every layer as nearly level as possible. Batten the meat firmly down, and cover the whole with pickle. If , using new pickle, add one pound of brown sugar to every ten sides, dissolving it in tbe pickle before use. Miss one whole day before turning the oaccm into No. 2- -tank, vh. : — Baoon put into No. 1 tank on Monday should be turned into No. 2 tank on Wednesday, and into No. 3 tank on Friday. The bacon will be ready to take out of pickle on Monday, giving it seven clear days in tanks. Use saltpetre in No. 1 taiik only. Stacking. — Mark off part of the floor for stacking tbe bacon upon as it comes from the tanks. Cover the space with salt ; then p.ut a layer of bacon, covering it with a light coat of suit; then another layer of bacon crosswise to the firat, and so on, takine care to have layers level, and aB much pressure on the pumped parts as possible. For the first fortnight turn the stacks twice a week, and once a week for the other two or three weeks. The bacon can then be washed and smoked, or hung up in the green state (unwashed) until required.