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Hawke's Bay Herald, Volume 12, Issue 925, 14 March 1868, Page 4

_ Preserving Meat. — Mr. H. W. Phillips writes to the South Ausi/ralian Register;—" At Pau, on the lower Pyrenees, at certain seasons numerous flocks of pigeons pass in their migrations ; they are caught in large numbers, and I was in- :■ formed by a native of that place with whom I was intimate in London, that they roast and: pack them in casks, pouring over them melted fat ; they are thus preserved for a length of time, being taken out as required for use, and were much prized as a delicacy.. L would suggest, therefore, that ; =legs of mutton should be roasted or boiled (it might be worth while to try some raw), .^packed in the before-mentioned casks, fat , poured over them either before or after the heads are put in, and when, one was broached, the whole contents need not be used at. once, but a leg taken out as required. Should the contact of the fat with the meat be objected to, each, leg might be pasted «p in a paper bag, out of which the meat would come as clean as when packed. If still greater delicacy were desirable, lard might be substituted for fat; as many pigs would be 'kept at the boiling-down establishments, they might be made very fat, and then turned bodily into lard, as practised in America. The soup made in the process of boilingdown might also be turned to good acV count. Thus a small quantity of hot fat being poured into the bunghole, the cask must be rolled about until the sides and heads have' received a casing, sayhalf-an-inch thick, making the cask quite airtight ; then pour in the soup so cool as not to melt the fat on the sides ; lastly, pouring in some fat on the top, completely casing the soup in, or the soup might be ■ poured into moulds ; when cold it would be a stiff jelly, and might be turned out and packed in the casks, filling up all in--i terstices with fat as before described. On .-reading the account of the'boiling-down * Establishment at Port Augusta, I notice that the fat is kept stirred until cool, or - - s ..' the oil separates from the fat. It is worthy of consideration whether it would not be j Biore profitable, to allow of its cooling :.»; quietly, and then drawing as much oil as fl possible from the top. The tallow would , : Ba almost stearine and more valuable, and ,t'i,the.oil would. probably fetch as much or .-^nioreVthan^he' tallow. The skins, if sub;;jepted.t6,hydraulic pressure, would yield a dealof fat, and dry quicker." ''■i i y 'i '.' " '. . ' ~ r "” '''"• •' ' '