Untitled

Hawke's Bay Herald, Volume 12, Issue 942, 12 May 1868, Page 2

Pjkesekving Meat. — Mr. H. W. Phillips writes to the South Australian 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 informed 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. I 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 up 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 boil-ing-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 boiling-down might also be turned to good .account. Thus a small quantity of hot fat being poured into the bunghole, the cask must be rolled about tin til the sides and heads have received a casing, say half-an-inch thick, making the cask quite airtight ; then potir 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 jelty, and might be turned out and packed in the casks, filling up all interstices with fat as before described. On reading, the account of the boiling-down establishment afc Port Augusta I notice that the fat is kept stirred until cool, or the oil separates from the fat. It is worthy of consideration whether it would not be more profitable to allow of. its cooling quietly, and then draw as much oil as possible from the top. The tallow would be almost stearine and more valuable, and the oil would probably fetch as much or more than the tallow. The skins if subjected to hydraulic pressure would yield a good deal of fat, and dry quicker."