A
VOL. XXXI.
INDIANAPOLIS, IND.. DEO. 19, 1896.
NO. 51
EXPERIENCE DEPARTMENT
How   Can  I   Best   Cure   .and Smoke
Meat for Family Use.
lst Premium.—Much meat is spoiled by
over salting.     Such meat is hard, dry,
salty and almost indigestible.   A  writer
on this subject to the Indiana Farmer, a year or
two ago,said: "You can't
get meat to take too much
salt." Well, ho was away
off.    You can' absolutely
spoil meat with salt    I
have been complimented
many, many times'on my
fine, sweet, juicy hams.
Now this is the way 1
do it. I want my hogs
perfectly cold before they
are cut up. The hams and
shoulders are trimmed up
nicely. If any bloody
spots are on the shoulders
they are carefully removed;, the sides are cut in
strips-about six inches
. wide"; cutfrom top to bottom. Cat off the thick fat
ends of the strips for lard
Forty-eight hours after
tbe hog bas been killed is
soon enough to salt. Do
- ^-otpi^e/ r_«ttt UJi^ceJinlrlBy-
each piece by ils sell
from the time the hog is
cut up, till the meat i
cured.
I always salt dry, ard
for a hog that would weigh
about 250 pounds alive,
I put in a tub about two
quarts of salt, two pounds
ot brown sugar, one half
pound of pulverized saltpeter, one-half pound of
black pepper; mix all
. thoroughly together.Then
I take one piece of the
meat at a time, and lay it
in the tub, and rub on the
flesh surface all of the
mixture I can rub in, lifting up* each piece and
shaking off all that will
fall oft. And lay each
piece separately on a
swinging plank; one side
lower than the other to
shed oft all the drip. In
four or five days I repeat
the rubbing of the meat
with the mixture. Two
rubbings are enough for
the side meat, and for
small hams and shoulders.
Bntlarge hams and shoulders should have the third
rnbbing. Always leave
about the same length of
time between the rubbings. I do the salting in
the cellar to prevent freezing. About a week af ter
the last salting I have all the meat in the
smoke house,whlch should be well ventilated. As soon as the meat isdried oft,which
will be in a week or ten days, I smoke
with good hickory or sugar wood, and
clean dry corn-cobs; being careful not to
cause tho house to become too warm. I
smoke daily until the skin of the meat is
a chestnut brown, and let it hang a few
days. And when perfectly dry, pack in
a box in clean, dry wood ashes; not letting one piece of meat touch the other, or
any part of the box. I keep the box in
the smoke house, which is cool and dry.
: When one' piece is taken out for use,
% -brnsh the ashes oft with a brush or a stiff
V broom, and keep the balance well covered
'with the ashes. Try this plan then you
tknow what good sweet ham is.
\ Marshall Co. Wm. B. Davis.
2d Premium.—Never cut your hogs the
same day that you kill. One essential
thing is getting good sweet bacon is not
to cut your meat until all of the animal
heat is out of it, then you can trim to
your ideal ham. No use to leave much
fat on the ham, for you will not eat it in
hot weather.
I prefer to put the joints in brine; put
them in a tight cask with plenty of salt
When smoked sufficiently take them
down, wrap them in hoavy paper and put
each into a paper sack and hang up again
in some cool dry place. The smoking
and sacking shonld be done before the
skipper fly comes, in the spring. If you
want sugar cured hams, or breakfast
bacon, add a little sugar to your brine.
Good bacon depends very muoh on the
condition of the  hog    When  you kill
to put the meat away. Get it away before
the bugs come.
I use good unbleached muslin.   Make
enough.   If not quite, hang so the salt
will  penetrate some  after  it is  hung.
Leave in salt six weeks if not too much
frozen.   Then hang and smoke with cobs
until meat ia a light brown.   L9t hang
three weeks or until it looks dry.   This
depends on the weather; if damp it will
bags.    A yard will make
one, take   good   timothy
hay (not musty) and put
it in the bottom.   Open a
little with the   hand;  lt
takes two.    One to hold
the meat while the other
stuffs the hay all around
and on top.   Tie and hang
so they  will   not be   In
touch with anything.    If
the hay is not thick the
grease will run through;
the bugs will deposit eggs
and   then  skippers,  and
strong   meat,   and   mold
will form.    This must be
peeled off when the meat
will be  soft   aud  sweet.
Hams  put up  after this
manner will   keep until
October without a skipper.
Put up some ot the shoulders and   sides   in   salt.
Have the.scalding barrel
dried.    Cat the sides  in
two pieces pack on edge
■puttiffgiralt* between' each'
two pieces, pack the shoulders on top or put in a side
with the shoulders. Shake
the  barrel  to  make the
salt fill all places; cover,
all with salt   Two thicknesses of carpet must be
put on   top of the barrel,
and then boards weighted.
Set   the   barrel  on  two
blocks so the air will pass
under or in damp weather
the salt will penetrate the
meat.
When the bags are emptied of tbe meat, wash,
mend all small holes, put
away and with care they
will last for years.
A.H.
SANTA  CLAUS GIVES ATTENTION. Tbis little g'rl is telling kind old Santa some of thc things
she hopes to lind in her stoehing on Christinas morning.   Mnj- she not he «lisappointe«l.
\
and let them stand there five days; then
fill up your cask with water from the
well and add more salt if necessary; then
let them stand four to six weeks according to size of joints. Examine them and
do not let them get too salty. When salted
enough hang and smoke. Green hickory
wood is probably the best; clean corncobs are very good; any good scund
wood will do; but do not gather old rotten chips, with droppings of the hens, or
otber filth and flavor your bacon with
them. A few red pepper pods burnt
under them, when first hung gives them
a good flavor, and drives out any flies
that chance to come around,
three days being long enough to smoke if
you have a good smoke house and give
proper attention.
leave off his feed  at  least twenty-four
hours  before you  kill and be sure and
not irritate him before you kill.
_______ I. N. C.
3i Piemlum—The main thing In curing
meat Is not to get It too salty. If too
salty it becomes hard. After soaking it
loses its sweet taste. Use coarse salt rubbing sides and ends of eaoh ham and
shoulder well with the salt Have the
sea'ding barrel dried. After rubbing put
each piece with the skin side down; sides
included. Cover the pieces with salt and
to each piece add two handfuls of brown
sugar spread over the top.. After stand-
Two or ing awhile take all out, putting the top
pieces in the bottom, and the other on
top. Cat a shoulder to see if salted
take longer.   Choose a clear bright day
The best meat for family use is made from 140
to 180 pound hogs.   Such
meat is not greasy   and
strong   but   sweet    and
juicy.   To get the ber/ returns the cutting up V o-
cess is of first importance.
To cut off the head set the
knife   back   close to the
mouth and skin the  jaw
bone, thus getting all the
meat you can for sausage.
Then take out the back
bone, lard and ribs, using
a   short   limber   bladed
knife, so you can skin out
the bones.      Cut oft the
shoulder through the  thin part of the
blade.     Trim square, but  liberally, so
as to  get plenty of  meat  for  sausage.
Shoulder    meat is  poor  meat  at   best,
and  slowest  and  lowest sale.    Cat the
ham   off   through   the  joint,   and  trim
round and smooth.   Trim the side just
enough to make it smooth.    Take off the
lean piece at thick part for sausage, for
this will get dry and salty and be thrown
away.   To cut  meat smooth  make but
one long  quick stroke  witn  knife, not
several short jags. Pat sausage in crocks
and bake in stove until about half or two
thirds done, then cover with melted lard,
and It will keep sweet and fresh until the
next August   Salt in box, rubbing Joints
well.   Pack shoulders and hams by them
selves.   If weather is warm re-salt.   In
Concluded oil Oth page.