CHAPTER XXII.CURING MEATS

Curing Cellars — Hams and Their Treatment — Wilder Hams — Shoulder Meats — Bellies — Overhauling Meats — Fancy Bacon — Shipping Ages — Second Pickle — Dry Salt Meats — Curing Dry Salt Meats — Smoking Dry Salt Meats — Barreled Pork — Curing Barreled Pork — English Meats — Pigs Feet — Pigs Tongues — Pigs Snouts.

—Curing Cellars are pretty generally carried at a temperature of 35° to 36° F., for sweet-pickled meats and 38° to 40° F. for dry salted meats. At times the temperature in the foregoing is lowered to 34° F., but not frequently.

—Formerly tierces were used almost entirely, but the trend has been toward the use of vats or casks, uniform so far as possible in capacity, since it tends to better standardization. The vats can be taken out for airing, washing and sunlight, which is a prime requisite.

Dimensions of a standard vat are about as follows: For 1,500 pounds capacity, 42 inches high, 42 inches in diameter at the head, 48 inches in diameter at the bilge or center of vat. Thickness of stave one inch. Heads 1¹⁄₂ inch yellow pine; five galvanized iron hoops, two inches wide, made from No. 12 iron. Heads to be set flush with the chime, so that the weight of the contents comes directly on the floor.

Vats of this kind seem to last indefinitely and are much cheaper to handle than tierces, saving a large expense in coopering, and making it possible to use the space in the curing houses to better advantage. Cold storage houses should be sufficiently high under the joists, so these vats can be double-decked, one setting on top of the other, leaving about twenty inches of space. When handled in this manner the space inthe cellar is used to much better advantage with vats than tierces.

Into a vat of the dimensions named, should be put 1,450 pounds of meat. It will take practically sixty-eight gallons of pickle to fill the vat on a basis of 21¹⁄₃ pounds of meat to be cured, to each gallon of pickle.

—In the handling of product there is no part of the animal that requires as close and skillful attention as does the ham during the curing process. It is a thick, compact body of meat and it takes considerable time to chill, it becomes tainted very soon if not properly chilled. If the heat is removed, and the curing agent does not reach the interior promptly, decomposition sets in. As before stated the first chilling of the carcass has everything to do with the curing of this meat. If hams are properly chilled in the cooler, the balance of the process is comparatively simple. If they are only partially chilled from lack of proper attention or because of improper coolers, no curing agency will bring the hams out in a satisfactory condition.

—In hog coolers properly operated, on light and medium weight hogs, where a ham temperature of 33° to 35° F. is obtained, hams can be packed directly into the vats or tierces. Heavy hams are sometimes placed in a holding room for twenty-four hours and kept at a temperature of 33° F. to thoroughly chill. Some curers prefer to shelve all hams and to pump them before shelving.

—Each day’s cutting of hams should be tested internally with a thermometer made especially for this purpose to find the internal temperature. Light hams averaging from twelve to fourteen pounds should run from 33° to 34° F., heavy hams from 35° to 37° F. Temperatures higher than those designated are not safe, from a curing standpoint, and should be reduced to these points before the hams can be safely cured. What is meant by “safely cured” is the minimum percentage of sour, which should run less than one ham in 1,000 pieces. If previous directions as to refrigeration, handling, etc., are followed closely this condition is possible.

—The use of a pump in curing hams is a requisite to reasonably safe cure. A pump similar to that shown inFig. 135is used, the pickle being inserted around the joint by means of a hollow nickel needle. The needle is put in where the pickle is wanted, and with one stroke of the pump the pickle is forced into the inside of the ham. It is advisable to use a strong pickle, getting as much of the curative properties as possible into the ham with a minimum amount of water.

FIG. 135.—HAM PUMP.

The pump illustrated is designed so that a measured quantity must be thrown per stroke. It was formerly thought unwise to pump the selected or fancy hams, but if the work be carefully done, whatever damage might occur, is justified by the general results. In pumping hams care should be used not to pump them heavy enough to burst the tissues, and to get as much as possible of the ingredient pumped in around the stifle joint, as this is the joint where decomposition sets in.

—Ham pumping pickle is usually quite a strong solution. A good recipe is one gallon of 100° brine, towhich is added fifteen ounces of saltpetre (potassium nitrate) and fifteen ounces sugar; in the same proportion for larger quantities.

The sugar has the effect of toning down the brash salt effect in the meat, giving it a more palatable flavor, also to a certain extent it aids in curing. The saltpetre aids in curing the meat, and gives it a bright, attractive color. Meat which is cured without the use of saltpetre has a dead appearance, and is very unattractive.

—Fancy hams should be pumped with one stick of the needle pushed in from the shank end, delivering along the bone at the stifle joint, using two strokes of the pump.

Regular hams should be pumped as above with an additional stick in the stifle and one under the aitch bone, one in the butt of the ham, two strokes per stick. Heavy hams, eighteen to twenty pounds, use three strokes for each stick. Picnics or Californias should be pumped with one stroke. Stick in shank, in blood vessel over blade-bone and under blade-bone.

—Ham curing pickle varies among different curing authorities. The use of freezers for storing fully cured meats is now so general that the curing pickle, even for fancy hams, can be made somewhat stronger with no serious saltiness resulting, provided the ham is removed at about the cured age. Fancy hams, owing to the selection and usually being of lighter weight are put in a medium pickle, with a pickle of 78-degree density. To one-thousand gallons of 78-degree brine add 250 pounds of sugar and 50 pounds of saltpetre, using 5 gallons of solution per 100 pounds net weight of meat. The 78-degree pickle referred to being the density of salt solution measured by a Salometer test.

For standard hams use 78-degree pickle with 200 pounds of sugar and 65 pounds of saltpetre.

—For sake of uniformity it is best to have as large vessels as possible for making pickle solutions, so as to minimize the likelihood of error; storage vats should be provided, with coils, through which refrigerated brine should be circulated for the purpose of chilling the pickle to a uniform temperature, usually 35° F.

—A ham cure method advocated by Mr. Wilder was as follows:

A very satisfactory method of handling hams, before beginning to pickle is (providing the hogs have been properly chilled in the cooler for from sixty to seventy-two hours), as soon as they are inspected and graded, to spread them on the floor, piling them up carefully, shank down, about 2¹⁄₂ to 3 feet high, salt each ham slightly with fine salt, and let them lie packed over night in the cooler at a temperature of from 36° to 38° F. The next day they are put into process of curing. When hogs are properly chilled in a dry cooler, they come out more or less dried, and the surface of the ham, as well as the rind, is not sufficiently porous and open to absorb the pickle promptly, the meat being cooler than the curing room. When, however, it comes in contact with the fine salt, this causes moisture to form on the meat, which opens up the pores, in which condition the ham readily absorbs the pickle.

—Inasmuch as the hams have been salted on the floor, the pickle should carry correspondingly less salt in curing. Otherwise the meat will be too salty. A 75-degree plain pickle is as strong as should be used for hams thus handled.

To a tank holding 1,680 gallons, filled with 75-degree pickle, there should be added:

475 pounds granulated sugar.90 pounds saltpetre.

This makes a very safe and effective cure. The hams when being put down should be pumped as follows:

Five stitch in the shank;One on the shank joint;One on the aitch bone;One on top of the shank;Two in the body;

making a total of ten stitches per ham. The meat should be overhauled from one vat to another at the end of five days, second overhauling ten days later, pumping at that time with three stitches:

One in the shank;One in the body;One in the aitch bone.

It adds greatly to the certainty of the cure of meats to be thus pumped.

—The best flavored meats are produced with sirup, instead of sugar, but meats handled in this way have not the keeping qualities that meats have when cured with a granulated or light sugar. The sirup also has a tendency to discolor the meat, making it look less attractive, and this, coupled with its tendency to cause fermentation, has made the curing of meat with sirup, in large concerns at least, undesirable.

A formula for the use of sirup in a 1,500-gallon vat would be as follows:

88 gallons sugarhouse sirup.75 pounds saltpetre.

This will make a dark-colored pickle. Hams turned out in this manner are of a very delicate flavor.

—Shoulder meats are quite difficult to cure, probably owing to the blood content, etc. The chilling is quite as essential as for ham, and it is customary to use a stronger pickle, as well as to pump the meat somewhat heavily. The pickle for shoulder meats is to add to 1,000 gallons of 85-degree brine, 150 pounds of sugar and 65 pounds of saltpetre.

—Bellies cured in vats are a comparatively easily cured product. The process being to simply put the requisite quantity of meat in the cask and add the pickle. S. P. Bellies can be nicely cured in a pickle of 70-degree strength with 150 pounds of sugar and 65 pounds of saltpetre per 1,000 gallons.

—Overhauling is the term used in cellars to describe the process of transferring meat from one cask to another to insure its being shifted so that all parts of the meat may be equally exposed to the curing solution. It is a laborious task, but a necessity, and perhaps one of the first processes to be neglected in case of labor shortage. In most establishments its importance is recognized to be of such magnitude that a record is kept of each cask to see that the transaction is carried out. The following table gives the periods at which the meats should be changed:

—This particular part of the animal is cured either in dry salt or sweet pickle, according to the requirements of the trade and the grade or quality of the meat. The highest class bacon used in this country is generally “dry salt,” being specially handled and prepared to make the most attractive appearance. A much sought for point in bacon is to so prepare it that when fried it is of a light color. The only way to obtain this color is to use less sugar in curing, as it causes discoloration in cooking; but at the same time it greatly adds to the flavor, hence curing by the dry salt method adds to the looks. When it is cured in this way it should be dry packed in air-tight boxes lined with galvanized iron, or other material, the meat being put down with a fine salt combination, thoroughly mixed per 100 pounds of meat as follows:

The meat should be held in this cure about twenty days.

The meats are packed with the rind down uniformly, the salt being spread between the layers, the top layer being put on with the rind up and the box closed, keeping the air from it as much as possible; meat must not be overhauled. It should be fully cured in twenty-five days. Meat handled in this manner, as stated before, when fried cooks white; it also has a very bright appearance when smoked. This is a delicate cure and must be handled accordingly.

—Thetableon next page gives what is considered the age, in days, at which different kinds and weights of sweet pickled hams and sides are cured sufficiently to smoke; also at which different kinds of barrel pork are cured sufficiently to be sold; also the cuts which should and should not be pumped.

—A wasteful practice in packing houses, is to throw away pickle as soon as the meat is cured. A pickle which will show 78-degree strength, to which has been addedfive to seven degrees of sugar, saltpetre, etc., making it 83 to 85-degree when used, if tested after meats have been cured, will show a strength of from 52 to 58-degrees, the meat having absorbed the balance of the curative ingredients. The remaining ingredients in this pickle are good when purified—salt and sugar being the same under all conditions—hence when meats are fully cured the pickle should be pumped into a vat, in the bottom and sides of which are galvanized iron coils. Steam should then be turned on these coils heating the pickle by the radiation from the pipe.

SHIPPING AGES.—TIME REQUIRED FOR CURING.

After the pickle has been thoroughly boiled for an hour or so, it should be allowed to settle, when the particles ofgrease, as well as all the albumin drawn from the meat will rise to the surface in the form of a thick heavy scum; this should be carefully skimmed off and the pickle again boiled, when a second skimming is necessary, after which it should be drawn off, cooled and sufficient fresh ingredients added to give it its original strength, when it is as useful as new. For instance, to a vat of 1,500 gallons of old pickle, 50-degree strength, add:

200 pounds sugar,38 pounds saltpetre.

—These are domestic cuts or those saleable in the standard trade. They are distinct from English meats, described subsequently.

—This is a regular Board-of-Trade cut and is quoted on the market daily. The price of same is used as a basis of value for other cuts of dry salt meats. Short ribs are made from the sides of the hog between the ham and shoulder, having the loin and ribs in, and the backbone removed. Graded usually as follows:

40 to 45 lbs. average.45 to 50 lbs. average.50 to 55 lbs. average.55 to 60 lbs. average.60 to 65 lbs. average.

Prices vary according to weight. This cut is known as “regular short ribs” and is delivered on Board-of-Trade transactions.

—These are the same as regulars, except that the backbone is removed. This cut cannot be delivered on the Board-of-Trade without removing of the backbone. This is a cut sold largely in the south and is made out of the heaviest, roughest hogs.

—These are the same as short ribs, but have the spare ribs and backbone removed. They are cut square at each end and graded as to average weight, same as short ribs.

—These are made from the backs of hogs with the loin left in, the ribs and backbone removed.This cut is also known as “lean backs” and “loin backs.” Values vary according to average weight as follows:

14 to 16 lbs. average.18 to 20 lbs. average.20 to 25 lbs. average.25 to 30 lbs. average.

—These are made from sides of hogs between the ham and shoulders with the rib and loin taken out. They are sold on an average from—

35 to 40 lbs. average.40 to 45 lbs. average.45 to 50 lbs. average.

—These are the same cut as extra short clears, in every respect, except that the spare ribs are left in the belly.

—These are made from back pork of prime hogs, being free from lean and bone, properly squared on the edges. They are generally quoted as follows:

10 to 12 lbs. average.14 to 16 lbs. average.18 to 20 lbs. average.20 to 25 lbs. average.25 to 30 lbs. average.30 to 35 lbs. average.35 to 40 lbs. average.

These cuts may be used for the domestic trade and are usually under twenty-five pounds average in weight. The heavier backs are, however, in general practice used mainly for the export trade.

—These are made from the sides, hams being cut off, backbone and ribs removed, shoulder blade taken out, the leg cut off close to the brisket; being the entire side of the hog, with the ham and the bones removed.

—These are trimmed the same as long clears, except that the loin is cut out.

—These are cut with the sides squared and well trimmed on all edges. They are cured in sweet pickle, plain pickle, or dry salt and graded generally, as follows:

10 to 12 lbs. average.14 to 16 lbs. average.18 to 20 lbs. average.20 to 25 lbs. average.25 to 30 lbs. average.

—These are made from the end of the shoulder when this is cut into California hams, and have half of the blade bone with a facing of lean left on. The usual weight averages six to eight pounds.

—These are the same as regulars except blade bones are never trimmed out.

—This is a cut made from the fat cheek or jowl, trimmed to average from three to four pounds each and is a uniform cut of the hog.

FIG. 136.—LONG CLEAR.

—Dry salt meats, as the name implies, are supposedly salted dry and piled to cure. Being mostly fat, which contains but little moisture, and absorbs but little salt, the fat portion, or cuts consisting principally of fat are easy to cure. Those cuts which contain lean parts, bone or blood vessels need the most careful attention. As a result all cuts of the latter type are pumped by use of hollow needles through which brine solution is forced, varying with the weight and with the cut. A hard rib is pumped more than a short rib.

—The meats are usually passed through a dippingtub so as to make the edges moist and cover the entire surface with salt; damp salt being caused to adhere to the edges.

—The salt usually used is known as No. 1 Fine or Common salt, evaporated, rather than mined or ground salt.

FIG. 137.—EXTRA LONG CLEAR.

—A standard pumping schedule, using an open point needle and common type dry salt pump, would be as follows:

STANDARD PUMPING SCHEDULE.

Dry salt pumping pickle should be 100° brine using one pound of saltpetre per gallon.

—The sides are always piled hollow side up so that pickle made by solution of moisture purging from the meat is contained on the meats. The piles are overhauled at regular intervals so as to insure the meats being subjectedto salt at all points. Overhauling should be made: first, eight to twelve days; second, eighteen to twenty-five days; third, forty-five to fifty-five days.

Green meats should not be piled to exceed three and one-half feet in height until the third overhauling when they can be stacked higher to make room.

FIG. 138.—JOWL (DRY SALT BUTTS.)

—The following table shows the age, in days, at which dry salt meat should be cured in order to smoke safely; also at which to ship safely; also the cuts that should and should not be pumped:

TIME REQUIRED FOR CURING.

Meats put into a smoke house before they are sufficiently cured develop a condition known to the trade as “puffy,” which means that the meats being insufficiently cured when submitted to the heat of the smoke house, decompose and a gas forms which produces the condition referred to.

In cold weather and by arrangement, meats are frequently shipped at younger ages.

—Being usually cut and handled by the Cellar Department, barreled pork is consequently described therewith.

—Regular Mess Pork is “made from sides of well fatted hogs, split through or one side of the back-bone and equal proportions on both sides, cut into strips of reasonably uniform width, properly flanked and not back stripped.” The regular proportion of flank and shoulder cuts must be included. The strips average about six inches in width, and not over sixteen pieces may be packed in a barrel for regular delivery. Mess Pork is made from rough and heavy packing hogs and occasionally from heavy loin hogs. Mess pork packed between October 1 of one year and September 30 of the succeeding year is “new pork” until January 1 of the following year, and is thereafter termed “old pork.” Mess Pork made during December, January and February must have been packed at least ten days before delivery, and that delivered during the period from March to November, inclusive, must have been packed at least thirty days before delivery to grade regular.

—The hog is split through the center of the back-bone, after the shoulders and hams are removed, about six inches wide, and are packed 190 pounds to the barrel, but it is supposed to weigh 200 pounds when sold; the gain of pickle making up the difference in weight. When it is six months old, it will, weigh more than 200 pounds, and if repacked will make 104 to 105 barrels per 100 barrels when packed, and should be repacked at 200 pounds. When a number of pieces is not specified, mess pork is packed from eleven to fifteen pieces per barrel.

Prime Mess Pork is made from the shoulder and side, containing the back-bone and ribs, cut into square pieces ofabout four pounds each. The shank is cut off close to the breast. In making this cut, the side is split lengthwise, the back cut into about six pieces and the belly into four. It is made from light packing hogs.

Extra clear pork is “made from the sides of extra heavy, well-fatted hogs, the back-bone and ribs to be taken out, (the same as short clear sides) the number of pieces in each barrel not to exceed fourteen, and in all other respects to be cut, selected and packed in the same manner as mess pork.”

Clear pork is “made from the sides of extra heavy, well-fatted hogs, the back-bone and half the ribs next the back-bone to be taken out, the number of pieces in each barrel not to exceed fourteen, and in all other respects to be cut, selected and packed in the same manner as mess pork.”

Loin clear pork is “made from the sides of medium-weight packing hogs, the loin, back-bone and back ribs being removed and belly ribs left in.” It consists of extra short ribs cut into strips, and is also known as long-cut clear pork. The pieces average five inches in width.

—Regular belly pork consists of heavy, fat rib bellies cut into five-inch widths and packed as plain-pickled pork in barrels of fifty to sixty pieces. This pork is made from the same grade of bellies as dry-salt rib bellies.

Brisket pork rib is made by cutting a five-inch strip from the brisket end of heavy rib bellies (fourteen to twenty pounds average) and packing like other barreled pork. The pieces average about four pounds each. This cut is made only when it is desired to reduce the weight of heavy bellies. Clear brisket pork is made in the same manner as the above except the pieces are cut from clear bellies. Fancy clear pork is a strip cut from the brisket end of fancy breakfast bacon bellies, averaging one to one and one-half pounds per piece.

Lean belly pork consists of lean clear bellies, thirteen to fifteen pounds average, cut into three pieces each and barreled in plain pickle.

—Regular back pork (short cut mess, or family back pork) is “made from the backs of well-fatted hogs, after bellies have been taken off, cut into pieces of about six pounds each, and in all other respects to be cut, selected and packed in the same manner as mess pork.” This cut contains the loin,back-bone and back ribs, with tenderloin out, and the pieces are cut six inches wide, averaging four to six pounds.

Clear back pork is “made from the backs of heavy, well-fatted hogs, after bellies have been taken off, and back-bone and ribs taken out, cut into pieces of about six pounds each, and in all other respects to be packed in the same manner as mess pork.” In other words, it consists of short clear backs cut into strips about six inches wide, and is the same as regular back pork with the rib removed. It is sometimes called loin clear pork. The pieces average two to seven pounds.

Fat back pork or short cut clear pork is made from short fat backs by cutting them into five-inch strips. The pieces average from two to seven pounds and are packed like mess pork.

Ham butt pork (loin end or rump pork) consists of triangular pieces cut from the ham end of short clear backs or sides and includes a portion of the tail-bone. It is made when cutting short-cut harps and “English” sides, or when it is desired to reduce the weight of heavy sides or backs. It is packed in barrels, the pieces averaging three to four pounds.

—Consists of the following products made from shoulders and butts:

Extra prime pork is “made from heavy untrimmed shoulders cut into three pieces, the leg to be cut off close to the breast, and in all other respects to be cut, selected and packed in the same manner as mess pork.” The pieces average about four pounds. This and the preceding cut are not used as extensively as formerly.

Boston style butt pork is made from Boston style butts averaging four to seven pounds, packed in plain pickle.

Bean pork or clear butt pork is made from the jowl or fat cheek of the hog, cut square, trimmed smooth and averaging three to four pounds, packed in plain pickle.

—Consist of the ribs trimmed from the carcass or side with as little lean as possible. They are termed “full-sheet,” “half-sheet” and “back-bone” spareribs according as they are cut from full sides, bellies or backs respectively. They are essentially a fresh pork product and are sold in retail markets especially in fall and winter, for which purpose “half-sheet” ribs are principally used. They are packed in limitedamounts in sweet pickle at times when the demand for fresh spareribs is dull; dry-salt spareribs are taken from dry-salt sides and bellies when making them into clear cuts after curing.

—Barreled or plain-pickled pork is packed in plain salt brine in tight barrels (eighteen feet × twenty inches) at 200 pounds net weight of cured pork per barrel (355 pounds gross). The strength of brine is varied somewhat according to the cuts of pork and their destination. The regulation of the Chicago Board of Trade governing standard barreled pork (except prime mess) is as follows: “Between October 1, and the last day of February, inclusive, 190 lbs., and between March 1st and September 30th, inclusive, 193 lbs., of green meat—shall be packed in each barrel, with not less than forty pounds of coarse salt and barrel filled with brine of full strength; or forty pounds of coarse salt and in addition thereto fifteen pounds of salt and barrel filled with cold water.” Standard prime mess pork is packed twenty pounds salt and twelve ounces of saltpetre per barrel, otherwise as above.

—There is, at times, a demand in England for American pork products, and the English cuts, as well as their methods of curing in many cases, vary from the American methods on account of the natural fat hardness due to feeding and breeding, and to the fact that the English market is supplied chiefly from Denmark, Ireland and Holland, except as to the pigs raised locally. The result is that the cure of English meats is quite mild owing to non-exposure and prompt consumption. These conditions make it requisite that much care be taken in the production of meats shipped England.

—It is usual to pump English meats with a pumping pickle of saturated brine, containing three ounces of saltpetre to the gallon. In pumping Cumberlands (Fig. 139) and shoulders, pump into the blood vein and under the blade, using one and one-half to two ounces of pickle in each place, and exercising care to lodge the pickle near the bone and away from the fat on the side of the meat.

In pumping long cut hams, use ham pumping pickle and pump in the same manner as described for fancy hams.

—Imported English salt is invariably used. There are a number of standard brands, but the endeavor is to obtain a salt free from lime or magnesia compounds. The quantity should be exact.

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