FIG. 139.—CUMBERLAND CUT.
FIG. 139.—CUMBERLAND CUT.
FIG. 140.—LONG CUT HAM.
FIG. 140.—LONG CUT HAM.
FIG. 141.—MANCHESTER HAM.FIG. 142.—STAFFORDSHIRE HAM.
FIG. 141.—MANCHESTER HAM.FIG. 142.—STAFFORDSHIRE HAM.
FIG. 141.—MANCHESTER HAM.
FIG. 141.—MANCHESTER HAM.
FIG. 142.—STAFFORDSHIRE HAM.
FIG. 142.—STAFFORDSHIRE HAM.
FIG. 143.—YORKSHIRE SIDE.
FIG. 143.—YORKSHIRE SIDE.
On meats not overhauled not less than four and one-half nor more than five and one-half pounds of salt to the one-hundred pounds on all cuts excepting long cut hams, should be used. On the latter from five to six pounds of salt per one-hundred pounds of meat should be applied. In the summermonths the maximum amounts heretofore described should be used.
On meats overhauled used three to three and one-half pounds of salt per one-hundred pounds when putting down, and three pounds per one-hundred pounds when overhauling. Rub salt in well under the sides of shanks of shoulders, and use plenty on the top of shanks of both.
FIG. 144.—STAFFORDSHIRE SIDE.
FIG. 144.—STAFFORDSHIRE SIDE.
FIG. 145.—DUBLIN CUT.
FIG. 145.—DUBLIN CUT.
—In salting sides, salt the heaviest on the shoulder and along the loin, rubbing the edges of all cuts carefully, seeing that the salt adheres to all parts of the meat before it is piled, for if there are places where there is no salt on the meat, it will discolor and eventually become slippery and in bad condition.
In stuffing the pockets of long clears and long ribs, do not use more than one and one-half times the amount of salt on the same area of shoulder or loin. Too much salt used in the pockets of the sides gives the meat a burned salty appearance and condition.
FIG. 146.—ANTWERP BACK CUT.
FIG. 146.—ANTWERP BACK CUT.
In rubbing the salt into the pockets be careful to put the salt into every part, otherwise meat will spoil in places missed.
Bellies require less salt, the fixed rule being 42%. They are not usually overhauled but are frozen at cure, if shipping is deferred.
FIG. 147.—SQUARE EXPORT SHORT RIB.
FIG. 147.—SQUARE EXPORT SHORT RIB.
—A great deal depends upon the color of English meats. The trade demands a bright, attractive appearance insame and considerable saltpetre is necessary. Four ounces of saltpetre to the 100 pounds of meat on cuts weighing from three to five pieces per 100 pounds, to as high as six ounces per 100 pounds on smaller cuts, should be used. The salt and saltpetre should be thoroughly mixed before applying.
FIG. 148.—WILTSHIRE SIDE.
FIG. 148.—WILTSHIRE SIDE.
—Use extra care to pile meats closely and excludethe air, for they will not develop a desirable color when they are exposed to the air. After the meats are all piled evenly, the edges should be gone over, and any exposed parts covered with a fine sprinkling of salt.
Sides are piled so as to make a cup of the hollow portion with a tendency for the pickle to drain slightly toward the back. Hams are piled shank down on an angle of about 45°.
FIG. 149.—SQUARE SHORT CLEAR.
FIG. 149.—SQUARE SHORT CLEAR.
—English middles weighing from twenty-three to thirty pounds average, and long cut hams from twelve to fourteen pounds and heavier, should be overhauled at from eight to twelve days old, salting them as before described. Do not overhaul English meats unless necessary in order to hold them after they are cured.
SHIPPING AGE.
—Thetableon the preceding page shows the ages at which English meats can be safely shipped during seasons from October 15 to March 1, and from March 1 to October 15.
These ages for shipping should be followed closely, but when necessary the following exception may be made without detriment.
From October 15 to March 1, shortest shipping age may be reduced five days.
—Meats to be packed in borax, cured as above, should be put in a plain cold pickle 100-degree strong, then scraped on the skin side and wiped with cloths wrung out of hot water. If the meats are old and have a slippery appearance, they should be scrubbed with a brush in warm pickle and wiped afterwards. They should then be rubbed in borax with the rind placed upon a grating and the surplus borax brushed off the skin side of the meat, using a fine brush for so doing. It is customary to use from five and one-half to six and one-half pounds of borax per 300 pounds of meat. Meats to be packed in salt should not be washed. The skin and edges of the meat should be thoroughly scraped and then rubbed in fine salt before being put in the boxes. Meats are nailed under heavy pressure so as to exclude all the air possible.
—Singed Wiltshires, a cut which was revived during the “Great War,” are made from hogs suitable for Cumberlands. Weights vary by averages. The hogs are singed during slaughter, cured in plain pickle, and shipped on ten days’ pickling, packed in dry salt.
LONG CUT HAMS AND CUMBERLAND TESTS.
—This test may be of service. It shows the percentage of yields of different weight hogs made into long cut hams and Cumberlands, also average weights.
—Usually only the front foot is used as it is a better shaped foot to prepare than the hind foot. The hind feet are more or less disfigured and out of condition by having the gam strings opened in order to hang the hog on the sticks. The hind foot being used largely for making a low grade of glue. It can, however, be used in boneless pig’s feet.
—The feet are scalded, after which the hoofs are removed and the feet are shaved and cleaned, put into a plain salt pickle, 90-degree strong by salometer test, and to this pickle should be added six ounces of saltpetre to each 100 pounds of feet. The feet should be left in this curing pickle for from six to eight days, or until they show a bright red appearance when cooked. If this red appearance does not extend clear through the feet after being cooked, it shows that they are not fully cured. They should not be left in the pickle longer than necessary to fully cure them for if heavily salted it has the effect of making them break in the cooking water.
—After properly cured in the salt pickle the feet should be cooked in a wooden vat (an iron vat discoloring them) provided with a false bottom about six inches above the bottom, so that the direct heat from the steam pipe does not come in contact with the feet. The water should be brought to a temperature of 200° to 206° F. and held at this temperature until the feet are sufficiently cooked. The water should never be brought to the boiling point, as the feet will become badly broken, which greatly injures their appearance.
After the feet are sufficiently cooked and thoroughly chilled in cold water, they should be put into a white wine vinegar pickle 45-degree strong, it being preferable to pack feet which are to be used at once in open vats in a refrigerated room held at a temperature of 38° to 40° F. Where feet are to be held for some months before using it is advisable to put them into barrels or tierces after filling the tierces with vinegar of 45-degree strength. The packages should be stored in a temperature 40° F. When held this way it will be found that the feet have absorbed a great deal of the vinegar and avery marked increase in weight is obtained. There should be a gain of from 10 to 15 per cent in weight at the end of three months.
—Prepared pig’s feet at certain seasons of the year are difficult of sale and there are times when it pays better to tank them or use them for glue purposes. The following tests on rough uncleaned fore and hind feet will show the yield when tanked. Percentages in tests are correct. The prices are those ruling at the time tests were made:
TEST ON TANKED PIGS FEET.
The following tests show costs, in detail, of pig’s feet put up in different sized packages, costs being figured at the regular Chicago market prices at the time these tests were made:
TEST ON 483 PIECES OR 500 POUNDS PIGS FORE FEET.
—Various uses are made of this piece of meat. They are very extensively used in canning factories where they are put up and known as “lunch tongue”; they are also used in different kinds of sausage, and are put up to quite an extent in vinegar pickle. When handled in the latter manner the following suggestions are of practical value.
The tongues after being trimmed should be cured in a 75-degree plain salt pickle using three ounces of saltpetre to 100 pounds of tongue. After the tongues are fully cured, which will require from eight to twelve days, they are scalded, the outer surface of the tongue being scraped off. In some instances the scalding is done before the tongues are put in the pickle. Either way is proper. After being scraped and cleaned they are cooked as desired and afterward pickled in a white wine vinegar pickle of 45-degree strength. The following tests will show the cost of tongues packed in different sized packages, the cost being determined by the cost of meat and supplies at the time tests were made:
TEST ON 1,000 PIECES, OR 910 POUNDS PIG TONGUES.
COST OF ONE BARREL PIG TONGUES PACKED AT 190 POUNDS NET.
—There is at times quite a demand for fresh pig tongues in Liverpool and other foreign points, in which case the trade demands that they arrive there without being salt-cured. The following formula will be found very valuable for this purpose and also point out how to carry tongues without salting them, when it is desired to do so: Use 116 pounds of boracic acid, fifty-eight pounds of borax, twenty-nine pounds of fine salt and seven and one-quarter pounds of saltpetre.
The method of mixing is as follows: The boracic acid and borax are put into a vat containing sixty gallons of water. The vat should be connected with steam supply so that it can be brought to the boiling point, cooking same slowly and stirring it well for half an hour. The salt and saltpetre is then added and should be stirred until thoroughly dissolved. After the solution has been allowed to cool, add sufficient cold water to give it a strength of 21 degrees by salometer test. Chill the solution to a temperature of 38° F. The tongues should be trimmed and thoroughly chilled, it being essential that they are in perfect condition. They should then be packed in a tierce, after which the tierce is filled with the preservative. Tongue should be shipped in refrigerator cars where the temperature is not allowed to go above 38° F.
—These consist of the snout of the hog together with the upper lips and front part of the nose. During preparation they are handled very much in the same manner as pig’s feet. They are first shaved and cleaned, afterward scalded, removing the outer skin or membrane of the nose. Then they are cured, using a 90-degree plain salt pickle and adding thereto three ounces of saltpetre to 100 pounds of snouts. After they are fully cured, which will require fromfive to eight days, they should be cooked in a wooden vat to the desired degree of tenderness after which they are chilled in cold water and pickled in white wine vinegar of 45-degree strength. The following tests show the cost of preparing pig snouts in different sized packages:
TEST ON 1,060 PIECES, OR 1,000 POUNDS PIG SNOUTS.