Part 3

The skins of cattle represent considerable value if properly treated. To save them in the north where cold weather prevails during the butchering season is not difficult, as they can be rolled up and kept frozen until disposed of. However, in the warm seasons, they should be spread out flat, hair side down, the legs, flanks, etc. stretched, and all parts rubbed thoroughly with salt. Particular pains should be taken to treat the entire surface of the skin. If more than one skin is to be salted, they should be salted one at a time and should be spread one on top of the other, with the hair sides together, and the skin sides together. Where only one hide is handled, the legs and head should be folded in and the hide rolled up. Enough salt should be used to cure the hide thoroughly if it is to be kept for any length of time. Ten to twelve pounds of salt will be sufficient for an ordinary hide.

Killing and Dressing Sheep

Much of the sheepy flavor of mutton comes from the generation of gases in the stomach after the sheep is killed. For this reason, the sheep should always be dressed as rapidly as possible. A platform about eighteen inches high is convenient to work on and aids in keeping the blood away from the body, insuring a cleaner carcass. A clean, dry place is necessary for neat work. Water or blood on the wool makes it very difficult to dress the animal nicely.

§ 30. Stunning and Bleeding

If the sheep is an old one, it may be stunned before bleeding. If a young one, the same purpose is served by dislocating the neck. This is accomplished by putting one hand on top of the head or poll and the other hand under the chin and giving a sharp twist upward. Then lay the sheep on its side on the platform, with its head hanging over one end. Grasp the chin in the left hand and stick a knife through the neck just back of the lower jaw. The cutting edge of the knife should be turned to the spinal column and the cut be made through the flesh to the bone. In this way it is possible to sever the blood vessels without cutting the windpipe.

§ 31. Skinning

Split the skin over the back of the front legs from the dew claws to a little above the knees. Open the skin over the windpipe from brisket to chin, starting it slightly on the sides of the neck. Split the skin over the back of the hind legs to midline, and skin the buttock. The skin should also be raised over the cod and flanks. Skin around the hocks and down to the hoofs, cutting off the hind feet at the toe joints. No attempt should be made to skin the legs above the hocks until after the carcass is hung up. Hang the sheep up by the hind legs and split the skin over the midline. Start at the brisket and “fist off” the skin. This is done by grasping the edge of the pelt firmly in one hand, pulling it up tight and working the other close between the pelt and the body. The “fisting off” should be downward over the fore quarter and upward and backward over the hind quarters and legs. It is unwise to pull down on the skin over the hind legs, as the membrane covering the flesh is sure to be ruptured and an unsightly appearance given to the carcass. The wool should always be held away from the flesh for the sake of cleanliness. The skin on the legs should be pulled away from the body, rather than toward it, in order to preserve the covering of the meat. When the pelt has been loosened over the sides and back, it should be stripped down over the neck and cut off close to the ears. The head may then be removed without being skinned by cutting through the atlas joint.

§ 32. Gutting

Begin removing the entrails by cutting around the rectum and allowing it to drop down the inside of the carcass. Do not split the pelvis. Open down the belly line from the cod to the breastbone, and take out the paunch and the intestines, leaving the liver attached to the diaphragm. The heart, lungs and diaphragm may either be removed or allowed to remain in the carcass. Reach up into the pelvis and pull out the bladder. Wipe all blood and dirt from the carcass with a coarse cloth wrung nearly dry from hot water. Double up the front legs and slip over the ankle joint the little cord which is found by cutting into the fleshy part of the forearm.

Bleeding and Dressing Poultry

§ 33. Bleeding and Picking

When only a few chickens are to be dressed, the simplest way of bleeding is to chop off the head with an ax or cleaver. They should be scalded at once and picked. Scalding causes the muscles at the base of the feathers to relax, so the feathers come out easily. After picking, the skin can be made firm by plunging the bird in cold water. The crop and intestines should be removed as soon as the skin is cooled.

If the bird is to be dry picked, it should be bled by cutting the blood vessels in the head and puncturing the brain. For this purpose, a scalpel or a small knife, is used. The instrument must be pointed and very sharp. The bird is grasped by the head with the left hand, and with the right hand the scalpel is thrust upward inside the mouth at the back of the throat. If done properly, the bird will bleed almost as fast as when the entire head is removed. The knife should be thrust clear through to the brain so the bird will be stunned. Stunning the bird in this way has the same effect as scalding, in that it causes the muscles at the base of the feathers to relax so that the feathers can be easily plucked out. If the bird is not stunned, the feathers will not pull out so readily. The bird should be hung up by the feet and picked immediately, before the body gets cold and the feathers set. A few at a time should be grasped between the thumb and first finger, and the pull should be upward and backward, in the direction which the feathers naturally lie.

Turkeys, geese and ducks are usually bled and dry picked. Immediately after bleeding they should be suspended from a hook and picked, in the same way that a fowl is dry picked.

Owing to the thickness of the feathers on ducks and geese, dry picking with them is usually a slower process than with other birds. After bleeding, a cloth should be wrapped around the head to catch the blood, so that the feathers will not become bloody. The goose or duck should then be laid on a board on the top of an open barrel or jar, and the feathers dropped into the vessel as they are picked. The coarse wing feathers should be kept separate from the softer feathers. When the feathers have been removed the short down may removed by singeing with a gasoline or alcohol flame. A hot flame should not be used, as it will give an oily appearance to the skin.

When it is not desired to save the feathers, quicker work may be done by scalding the birds and wrapping them for a few minutes in a sack or blanket to steam. Since there is danger of their being steamed too much, they should be closely watched, and, as soon as the feathers come out readily, they are ready to be picked, singed, and then cooled by plunging into cold water. The sudden cooling hardens the skin.

Keeping Meat Fresh

In the sub-tropical climate of Canton, it is difficult to keep meat fresh for any length of time without the use of ice. With a room temperature of 60 degrees Fahrenheit and above, meat will keep fresh but a few hours. If placed in a refrigerator with a temperature of from 34 to 40 degrees Fahrenheit, it will keep fresh for a week to ten days. Dry air should circulate freely through the refrigerator. Moisture in the refrigerator tends to develop mould, which is apt to cause decomposition of the meat. A little decay will soon contaminate a large amount of meat.

In the north, meat may be kept fresh during the cold season by freezing it solid. The carcass may be cut into quarters or smaller pieces and hung in an open outbuilding where it will freeze solid, and remain frozen until the weather begins to warm up in the spring. Whenever a piece is wanted it can be removed with a saw. Rapid thawing of frozen meat greatly injures its flavor. If the meat is thawed out slowly in a cold room, the flavor of the meat will not be injured. Meat can be kept frozen for months if kept in cold room, or in a refrigerator with a temperature below 32 degrees Fahrenheit and with proper ventilation provided.

Curing Meats: American Methods

§ 34. Preparing the Meat for Curing

Meat should be thoroughly cooled before it is cured, or it will spoil. The proper time to begin curing is when the meat is cooled and still fresh. Twenty to thirty hours after killing is the proper time to begin the cure. If salted before the animal heat has left it, the shrinkage of muscles causes a retention of gases, and gives an offensive odor to the meat. The meat should not be frozen, as the cure will not penetrate such meat evenly, and an uneven curing will result. Tainted meat may be cured so that it will keep, but no system of curing will bring back the natural flavor of the meat, if it is once lost.

§ 35. Vessels for Curing

Vitrified clay jars, with straight sides, similar to the jars used for fermenting beans in making soy bean sauce, are the best vessels for containing the meat. These jars, large enough to hold conveniently the hams, shoulders, and sides of two hogs, are best for curing meat for the first time, and the meat can be watched and cared for better in small jars than in large jars containing more meat. In America, where such jars are expensive, it is the custom to use a clean, hardwood barrel for the purpose. One that has been used for syrup or molasses is best. If a kerosene or tar barrel is used, it should be first thoroughly burned out, and used as a water barrel for some time before it is used for meat. Vitrified clay jars are preferred to wooden barrels as they are cleaned more readily. If meat has once spoiled in a wooden barrel, the vessel should not be used again for containing meat. Vessels that are used repeatedly for curing meat should be scalded thoroughly each time before packing with fresh meat.

§ 36. Curing Agents

Salt, saltpeter, sugar or molasses, and a variety of spices are the principal preservatives used in curing meat. Borax, formalin, salicylic acid, and other chemicals are sometimes used. However, as they are considered by many authorities to be injurious to the health, their use should be avoided. Baking soda is used in wet pickles to check the growth of mould.

When salt alone is applied to meat, it draws out the meat juices and contracts the muscle fibers, making the meat very hard and dry. The action of the sugar or the molasses is to soften the muscle fibers and improve the texture and flavor of the meat, hence the combination of sugar and salt make a good cure. Saltpeter is used to preserve the natural red color of the meat. It should be used in small quantities only, as it is very astringent, and, if used in large quantities is apt to be injurious to the health.

Wet and Dry Cures Compared

A wet cure is more convenient than a dry cure. It is less trouble to pack the meat in a jar or barrel and pour on the prepared wet pickle than it is to go over the meat three or four times and rub in the spices. The brine method also gives protection from insects. However, in warm weather, the brine has to be watched very closely, and, if mould forms on the surface of the pickle, it should be removed every day or two. The brine also needs to be recooked every week or ten days in warm weather to prevent undesirable bacteria from growing in it. A cool, dry room is the best for either brine or dry curing. In a dry atmosphere below 60 degrees Fahrenheit there is very little danger of the meat becoming sour, although a temperature below 40 degrees is better.

Recipes for Curing Meat

§ 37. Corned Beef

Any piece of beef can be used for corning, but the cheaper cuts are the parts generally used for this purpose. The plate, rump, and parts of the chuck are generally used, although the ribs, loin, and round may also be used. The pieces for corning should be cut into pieces of convenient size, say four or five inches square. If they are cut much larger, they well not cure very well as the pickle will not work in soon enough. They should be cut as nearly the same size as is possible so they will pack in even layers in the barrel or jar.

When as the meat is thoroughly cooled, it should be corned as quickly as possible. Weigh the meat and allow 10 pounds of salt for each 100 pounds of meat. Sprinkle a layer of salt a half inch deep over the bottom of the jar in which the meat is to be placed. Rub each piece of meat with good, clean salt. Pack each layer of meat closely in the bottom of the jar, and sprinkle a layer of salt one-fourth to one-half inch deep on each layer of meat before the following layer of meat is placed in the jar, and cover the top layer of meat with a good layer of salt. After it has stood over night, cover with a brine made as follows: for each one hundred pounds of meat, use four pounds of sugar, six ounces baking soda, and eight ounces of saltpeter. Dissolve in a gallon of water that has been boiled and cooled until it is tepid. Three gallons more of boiled, tepid water should then be added. Meat from fat animals makes choicer corned beef than that from poor animals. Under no circumstances should meat be corned while it is frozen.

In case of more or less than one hundred pounds of meat to be corned, make the brine in the proportion given. The meat should be weighted down with a board and stone so that all the meat is well beneath the surface of the brine. In case any of the meat projects above the surface, decay will commence in a short time.

It is best to cook the brine, or the water used in making the brine solution. If the weather is warm, the brine is apt to get sour and ropy. In that case, wash each piece of meat in cold water, scald the vessel and repack in a new brine. If the brine is reboiled every few days before it gets ropy, it is not necessary to make new brine so frequently. To test the brine for freshness, dip the fingers into it, and if it does not drip freely from the fingers, but appears stringy or ropy, it should be turned off, the meat washed, and new brine added. In the spring of the year, the brine should be watched closely, as it is more likely to spoil at that time than during the cold winter months. If kept in a cool place, with a uniform temperature of below 50 degrees Fahrenheit, and above freezing, there should be little trouble from this source. To secure thorough corning, the meat should be kept in the brine for twenty-eight to forty days, the exact length of time depending on the size of the pieces of meat and on the weather.

§ 38. Dried Beef

The round and shoulders are the parts most commonly used for dried beef. The pieces should be cut with the grain, so that the muscle fibers will be cut crosswise when the dried beef is sliced for table use. It should be cut in about the same sizes as for corned beef, and packed in vessels in the same manner. The pickle should be made as follows: for each one hundred pounds of meat, weigh out six pounds table salt, three pounds of granulated sugar, and two ounces of saltpeter. Mix these pieces thoroughly. Before the meat is placed in the jar, each piece should be well rubbed with the spice mixture. Dissolve the remainder of the spices in four gallons of boiled water that has been allowed to cool. Pour this pickle solution over the meat in the jar until it is completely covered. Weight the meat down, as in the case with corned beef. The pickle solution should be watched and, in the case of tendency to become ropy, should be handled as in corning beef.

After ten days, the meat should be removed from the pickle and hung up in an airy out-house to drip and dry. When dry, which should be in about 24 hours, it can be smoked, as in the case of smoking ham. The drier the climate, the more easily can the meat be dried and smoked. It is difficult to dry and smoke meat in the Canton region unless done in December and January, before the rains begin.

§ 39. Plain Salt Pork

Rub each piece of meat with fine common salt and pack closely in a barrel. Let stand over night. The next day, weigh out twelve pounds of salt and three ounces of saltpeter to each one hundred pounds of meat, and dissolve in four gallons of boiling water. When cold, pour this pickle over the meat, cover and weight down to keep the meat under the brine. The meat will pack best if cut into pieces about six inches square.

§ 40. Dry Cured Pork

For each one hundred pounds of meat, weigh cut eight pounds of salt, two pounds of granulated sugar, and two ounces of saltpeter. Mix thoroughly, and rub the meat once every three days, using a third of the mixture at each rubbing. Keep the meat on a shelf, or in a vessel, while curing. After the last rubbing, allow the meat to remain in a vessel for about ten days, when it is cured and ready to smoke. To cure nicely, it is desirable to have a cool and rather moist place in which to keep it.

This recipe should not be used where the meat must be kept in a warm dry place, as the preservatives will not penetrate easily and uniformly under such conditions.

§ 41. Sugar Cured Pork

Rub each piece with salt and allow to remain over night. A wet pickle, or brine, may also be forced into the hams and shoulders close to the bone with a special pump, using from 5 to 10 ounces of the pickle or brine for each piece, the amount depending on the size of the piece. The following morning pack in a vessel with the hams and shoulders at the bottom and the bacon on the top. For each one hundred pounds of meat, weigh out eight pounds of salt, two pounds of brown sugar, two ounces of saltpeter, and one-half pound baking soda. Dissolve all in four gallons of water, and cover the meat with this wet pickle. In warm weather, the pickle should be boiled and thoroughly cooled before using. A board and stone should be used to weight down the meat. Bacon strips should remain in the pickle from three to four weeks, and the hams and shoulders five to seven weeks, depending on their size. If desired, the meat may then be smoked. Before being smoked meat should be soaked for several hours in clean water at about 80 degrees Fahrenheit to remove the excess salt on the surface of the meat and thus make the meat more palatable. In soaking the meat about one-half pint of water should be used for each pound of meat.[1] The Canton Christian College has had very good success with this cure.

§ 42. Pork Sausage

Pork sausage should be made from clean, fresh pork only. The parts generally used are the shoulder, neck, and lean meat trimmings. About three pounds of lean meat should be used to one pound of fat meat. Mix the fat and lean meat together in chopping. With some cutters it is necessary to run the meat through twice in order to make it fine enough and to mix thoroughly the lean with the fat meat. After it has been cut the first time, spread thinly and season. For each 100 pounds of meat, use one and one-half pounds of pure, fine salt, four ounces of ground black pepper, and two pounds of pure leaf sage, rubbed fine. The seasoning should be sprinkled over the meat, and the meat again run through the cutter, in order to mix the spice thoroughly with the meat. For immediate use, the sausage may be packed away in jars. It may be kept for some time in a jar if melted lard is poured over the top, so as to exclude the air. The sausage may also be stuffed into muslin bags about two inches in diameter. If the stuffed bags are coated with paraffin, they will keep for some time.

§ 43. Mixed Meat Sausage

Mixed sausage may be made from a mixture of pork and beef in almost any proportion. Sausage should not contain too much fat. A good proportion is two pounds of lean pork, one pound of fat pork, and one pound of lean beef.

§ 44. Bologna Sausage

To each ten pounds of lean beef, use one pound of fat pork or bacon. Chop finely and season with three ounces of salt, two ounces pepper, and a little ground coriander. Stuff casing, and tie every ten or twelve inches. Hang the stuffed casings straight. Smoke for ten or twelve hours. Cook in boiling water until the sausage floats. Dry on clean hay or straw in the sun and hang away in a cool place until wanted.

§ 45. Blood Sausage

Blood sausage is made with the following ingredients: 25 pounds of cured pork or shoulder fat, seven pounds cured fat skins, six pounds of blood, one-half pound onions, one pound salt, one-half ounce white pepper, one ounce sweet marjoram, and one-half ounce cloves.

Cook the fat for one hour and the skins two hours at a temperature of 200° Fahrenheit. When cooked, put through a grinder, grinding quite fine. Then add the blood and seasoning and mix thoroughly. Stuff into large beef casings and boil in the same water in which meat was cooked until the sausage floats. Then dip the sausage in cold water and hang up to cool.

§ 46. Smoked or Country Sausage

The following ingredients are used in making smoked or country sausage: 85 pounds lean pork, 15 pounds beef, one and one-half to two pounds salt, four ounces black pepper, and one ounce sweet marjoram.

Cut the meat into small pieces and sprinkle seasoning over it. Then grind finely. Put away in a cool place for twenty-four to thirty-six hours, then add a little water, and stuff into hog casings and smoke in a very cool smoke until a dark mahogany is obtained.

§ 47. Frankfort or Vienna Sausage

This popular sausage is made with the following ingredients: 70 pounds beef, 30 pounds fat pork, 20 pounds water, one and one-half to two pounds salt, two ounces red pepper.

Cut the beef into small pieces, salt, and allow it to cure for forty-eight hours in a cool room. Cut the pork into small pieces and put the beef and pork through a grinder together. Put into a vessel and add the water and spices. After it is all mixed, put it through a grinder again and grind fine. Stuff into sheep casings. Then, by means of the forefinger and thumb, press the stuffed casing together about four inches from one end, and give this first link two or three twists. Do the same about every four inches, twisting each succeeding link in the opposite direction from the preceding link, in order to prevent untwisting. Then hang in a smoke house for about two hours at a temperature not to exceed 125° Fahrenheit. After smoking, boil for five or ten minutes, then plunge into cold water and hang in a cool place.

§ 48. Liver Sausage

Odds and ends, resulting from trimming up the various cuts of the hog carcass, as well as the liver itself, can be used in making liver sausage. If the head is used, it should first be cleaned, as for headcheese. The jowl, which is practically all fat, may be cut off and made into salt pork, or used for rendering lard. The remainder of the head meat, trimmings, liver cut into slices, and some beef or veal, if such meat can be had, should be boiled. Skin that is free from hair, and from which the fat has been removed, is also sometimes used. The skin will cook before the meat, so it should be put in a cloth sack and removed when thoroughly cooked. Liver cooks in a very short time, and should be removed before the rest of the meat. The meat should cook until it readily falls from the bones. All the meat should then be ground in a meat grinder. For 40 pounds of meat, use one and one-half pounds salt, three ounces sweet marjoram, one ounce allspice, one ounce black pepper, and about one gallon broth in which the meat was cooked. Garlic or onions can be added, if desired. The seasoning should be well worked into the meat. It can then be put into jars, covered with paraffin, or stuffed into beef casings or rounds. When stuffed into casings or rounds, it should be cooked in the same water the meat was cooked in until it floats. Then it should be placed in cold water until the sausage is thoroughly cooled.

§ 49. Summer Sausage