Sugar-Cured Hams, Bacons, And Tongues

Method I. After the meat has been thoroughly cooled, the carcass may be cut up and cured. Sugar-cured pork is preferable to dry-cured or plain salt pork because of its pleasant flavor and because the meat is not so dry and hard. Beef tongues may be cured in the same pickle with the pork. All the pork carcass may be cured except the loins, which are used fresh for chops and roasts, the spare-ribs, which are used fresh, and the trimmings, which are used for lard and sausage. The hams, shoulders, and bacons are sugar-cured, and the fat backs are dry-cured or pickled in a plain salt pickle.

Before the meat is placed in pickle or salt, all corners and ragged edges should be cut off and used for sausage and lard. If they are left on they will be wasted, for they will be thoroughly soaked by the pickle and will be of no use.

Rub the pork thoroughly with salt and pack it in a cool place overnight. The next day pack it in a barrel or an earthen jar, with the heaviest hams and shoulders at the bottom, the lighter hams and shoulders next, and the bacons and tongues at the top.

For every 100 pounds of meat weigh out 10 pounds of salt, 2 1/2 pounds of brown sugar, and 2 ounces of saltpeter. Rub these together thoroughly, taking care that the saltpeter is finely powdered. Dissolve the whole by stirring it into 4 gallons of boiling water. Allow this brine to cool thoroughly, and then pour it over the meat. If it does not entirely cover the meat, add more water. The brine should cover the meat at all times. The meat may be weighted down with a block if necessary, for if it is not covered the projecting meat will decompose in a short time.

If the brine shows signs of fermenting during the curing process, it should be drawn off, boiled, and cooled, and then poured back on the meat.

The bacons and tongues may be taken from the pickle after four to six weeks, and after being washed in warm water they may be hung in the smoke-house and smoked. The lighter hams and shoulders will be ready to take out of the pickle in six to eight weeks, and the heavier ones at the end of the eighth week.

Method II. Another recipe for sugar-cured hams, bacons, and tongues that has given good results is as follows:

Pack the thoroughly cooled meat in a cool, dry place, on a table that has previously been covered with a layer of salt. Sprinkle salt over each piece of meat, and add alternate layers of meat and layers of salt until all is packed.

Allow the meat to remain in the salt for eight to ten days, and then wash off the salt with lukewarm water. The meat is now ready to go into the pickle, which is mixed as follows: To 18 gallons of water add 5 pounds of brown sugar, a small handful of saltpeter, and 1 tablespoonful of ginger. Stir the mixture until the solids are all dissolved, and then stir in 12 pounds of salt. Stir until all the salt is dissolved. This amount can be increased or decreased according to the amount of meat to be pickled. Ordinarily one-fourth of this mixture will be enough for 100 pounds of pork.

The pickle should test 75° with the hydrometer test. If a hydrometer is not at hand, drop a fresh egg into the pickle; if the egg floats almost submerged, the brine is of the proper strength.

Pack the meat in a barrel or a jar, with hams and shoulders weighing over 10 pounds on the bottom, those weighing less than 10 pounds next, and the bacon strips and tongues on top. Pour the brine over the meat so that it is all covered, and weight it with a block so that none of the meat projects from the brine.

The bacons and tongues may be removed from the brine at the end of three weeks, the lighter hams and shoulders at the end of five weeks, and the heaviest ones after six to seven weeks. After the meat is removed from the brine, it should be washed in warm water in order to remove the crust of brine and any scum that may have formed, and after drying for an hour or more it may be hung in the smoke-house and smoked.