Cut out the hams from the pig, and rub them well with an ounce of saltpetre, half an ounce of sal-prunella pounded, and a pound of common salt. Observe, that these quantities of salts must be allowed to each ham. Lay them in salt-pans for ten days, turn them once in the time, and rub them well with more common salt. Let them lie ten days longer, and turn them every day. Then take them out, scrape them as clean as possible, and dry them well with a clean cloth. Then rub them slightly over with a little salt, and hang them up to dry, but not in too hot a place.

Or, take a fat hind-quarter of pork, and cut off a fine ham : take two ounces of saltpetre, a pound of coarse sugar, the same quantity of common salt, and two ounces of sal-prunella, mix ail together, and rub the pork well with it. Let it lie a month in this pickle, turning and basting it every day : then hang it in a wood smoke in a dry place, so that no heat can come to it; and if intended to be kept long, hang them a month or two in a damp place, taking care that they do not become mouldy, and it will make them cut fine and short. Never lay these hams in water till they are boiled, and then boil them in a copper, or in the largest size pot.

Hams The Yorkshire Way

First beat them well, and then mix half a peck of salt, three ounces of saltpetre, half an ounce of sal-prunella, and five pounds of coarse salt. Rub the hams well with this, and lay the remainder on the top. Let them lie three days, and then hang them up. Put as much water to the pickle as will cover the hams, adding salt till it will bear an egg, and then boil and strain it. Then next morning put in the hams, and press them down so that they may be covered. Let them lie a fortnight, rub them well with bran, and dry them. The above ingredients are sufficient for three middling sized hams.

New England Hams

For two hams, take two ounces of sal-prunella; beat it fine, rub it well in, and let them lie twenty-four hours. Than take half a pound of bay-salt, a quarter of a pound of brown salt, a quarter of a pound of common salt, and one ounce of saltpetre, all beat fine, and half a pound of the coarsest sugar. Rub all these well in, and let them lie two or three days. Then take common white salt,and make a pretty strong brine with about two gallons of water, and half a pound of brown sugar. Boil it well, and skim it when cold. Then put in the hams,and turn them every two or three days in the pickle for three weeks. Then hang them up in a chimney, and smoke them well a day or two with horse-litter. Afterwards let them hang about a week on the side of the kitchen chimney, and then take them down. Keep them dry in a box, with bran covered over them. They may be eaten in a month, or will keep very well one year.

Westphalia Ham

Rub it with half a pound of the coarsest sugar, and let it lie till night. Then rub it with an ounce of saltpetre finely beaten, and a pound of common salt. Let it lie three weeks, turning it every day. Dry it in wood smoke, or where turf is burnt. When boiled, put it into the pot or copper, with a pint of oak sawdust.

To Cure Two Hams After The Westmoreland Manner

Rub the hams over night with ten ounces of saltpetre, and next morning take three pounds of common salt, three pounds of the coarsest sugar, and one pound of bay-salt. Boil all these in three quarts of strong beer; and when it has boiled a little time, pour it over the hams. Let them lie in this pickle one month, rubbing and turning them every day, observing not to take them out of the pan. The same pickle is good for tongues and sauces. Before they are smoked, rub a handful of bran over them to dry them, and let them hang three weeks or a month.

Mutton Hams

Cut a hind-quarter of mutton like a ham, and rub it well with an ounce of saltpetre, a pound of coarse sugar, and a pound of common salt well mixed together. Lay it in a hollow tray, with the skin downwards, and baste it every day for a fortnight. Then roll it in sawdust, and hang it in wood-smoke for a fortnight. Boil it, and hang it in a dry place. Cut it out in slices, and broil them as you want them, and they will eat very fine.

Veal Hams

Take a leg of veal, and cut it like a ham. Take a pint of bay-salt, two ounces of saltpetre, and a pound of common salt. Mix them all together, with an ounce of beaten juniper berries, and rub the ham well with them. Lay it in a hollow tray, with the skinny side downwards, and baste it every day with the pickle for a fortnight, and then hang it in wood smoke for a fortnight longer. It may be either boiled, parboiled, or roasted.

Beef Hams

Take the leg of a fat Scotch or Welch ox, and cut it like a ham. Take an ounce of bay-salt, an ounce of saltpetre, a pound of common salt, and a pound of coarse sugar, which will be a sufficient quantity for about fourteen or fifteen pounds of beef; and if a greater or less quantity of meat, mix the ingredients in proportion. Rub the meat with the above ingredients, turn it every day, and baste it well with the pickle every day for a month. Take it out, and roll it in bran or sawdust. Hang it in wood smoke, where there is but little fire, and a constant smoke, for a month. Take it down, and hang it in a dry place, not a hot one, and keep it for use. Cut a piece off as there is occasion, and either boil it, or cut it into rashers, and broil it with poached eggs, or boil a piece, and it eats very good cold, and will shiver like Dutch beef.