Hams and Shoulders is injurious to the meat. The facts do not warrant
such a belief, as the best cured and the best flavored meats are those
that have been pumped. When Hams and Shoulders are not pumped, it
requires weeks for the pickle to penetrate through to the bone, which
is the vital spot of a Ham or Shoulder. If the joints, tissues and meat
around the bone are not wholly and thoroughly cured, the entire Ham or
Shoulder is inferior and no good; because it furnishes a favorable seat
for the development of the germs of putrefaction, which render the meat
unfit for human food.
In order to always have a mild cure, sweet flavor at the joints,
and uniform color, they should be pumped. Pumping with the
=Freeze-Em-Pickle= Process is a safe-guard against shank and body
souring; it gives the inside of a Ham or Shoulder a delicious flavor,
a good color, and insures a uniform cure; it cures the joints and
the meat around the bone thoroughly, and greatly reduces the period
of curing. The secret and principal feature in pumping Hams and
Shoulders, is to have the right kind of pumping brine. When common
brine, or ordinary sweet-pickle is used for pumping, the Hams or
Shoulders usually become pickle-soaked, and if the refrigerator under
such conditions is not the very best, or if the Hams or Shoulders are
not thoroughly chilled, the smallest degree of animal heat which may
be remaining in them will start fermentation, causing the meat to sour
next to the joints. It is, therefore, plain to be seen that pumping,
under such conditions, instead of doing good, will in reality result
in injury, and this is the reason why so many who have tried pumping
meats have failed. On the other hand, when the pumping brine is made as
shown herein, all of these objections are overcome, and the meat will
not be pickle-soaked, nor will it become soft and flabby. The brine
will be absorbed by the meat around the bone and joints so thoroughly
as to leave no trace of it after the Ham is cured; it also gives the
inside meat a fine red color, and a delicious flavor. Hams that have
been pumped with =Freeze-Em-Pickle= and cured by the =Freeze-Em-Pickle=
Process, will not dry up and become hard when fried or cooked; when
sliced cold they will not crumble, but will slice nicely and have a
delicate and pleasing flavor.
DIRECTIONS FOR PUMPING.
(_Copyrighted; Reprint Forbidden._)
One gallon of pumping brine is sufficient for pumping one tierce, or
285 lbs. of meat. Make the pumping brine as follows:
½ lb. of Freeze-Em-Pickle.
1 lb of Pure Granulated Sugar.
2 lbs. of Salt.
1 gal. of Water.
The sugar used must be Pure Granulated Sugar; yellow or brown sugar
must not be used. When adulterated sugar is used, the brine becomes
thick and would spoil the meat in two weeks. Stir the above thoroughly
before using. As this will make a thick brine which is more than
saturated, it will precipitate when left standing, therefore, when
mixed in large quantities, it should be stirred occasionally. Meats
should never be pumped with anything but a solution that is thoroughly
saturated.
[Illustration: HAMS]
[Illustration: SHOULDERS]
Pump the Hams or Shoulders just before they are packed, and if it
is desired to rush the cure, pump them every time that the meat is
overhauled. The pumping solution must be cold when pumped into the
meat. Ordinarily, three insertions of the needle in the Hams are
sufficient; once at the shank to the hock joint as shown at A, once
to the thigh and along the bone, Fig. B., and once from the butt end
to the joint under the hip bone and into the fleshy part, Fig. C.
Solid lines show needle up to point of insertion and dotted line shows
direction taken by needle after insertion. In a very heavy Ham as
many as six insertions should be made, and the same with very heavy
Shoulders. Three insertions of the needle into a medium size Shoulder
are sufficient; one at Fig. D, one to the shoulder joint at Fig. E, and
one under the blade from the end, or diagonally from the back of the
shoulder toward the end at Fig. F. More insertions may be made without
injury to the meat, but the above are all that are required for good
results. One cubic inch of solution is enough for each insertion, and
after withdrawing the needle, the hole must be squeezed shut with the
thumb to prevent the solution from oozing out. Stir the solution well
before starting to pump. The Pumper must be careful not to pump air
into the meat. Never allow the Pickle to go below the end of sucker of
pump.
USE ONLY PURE SUGAR
(_Copyrighted by B. Heller & Co.; Reprint Forbidden._)
It will be noted that, in all of our directions for the sweet pickling
of meat, we lay great stress upon the importance of using only pure
sugar, free from adulterations. The very best and purest of granulated
sugar should always be used, if the best results are expected. Sugar,
as is well known is a great nutrient and, as a food, possesses
practically the same value as starch; it is however, much more readily
digested. Therefore the use of pure sugar assists in making meat food
products more digestible. In preparing a sweet brine, the one great
object sought to be attained is that the brine shall have the highest
possible penetrative quality. Any adulterant in the sugar tends to
prevent the penetration of the sweet pickled brine and lessens its
efficiency in proportion as adulterants are contained in the sugar.
It is only by the use of pure granulated sugar that a well-keeping
brine can be produced. Many adulterants, even though they are natural
adulterants, resulting from lack of proper refining of the sugar,
tend to create fermentation in the brine producing a slimy and ropy
condition. As is well known to those best experienced in the sweet
pickling of meat, ropy and slimy brine is almost always sure to cause
meat to sour.
Impurities in sugar used for producing sweet pickle will prevent the
proper coagulation of the albumen in the meat juices. Coagulation
does and should take place in all well cured meat. The impurities
and adulterants, in other words, positively counteract the effect
of the curing agents in the brine. Therefore use only the best pure
granulated sugar in making all sweet pickle. The general conditions
for obtaining pure granulated sugar at the present day are very much
improved over those of a number of years ago, prior to the passage of
the Food and Drugs Act of 1906. For instance, you can form a good idea
of the purity of your sugar by dissolving a quantity in water to make
a fairly thick syrup, but not using more than the water will take up.
Cork this tightly and place in a dark room over night. We have seen
tests made in this way, which in twenty-four hours would show a deposit
of blue coloring at the bottom of the bottle, and also a considerable
quantity of insoluble salts. This comes from what is known as “bluing”
the sugar, but where you purchase one of the well known manufacturers
products marked, “pure granulated sugar”, these difficulties are seldom
met with at the present time. There was a time also when sugar was
frequently adulterated with crystallized glucose or as is commonly
known “grape sugar.” This was a very serious adulterant from the view
point of the sweet pickle curing of meat, as glucose tends to ferment
in brine very quickly and consequently the brine would become ropy and
slimy within a very short time. This resulted in sour and soggy hams,
bacon, etc., so that the purchase of cheap sugar containing impurities
was never a saving, but proved very costly to the manufacturer who was
persuaded to purchase low grade sugar.
It has been a common practice with some butchers in preparing sweet
pickle to use molasses or syrup. This method we strongly urge our
friends not to adopt. The saving will be many times lost by meat which
will have to be thrown away because of ropy, fermented and sour pickle.
We cannot urge upon our friends too strongly that they use only pure
granulated sugar. Not only from the standpoint of keeping sweet pickle
brine in good, clean condition, but from the view point of flavor and
thorough cure, the use of pure granulated sugar is absolutely necessary
for producing the proper kind of finished meat food products.
Sugar is considered as a natural preservative, but it must be borne
in mind that sugar is used in the sweet pickle method of curing meat,
not only as a preservative, but also as a flavor. Pure sugar has
the property of combining with the other curing agents and by its
penetrative property carries the other curing agents into the cells of
the meat tissue more thoroughly. This results in the uniform action of
the curing agent, producing even flavored meat as a result of the cure.
Another peculiar property of pure sugar is that by its combination
with the salt used in the brine it has a great tendency to prevent
fermentation, thus keeping a clean, clear, sweet, penetrative brine,
which will do the largest amount of work with the smallest amount of
material, in producing evenly cured meat. To sum up, we will state that
pure granulated sugar should take the place of molasses, syrup or any
other form of sweetener because it imparts a better flavor and assists
in making the brine more penetrative, thus producing best results.
HANDLING CALVES’ STOMACHS OR RENNETS
(_Copyrighted by B. Heller & Co.; Reprint Forbidden._)
The calf’s stomach is divided into four compartments. The first one is
known as the paunch; the second as the honeycomb stomach; the third is
called the many-plies stomach and the fourth is known as the rennet bag.
The proper way to handle the rennet bag is to remove it from the
balance of the stomach, turn it inside out, and clean with fresh water
so as to remove the adhering contents. Great care must be taken not to
scrape off or in any way remove the mucous membrane (by this is meant
the many folds of thin skin) as this is the part of the stomach which
has a market value. Of course the stomach must be gently and carefully
washed to remove the undigested portions of food which may be contained
therein, as otherwise it would very quickly decompose and become
putrid. It would then be of no value whatever for any purpose. After
cleansing them, dust the rennet bags all over with finely ground salt,
and blow them up after having turned them inside out. Then hang them
in a dry place in a current of air so that they will dry as quickly as
possible.
ROPY OR STRINGY BRINE
(_Copyrighted by B. Heller & Co.; Reprint Forbidden._)
Occasionally brine that has been made with sugar will become ropy and
thick like jelly, but yet will be somewhat stringy. This is called
“Ropy Brine,” and can always be traced to either the use of unsuitable
sugar or improper temperature of the curing room.
[Illustration: ROPY BRINE]
Yellow or brown sugar and glucose sugar will never do for curing meat.
It must be Pure Sugar, and the Refined, Granulated Sugar is the best,
because the impurities have been taken out.
However, even if Pure Granulated Sugar is used and the temperature of
the Curing Room is too high, the brine is liable to turn “Ropy” anyway.
It is, therefore, absolutely necessary for anyone who intends to cure
meat in sweet brine not only to use the proper kind of sugar but also
to cure in the proper temperature. Otherwise, the results will not be
satisfactory, no matter what kind of a curing agent is used.
In buying sugar for curing purposes, it is advisable to order it from
the wholesale grocers or from the manufacturer, and have it guaranteed
to be Pure Granulated Sugar put up Especially for Preserving Purposes.
This grade of sugar is on the market and is used for preserving fruits,
and is the best kind of sugar to use for curing meats.
If brine has become ropy in a curing package and it is desired to use
that package again, it is absolutely necessary to thoroughly scald
out such package, and it is well to use =Ozo Washing= Powder for that
purpose so as to prevent the possibility of fermentation. Otherwise,
the unclean package will cause the fresh brine to turn “Ropy” even
though it is made with the right kind of sugar and kept in the proper
temperature.
BOILING THE BRINE
(_Copyrighted by B. Heller & Co.; Reprint Forbidden._)
[Illustration: BOILING BRINE]
Boiling the brine improves it some, but not enough to pay for the extra
trouble it makes. We recommend boiling the water, if one has the time,
as it purifies it. When there is reason to believe that the water is
impure, or when it is known to be tainted with vegetable matter, the
brine should always be boiled, and the impurities will then float on
the surface, and can be skimmed off.
CLEANSING CURING PACKAGES
(_Copyrighted by B. Heller & Co.; Reprint Forbidden._)
All curing packages should be taken out of the cooler after the meat
has been cured in them, and scalded and washed thoroughly clean with
hot water and =Ozo=. Soda or Soda-ash may also be used, but we strongly
recommend =Ozo=, which is a thoroughly reliable Washing Powder. When
packages have been thoroughly cleaned, they should be put out in
the sun and allowed to remain there for a day or two. The sun will
thoroughly dry them and the fresh air will sweeten them.
SOME CAUSES FOR SOUR HAMS.
(_Copyrighted; Reprint Forbidden._)
Sour Hams are sometimes caused by hanging warm meat in the same room in
which the meat is cured. This should never be done. The warm carcasses
raise the temperature of the curing room, thus causing the brine to
get too warm. Under such conditions the meat is liable to sour in the
brine. Furthermore, the brine is liable to absorb the odors from the
warm carcasses, which of course is very objectionable.
Many suppose that Hams sour from getting too much smoke, but such is
never the cause, as Hams will not sour from over-smoke. Smoke aids to
preserve Hams and cannot cause them to sour. When Hams sour in the
Smoke House the cause must be traced to the fact that they are not
properly and fully cured before going into the Smoke House, and the
portion that has not been thoroughly cured, which is generally close
to the bone, has not been reached by the brine. In many cases, souring
comes from imperfect chilling of meat before putting it into the brine;
then again, the meat may not have been overhauled at the proper time
and with the frequency which good curing requires.
In order to prevent souring of Hams the various stages of curing must
be carried out with the utmost care. In the first place, hogs should
not be killed when overheated or excited, and after they have been
scalded and scraped, they must be dressed as quickly as possible,
washed out thoroughly with clean water and then split and allowed to
hang in a well ventilated room until partly cooled off. They should
then be run into a cooler or chill room as quickly as possible and the
temperature should be reduced to 32 to 34 degrees Fahrenheit. They
should be allowed to thus chill for 48 hours. When hogs are properly
chilled after curing, the temperature of the inside of the Ham or
Shoulder will not be more than several degrees higher than the cooler.
After being thoroughly chilled, the Hams must undergo the various
processes which will be found in other pages of this book which give
directions for the curing of Hams and Shoulders. When these directions
are closely followed, there will never be trouble from sour Hams.
HAMS AND SUPERIOR HAMS.
(_Copyrighted; Reprint Forbidden._)
[Illustration]
There seems to exist some doubt in the minds of butchers as to whether
one Ham can be cured to better advantage than another, basing their
opinion upon the fact that all packers have two grades of Hams, one of
which is called of superior quality. Doubt has been expressed as to
whether one piece of meat taken from the hog will make any better pork
than that taken from another. This doubt should not obtain and could
hardly exist in the minds of anyone who has carefully investigated the
modern methods of packing. If such a person were to stand by the side
of a Ham trimmer in a packing house and examine each Ham as it comes
from the trimmer, he would be at once convinced as to the error of his
opinion. There would be noticed a vast difference in the quality of
Hams, even in their fresh state. Many Hams are of very coarse grain,
especially those that come from boars, stags and old sows, while
many other Hams are large and too fat. Those that come from poor,
scrawny hogs are too small and thin, and this differentiation exists
regardless of the grade or the experience in buying different lots of
hogs. Perhaps there is no animal which varies so much in quality and
condition of meat as the hog, and he fully represents or reflects the
quality of the food from which he is made, or the results of wise or
unwise feeding. Furthermore, Hams will vary in quality even after they
have been graded; some medium size Hams, which is the size usually
picked for the finest cure, are of much better quality than others.
This will be readily admitted when it is remembered that a Ham may be
of proper weight, but it can also be too fat for its weight, it can
be too lean, it can have a coarse thick skin, the meat can be coarse
in grain or it may be properly graded as to size, but come from an
old, worn-out sow. Under such circumstances, it is not only necessary
to cull the Hams, but to recull them, until the different grades are
divided as to quality.
A fourteen to sixteen pound Ham from a young barrow with a fine, thin,
white skin which is not too fat or not too lean, and possessing a nice,
fine grained meat is fully up to grade and is taken for the superior
quality of Hams. Therefore, a Ham of this description is superior
in quality even before it goes into the brine for curing, and it is
very easy to understand that when such a quality of Ham is carefully
cured, for just the proper length of time, it will be far better than
the ordinary run of Hams. Furthermore, the quality of the Hams may be
deteriorated in many ways. For instance, the fourteen to sixteen pound
Ham is fully cured in from sixty to seventy days, but if a packer has
put up a large quantity of better grade Hams which gives him a surplus,
he will hold them in the brine from ten to twenty days longer after
they have been fully cured, and if they are thus kept in the brine for
this additional period, they may become too salty and their fine flavor
is lost. Under such circumstances the Hams must be taken out of the
brine and smoked, or must be stored in a low temperature for ten or
twenty days longer, but the moment they are kept beyond the full curing
time they are not as good as when taken out of the cure at the moment
they are fully cured. Furthermore, if a large quantity of the superior
quality of Hams have been smoked and they are not disposed of rapidly
enough, they begin to lose in appearance, and must again be culled and
sold with the cheaper grade of Hams. If they are kept in brine longer
than is necessary, they must also go into the cheaper quality.
It is, therefore, plain to be seen that what is known as the superior
quality is the best Ham that the packer can turn out. As stated, the
Hams are superior before they are cured. They are properly kept all
through the process of curing, and the moment they are fully cured they
are taken out, smoked and sold. It is only by handling Hams in this
manner that it is possible to maintain a grade of superior quality. All
Hams cannot be handled in this way, owing to the fluctuation of supply
and demand, but the packer aims to keep them fully up to superior grade
by a frequent and discriminating culling. This should convince anyone
in doubt upon this question that they are erroneous in supposing that
all hams are alike, and that all hog meat is high grade pork, when, in
fact, it has various grades of quality.
HOW TO SMOKE PICKLE-SOAKED MEAT.
(_Copyrighted; Reprint Forbidden._)
It sometimes happens that butchers leave their Hams in brine too long
and they become pickle-soaked. Once in this pickle-soaked condition,
it is well known that it is a very difficult matter to smoke the Hams,
because, even though they are sweet when they go into the Smoke House,
they will come out sour. Hams should not be left in brine over ninety
days, and at the very outside not more than one hundred days, unless
they are put into a freezer and kept at a temperature of 28 degrees,
at which they can be kept as long as desired. But it is frequently the
case that they are left in pickle five or six months in an ordinary
cooler. Hams thus over-pickled cannot fail to cause trouble in the
Smoke House, and we would advise that all Hams that have been left
in the brine for such a long time should be washed off in warm water
after first letting them soak in cold water 2 to 4 hours. They should
then be hung up to dry and kept in a well ventilated room where the
temperature is not too high. A room in which the circulation of air is
good and which can be well ventilated by opening the windows and doors,
and which does not rise in temperature above 60 to 70 degrees, would
answer the purpose for drying out. It will do no harm to let the Hams
hang two or three weeks before smoking. They can then be put in the
Smoke House and smoked gently, using as little heat as possible. For
the purpose of this light smoking, it is best to use sawdust instead of
wood, or mostly sawdust, and a small amount of wood, in order to reduce
the heat. The Smoke House should also be constructed in such a way that
it can be sufficiently ventilated to let cool air into it and thus make
sure of a cool smoke. If Hams are smoked under such conditions, they
should come out of the Smoke House without souring.
The souring of pickle-soaked Hams is due to the brine fermenting in
the Hams when they are placed in the warm Smoke House. Hence the
advisability of drying out the Hams well before placing them in the
Smoke House, and of smoking them in a cool smoke. When Meat has been in
brine a very long time and has become pickle-soaked, and is afterward
soaked in cold water, the greatest of care must be taken not to
keep it in cold fresh water too long, otherwise the meat will absorb
more moisture. It is also a good plan to soak Meat that has been in
brine 60, 70 or 80 days in cold water. When Hams are fully cured, the
strength of the brine may be reduced somewhat, after which the Hams
may be permitted to remain in the brine about 30 days longer. Hams are
fully cured in 70 days, and may be allowed to remain in a weaker brine
30 days longer, but no longer. After 30 days they must be taken out of
this reduced brine, and, if it is so desired, they may be kept in a low
temperature two or three weeks longer before smoking, but at the end of
that time they must be smoked.
CLEANING LARD TIERCES FOR CURING PURPOSES.
(_Copyrighted; Reprint Forbidden._)
As is well known, Butchers experience a great deal of trouble when they
use second-hand lard tierces for curing meats, owing to the fact that
the lard soaks into the pores of the wood, where it becomes tainted and
rancid. No amount of washing or scalding will thoroughly cleanse such
tierces or make them as good as new. The lard is run into the tierces
while it is hot and the fat naturally soaks very deeply into the wood.
After these tierces are emptied and are used for curing purposes, the
old lard remains in the pores and becomes rancid and contaminates the
brine and also the meat.
[Illustration]
It is a fact that many Butchers use old lard tierces for curing
purposes and neglect to thoroughly clean them; and even if they have
been well cleaned, it is well known that, notwithstanding every
precaution taken, there is still left in the tierces a taint which
affects the flavor of the meat.
USE ONLY PURE SPICES
(_Copyrighted by B. Heller & Co.; Reprint Forbidden._)
We strongly recommend our friends to use only Pure Spices for three
very good and sufficient reasons. First, for flavor; second, for
uniformity, which will insure your sausage always being the same in
flavor; third, for economy, as pure spices are cheapest in the final
analysis.
Then again, the Pure Food Laws should not be over-looked. In States
where the use of cereal in sausage is forbidden, the one safe-guard
against prosecution is to use absolutely Pure Spices and avoid
so-called sausage seasonings which contain cereals as an adulterant.
In our laboratory we have repeatedly found cases where as much as 50%
bread crumbs were mixed into spice to cheapen it. The bread crumbs
mixed with the seasoning into the sausage meat would be detected by the
chemists and microscopists of the various State Pure Food Departments,
making the butcher who used such seasonings liable to prosecution for
adding adulterants to his sausage.