[Illustration: LARD PRESS]
Those butchers who wish to render their Lard scientifically, with
the aid of a thermometer, can do so by hanging a thermometer in the
Lard and bringing the temperature gradually up to 255 to 260 degrees
Fahrenheit, and then turn off the steam or check the fire, as the case
may be, and allow the Lard to cook slowly until it is finished.
A butcher can always tell when the Lard has cooked sufficiently by the
way the cracklings press out.
After the Lard has all been tried out, skim out all the cracklings, put
them into a press and press out all the Lard, adding what is pressed
out to that in the kettle.
Now the Lard is ready to be strained through a piece of cheese cloth.
IF ONE HAS A LARD SETTLING TANK, AS HERE ILLUSTRATED, HANDLE THE LARD
AS FOLLOWS:
(_Copyrighted; Reprint Forbidden._)
[Illustration: SETTLING TANK]
After treating the Lard as directed, with Lard Purifier and water, and
after the Lard has been treated enough to make it foam, and the foam
has been skimmed off, dip the Lard and water out of the kettle, run it
through a piece of cheese cloth into the settling tank. A settling tank
is simply a galvanized iron tank with a large faucet at the bottom.
The bottom can be made to taper to the center and the faucet placed in
the center, so all the water can be drained off, or the bottom can be
made flat with the faucet close to the bottom, and the tank can be set
slanting, so the water or Lard will all drain out.
After the Lard is in the settling tank, let it settle for one or two
hours, according to the size of the tank and quantity of Lard in it.
Then drain off all the water and the impurities which have settled to
the bottom. After these are drawn off, the Lard is ready to be run into
buckets, which should be placed in the ice box to cool.
A better way is to let the Lard settle in the settling tank and, after
the water is drawn off, stir the Lard with a large paddle until it is
thick and creamy, and then it should be put into buckets. By letting it
cool in the settling tank and stirring it until it is thick and creamy,
Lard will have a much better appearance when cold than Lard that is run
into buckets hot.
HOW TO PURIFY LARD WITH ONLY A COMMON RENDERING KETTLE.
(_Copyrighted; Reprint Forbidden._)
After the Lard has been rendered as above, treat as follows: The kettle
must not be too full of Lard; it should not be more than three-fourths
full when being treated with the Purifier.
Put a thermometer into the Lard to test the temperature. If the
temperature of the Lard is below 200 degrees Fahrenheit, add to every
100 lbs. of Lard 3 ounces of B. Heller & Co.’s Lard Purifier, dissolved
in one quart of water. For example, if the kettle contains 400 lbs. of
rendered Lard, add 12 ounces of Lard Purifier dissolved in one gallon
of water.
Should the temperature of the Lard be over 200 degrees F., do not add
the Lard Purifier and water, but let the Lard stand for half an hour or
so, until the temperature comes below 200 degrees.
If the Lard Purifier and water are added to the Lard when it is as high
as 212 degrees F., the water will at once be converted into steam as
soon as it gets into the Lard, because water is converted into steam at
that temperature. When the Lard Purifier and water are added to Lard
that is too hot, the Lard will foam up and boil over; but, when the
Lard is below 200 degrees F. and the Lard Purifier and water are added,
it will not boil up.
After adding the Lard Purifier and water, take a paddle and stir the
Lard thoroughly, so the Lard Purifier is mixed thoroughly with every
part of the Lard; then turn on the steam or build up the fire slowly,
as the case may be, and heat the Lard up to 212 degrees F. The minute
212 degrees is reached the Lard will begin to foam. When the Lard gets
to this point, it should not be left for a moment, because if it gets
too hot it will boil over the top of the kettle; but if one stays right
with it when it begins to foam, and checks the fire, it will not boil
over but will foam a little and most of the impurities will rise to the
top of the Lard. Now stop the fire and skim off all the impurities on
the top of the Lard and allow the Lard to settle for about two hours,
when all the water and the smaller impurities that did not rise to the
top will have separated from the Lard and will be at the bottom, and
one will be surprised at the amount of impurities that will thus be
separated from the Lard.
If the kettle has a faucet at the bottom, draw off the water and the
impurities which have settled and then run off the Lard. Should the
kettle not have an opening at the bottom, dip out the Lard from the
top, being careful not to dip out any of the water which will be at the
bottom. When most of the Lard has been taken out, that remaining, which
is near the water, can be dipped out together with the water, and put
in a bucket or tub and allowed to harden.
The lard will float on the top and when hard can easily be taken off
from the top of the water, and should be kept until the next Lard is
rendered, when it should be re-melted with the next batch of Lard.
Before running the Lard into buckets, it is always well to run it
through a piece of cheese cloth, so as to remove any small pieces of
detached cracklings. It is advisable to put the Lard into the ice box
as soon as it is run into buckets, so as to set it, which will prevent
the separation of the oil from the Stearin.
IF ONE HAS NO SETTLING TANK, BUT SIMPLY HAS A RENDERING KETTLE AND AN
AGITATOR, HANDLE LARD AS FOLLOWS:
(_Copyrighted; Reprint Forbidden._)
=First=:--Render the Lard in the Rendering Kettle, and treat it with B.
Heller & Co.’s Lard Purifier, the same as directed in the foregoing.
After it is treated, run the Lard through two or three thicknesses of
cheese cloth, into the Agitator. Allow it to settle in the Agitator for
two hours, then run off all the water from the bottom, and start the
Agitator. The Lard should be agitated until it is thick like cream,
then it is ready to run off. We, however, recommend that Lard should
be taken from the Rendering Kettle and put into the Settling Tank and
allowed to settle, and then the Lard should be run from the Settling
Tank through the faucet about an inch above the bottom, into the Lard
Cooler, and while in the Cooler it should be agitated until it becomes
thick. There are always small particles of charred tissue which will
settle to the bottom of the Settling Tank, which cannot be gotten out
in any other way, and the Lard will be whiter and purer if allowed to
settle in the Settling Tank and then drawn off into the Cooler.
IF ONE HAS A LARD SETTLING TANK AND AN AGITATOR, HANDLE THE LARD AS
FOLLOWS:
(_Copyrighted; Reprint Forbidden._)
[Illustration: COOLER AND AGITATOR]
A Packer or Butcher who makes any quantity at all of Kettle Rendered
Lard, should have a Rendering Kettle in which the Lard is rendered, a
Settling Tank in which the Lard is settled, and a Lard Cooler with an
Agitator in it. The Lard Cooler and Agitator should be double-jacketed,
so that cold water can be run into the jacket to cool the Lard.
When equipping a plant with a Settling Tank and Cooler, we advise that
the Settling Tank have two faucets in it; one at the extreme bottom
and the other about one inch from the bottom. Then, when the water is
drawn off of the Settling Tank, it should be drawn off from the lowest
faucet, and when the Lard is drawn off into the Agitator, it should be
run off through the faucet which is an inch from the bottom. In this
way, small particles which may be in the Lard will remain in the bottom
of the Settling Tank, in the one inch layer of Lard which remains in
the bottom of the Settling Tank. After all the Lard is run off through
the upper faucet, what remains between the upper faucet and the bottom
of the Settling Tank should be drawn off through the lower faucet and
should be kept until the next time Lard is rendered, and then should be
re-rendered with the next batch.
After the Lard has been rendered and has been treated in the Rendering
Kettle, with the Lard Purifier, strain it through a cheese cloth into
the Settling Tank, allow it to settle for two hours, then draw off all
the water from the bottom faucet. After the water has been drawn off,
draw off the Lard from the top faucet and again run it through cheese
cloth, into the Cooler and Agitator. Start the Agitator and allow it
to run until the Lard is thick and white, like cream, and then run it
off into buckets or tubs.
A good way to set up the Settling Tank and the Cooler and Agitator,
is to have the Settling Tank high enough up, on a bench above the
Agitator, so that the Lard can be run out of the Settling Tank into the
Agitator. The Cooler and Agitator should also be high enough from the
floor so the Lard can be run from it into buckets or tubs.
It costs very little to properly equip oneself with the proper
apparatus, and if properly rigged up it is a pleasure to make the Lard
and requires very little work.
HOW TO PURIFY RENDERED LARD.
(_Copyrighted; Reprint Forbidden._)
=First=:--Put 100 lbs. of water into the lard kettle and add to it
one-quarter to one-half pound of B. Heller & Co.’s Lard Purifier; then
on top of the water put 100 lbs. of the rendered Lard.
=Second=:--If a steam kettle is used, turn on the steam; and if the
kettle is heated by fire, start the fire; the heat should be applied
slowly and must be closely watched, so that the Lard does not get too
hot and boil over. In no case should more Lard and water be put into
the kettle than to fill it one-half full. By thus having the kettle
only half full it leaves plenty of room for the Lard to boil and foam
and prevents it from boiling over the top of the kettle.
=Third=:--While the Lard is being heated stay right with it at the
kettle to watch it and continually stir it.
=Fourth=:--When the Lard begins to boil check the fire and let it
simmer from 10 to 15 minutes, then put out the fire or turn off the
steam and let the Lard settle for about three hours; all the impurities
that come to the top skim off carefully.
=Fifth=:--After the Lard has settled for three hours all the water
will be at the bottom. If the kettle is provided with a faucet at the
bottom so the water can be let off, let the water run out slowly until
it is all drained out; if the kettle has no opening in the bottom, skim
the Lard off from the top of the water and place the Lard in a Lard
Cooler. If you have a Lard Cooler with an Agitator, start the Agitator
and keep it running until the Lard gets thick like cream; it is then
ready to run off into buckets. If you have no regular Agitator, it is
necessary to stir the Lard by hand occasionally until it gets thick and
creamy; stir it as much as possible until it gets thick, and then run
it into buckets.
LARD NOT PURIFIED.
If Lard is made without taking out the impurities with water and our
Lard Purifier, the Lard will become rancid if it is to be kept during
the hot weather, and it will not be so sweet in flavor nor as clean
and white as it is when treated with our Purifier according to the
preceding directions. Our Lard Purifier neutralizes the free fatty
acids in the Lard, thus to a considerable extent preventing rancidity
and helps keep the Lard Sweet and Pure.
Lard made with our Lard Purifier according to the foregoing directions
will comply with the regulations under the various Pure Food Laws.
COMPOUND LARD.
(_Copyrighted; Reprint Forbidden._)
In the Southern States, where the climate is warm, it is necessary to
add either Tallow or Tallow Stearin or Lard Stearin to Lard, so as to
stiffen it in order that it can be handled at all.
To make Compound Lard, first render the Lard and press out the
cracklings as directed; then add from 10 to 20 per cent of either
Tallow, Tallow Stearin or Lard Stearin and stir until it is all melted
and thoroughly mixed with the Lard. The quantity of Tallow or Stearin
to add depends upon the climate and season of the year, and also the
price of the different materials.
After adding the above, purify the mixture, the same as directed for
handling Pure Lard. However, Compound Lard must always be agitated
until it is thick and cream-like before it is run into buckets. If one
has no Lard Agitator, it must be stirred by hand until it is stiff and
cool.
It is perfectly legal to add Tallow, Tallow Stearin or Lard Stearin to
Lard for this purpose, but such Lard must be sold as Compound Lard. It
cannot be sold as “Pure Lard” when these ingredients are added to it.
COTTON SEED OIL-LARD COMPOUNDS.
(_Copyrighted; Reprint Forbidden._)
For certain purposes Cotton Seed Oil added to Lard is preferred to
straight Lard, and the Cotton Seed Oil is added after the Lard has been
purified and is ready to put in the Agitator.
To make a really good Compound Lard, a Cooler with an Agitator is
absolutely necessary, but if one hasn’t a cooler with Agitator, it can
be done by stirring by hand continuously, so the Lard and Oil do not
separate while cooling.
When Cotton Seed Oil is used, it must be Refined Cotton Seed Oil, and
the more it is refined the better the compound will be. Lard should
always be run through cheese cloth before putting it in the Lard
Cooler, so as to take out any small particles of detached cracklings
which may remain in the Lard.
The formula for making Compound Lard with Cotton Seed Oil varies
according to the relative values of the ingredients and the quality of
Compound desired. The usual Compounds found on the market, as sold at
the present time under trade names, and which contain no Lard at all,
are made of 80 per cent Cotton Seed Oil and 20 per cent Tallow Stearin.
(Tallow Stearin is Tallow with the oil pressed out of it.) A small
butcher can make this Compound by using 80 per cent Cotton Seed Oil and
20 per cent Rendered Tallow, which has previously been purified with B.
Heller & Co.’s Lard Purifier.
If it is desired to make a better quality of Compound, use less Cotton
Seed Oil and add sufficient Lard to bring the cost and quality to the
desired degree.
All such Compounds must be sold as “Compound Lard” when Lard is added;
but when no Lard is added, they must be sold as “Lard Substitutes.”
These preparations are perfectly legal, and comply with the Pure Food
Laws provided they are labeled and sold for what they are, but no one
should make a Lard Compound or Imitation Lard and sell it for Pure
Lard.
REFINING LARD WITH FULLER’S EARTH.
THE METHOD USED FOR REFINING LARD IN LARGE PACKING HOUSES.
(_Copyrighted; Reprint Forbidden._)
The large packers all refine Lard and Tallow with the Fuller’s Earth
process, and for the benefit of the small packers, who would like to
know how it is done, we will give the full directions, although a small
packing house can hardly afford to put in a plant for the process,
as it requires a man who is experienced to refine Lard and Tallow in
this manner. If a packing house does not make enough Lard and Tallow
to afford to keep a man especially for this purpose, it will not pay
to put in a refinery, which consists of the following machinery: A
Receiving Kettle, which is a large open tank with steam coils in it to
dry the Lard or a large Jacket Kettle will do. A Clay Kettle, which is
a tank with steam coils in it for heating the Lard and an air pipe at
the bottom of it connected to an air compressor. A Lard Cooler with
Agitator to cool and stir the Lard while it sets so as to have it
thoroughly mixed. A Pump, Air Compressor and Filter Press. An ordinary
size outfit will cost from $2,000 to $3,000.
First, the Lard, Tallow or Cotton Seed Oil, which is termed stock,
is placed in the Clay Kettle. The Clay Kettle is simply an iron
jacket with a coil in the bottom of it through which air is pumped.
In this kettle, the Fuller’s Earth is added. To each and every 100
lbs. of stock, there is added from one to two lbs. of Fuller’s Earth;
the quantity depending upon the grade of stock. Before the stock is
treated a small test is made as follows. A small quantity is heated;
in a part of it one per cent of clay is put, in another part 1½ per
cent, and in another two per cent. Mix each lot thoroughly, put them
into a funnel over filter paper and allow them to filter. By examining
these samples, one can tell how much earth to use to the stock in the
kettle. This must be done when the stock varies. Of course, when the
Lard, Tallow, or Oil are running uniform, it is not necessary to make
the test, but where the stock changes, it is always advisable to test
before treating, for the reason that too much Fuller’s Earth put into
the stock will give the Lard an objectionable flavor. Before stock of
any kind can be treated with Fuller’s Earth, all the moisture must be
out of it; Lard usually contains two to three per cent of moisture,
and very often considerably more, so it must be heated in a Jacket
Kettle until all the water is evaporated. If there is any water in the
Lard, the Fuller’s Earth attacks the water first, and the Lard is not
affected, because wet Fuller’s Earth has absolutely no effect upon
Lard. When the Fuller’s Earth is added to Lard, it must be 155 degrees
hot; Tallow must be 185 degrees hot, and Cotton Seed Oil 140 degrees
hot. After the desired heat is obtained, regulate the steam so the
temperature will remain stationary, turn on the air, and when it is
blowing hard, put in the Fuller’s Earth and blow for about 20 minutes;
then start the force pump and pump the stock through the Filter Press.
If the stock is of fine quality and only a small percentage of Fuller’s
Earth is used, it can be pumped directly into the Receiving Kettle,
but if a large percentage of Fuller’s Earth is used, it is advisable
to let the Lard run back into the Clay Kettle, and keep on letting it
run through the filter and pumping it round until it is thoroughly
clarified; then allow it to run into the Receiving Kettle.
If inferior stock is used, sometimes as much as four and five per cent
of Fuller’s Earth is used to refine it, but it is not advisable to
use that large amount as the clay gives off an odor which the stock
sometimes absorbs. Always use the least amount of clay that good
judgment indicates will do the work, and after pumping through the
filter, if it is not as it should be add more clay and refilter it.
To make Compound Lard, treat the different stocks separately, run them
in different tanks, and then mix them. After they have been put into
the receiving tank or the mixing tank, it is advisable to mix them by
blowing air into the bottom of the kettle in which are Lard, Tallow
and Oil; this will mix even better than any process or method that we
know of. The amount or kind of stock to be used depends upon the season
of the year, and the kind and quantity of goods you wish to make. Equal
parts of Tallow, Lard and Oil make a very good Compound. All the cloths
for the Filter Press should be washed every day after using them as
they must be kept perfectly clean; the cleaner the better.
After the Compound Lard has been thoroughly mixed it must be put into
an Agitator and agitated until it is thick like cream before it is run
off into buckets.
HOW TO RENDER TALLOW WHITE, ODORLESS, FLAKY AND SOFT, LIKE LARD IN
TEXTURE
(_Copyrighted; Reprint Forbidden._)
It is an easy matter to render Tallow so it will have a very light
color, in fact, will be almost white and at the same time flaky and
soft like Lard, if the instructions which follow are carried out.
When so rendered, the Tallow will sell at a good price, as it will be
entirely free from a tallowy odor, and is an excellent thing for baking
purposes. Tallow rendered according to these instructions can be mixed
with Lard and it will even improve the Lard. But it must be sold for
what it is.
Take Beef Suet and all the Beef Fat trimmed from steaks and other cuts,
and run it through a Chopper, chopping it very fine. It will thus
become soft and sticky so it can be rolled in small balls about one
and one-half to two inches in diameter. While this is being done, fill
Rendering Kettle half full of water, dissolving in the water about two
ounces of Lard Purifier to every 100 lbs. of Tallow to be rendered and
start it to boil. While the water is boiling the small balls of Tallow
should be placed on top of the water until a sufficient number of balls
have been thus put into the water to make a layer three or four inches
deep, but not deeper. After the Tallow is rendered out of the balls,
the heat should be turned off and the Tallow should be permitted to
cool. Just as soon as the boiling has ceased, all the cracklings that
are on the surface should be skimmed off, put into a press and pressed
out. The Tallow that is on the surface should be skimmed off and put
into buckets. Care should be taken that no water is taken out with the
hot Tallow. The tallow which remains on the water can be left there
until it is hard, when it can be taken off and melted if desired, and
then run into buckets. The advantage in rendering Tallow in this manner
is to prevent the Tallow from becoming too hot, and thus to keep it
from turning dark; besides, the water and Lard Purifier purifies the
Tallow and also draws out the tallowy odor.
Any butcher can build up a large trade on home-rendered tallow when it
is prepared in this manner. In fact, his trade will like the Tallow
so well that he will not be able to supply the demand. As a rule, the
butcher sells his Tallow unrendered at a low price, but if he will
render it himself and follow the above instructions carefully, he can
sell the Tallow for at least 10 to 12 cents per pound, owing to the
fact that Tallow rendered in this manner produces a very fine fat for
cooking purposes. We believe it is much better than Lard.
NEAT’S FOOT OIL.
(_Copyrighted; Reprint Forbidden._)
Neat’s Foot Oil is made by simply boiling the feet of cattle in a water
bath, in an open kettle. The oil will come out of the feet and float
on the top of the water. After the oil has been cooked out of the
feet, they should be skimmed out of the kettle. The oil should then be
treated with our Lard Purifier, the same way as directed for treating
Lard. Simply let the water and fat cool down to 200 degrees Fahrenheit
or below, and to every 100 lbs. of oil add about four ounces of our
Lard Purifier dissolved in a quart of water. Stir the water, Lard
Purifier and Neat’s Foot Oil thoroughly, and then start up the fire
and bring it to a boil. Skim off any foam and impurities that may come
to the surface and then stop the fire and allow it to settle about two
hours; then skim the oil off of the top of the water and you will have
genuine, sweet and refined Neat’s Foot Oil.
[Illustration: KILLING ON THE FARM]
KILLING ON THE FARM.
Very often butchers in the smaller towns find it convenient to
slaughter live stock in the country where it is purchased. In order to
meet such cases we submit the following directions for slaughtering
cattle, hogs and sheep, and no doubt they will be found useful and
suggestive.
It is absolutely necessary that only healthy animals shall be
slaughtered for food. It is not so important that stock should be fat,
although no one can expect the best results from lean animals, but as
there is a demand for all grades of meat, condition is not so exacting
as health.
In the case of injured animals, crushed ribs, broken limbs, etc.,
the flesh is not good for food unless the stock has been slaughtered
immediately upon receiving the injuries.
AGE FOR KILLING.
It is a well known fact that the meat of old animals is tougher than
that of young ones. The flesh of young animals frequently lacks flavor
and is not solid. An old animal in proper condition and good health is
preferable as food to a younger one in poorer condition.
Cattle if properly fed are fit for beef at 12 to 24 months, although
the meat from these animals often lacks flavor, especially if they have
not been well fed. The best meat is from aged steers 30 to 40 months
old. A calf should not be slaughtered under four weeks and is not at
its best until about eight weeks of age. There is a law in many States
confiscating veal offered on the market under six weeks of age.
Pigs may be used after six weeks but the most profitable age at which
to slaughter hogs is between eight months and one year.
Sheep may be used at from 3 to 4 months of age; but are at their best
from eight to twelve months.
PREPARING FOR SLAUGHTER.