off. After they are thoroughly cool, they can be piled into a heap and
salt applied so they are entirely covered. The more salt put over them
the better, as they spoil very easily.
TANNING SKINS.
(_Copyrighted; Reprint Forbidden._)
[Illustration: TANNING SKINS]
Butchers can easily tan the skins of Sheep, Goats, Cattle and Calves
with Tanaline, and they can often pick up fine skins of wild animals,
which can also be easily tanned. By tanning the fancy skins that the
Butcher frequently can get, he can sell them for three or four times
as much as he would realize when sold to the Hide Buyer.
DIRECTIONS FOR TANNING SKINS.
First:--After weighing the skins, soak them in plain cold water; fresh
or salted skins for 24 hours, and air dried skins for at least 48
hours. Then scrape off all the fat with a dull instrument, such as a
putty knife or sharp piece of hard wood. Then wash thoroughly, with
cold water, both sides of the skin.
Second:--Use, for every 30 pounds of skins, a 2-pound package of
Tanaline and 4 pounds of salt. Dissolve 2 pounds of Tanaline and 4
pounds of salt in 5 to 6 gallons of cold water, and when thoroughly
dissolved, place the skins into it. Have sufficient water so that all
the skins are entirely covered. Tan small, thin skins in this solution
for 24 hours. Goat, sheep, calf and dog skins should be allowed to tan
from two to three days, according to their thickness. Cattle or horse
skins, or skins of a similar nature, require one week in this solution
to properly tan them. During the tanning process remove the skins and
replace them in the same solution twice a day, so that the solution
gets over all parts of the skins uniformly. After tanning, drain off
all the solution that can easily be drained off, and spread the skins
out with the flesh side up, away from the sun.
Third:--Make a heavy flour paste; thin enough to spread easily. Now
cover the entire flesh side of the skin with a thin layer (about
one-eighth inch) of this paste. Let the skins and flour paste dry for
two to four days, according to the weather. The paste will absorb the
moisture out of the skins and soften them.
Fourth:--When the skins become dry, work them so that the paste is
shaken off. If the skins have been allowed to dry too long, they will
be too hard to work, and they should be softened by sprinkling some
dampened sawdust over the skins and leaving it on them over night. The
skins should next be softened and worked by pulling them over the edge
of a table or box, until soft and pliable.
POLISHING HORNS.
(_Copyrighted; Reprint Forbidden._)
[Illustration: POLISHING HORNS]
If the horns are rough, first take a file and file through the rough
horn, down to the solid horn, and file the horn into proper shape,
smoothing the tip and shaping the large end to suit the fancy. After
they have been filed, take sand paper and rub the horn with the sand
paper until it is nice and smooth, then finish the rubbing with very
fine sand paper, so as to take out all the scratches. After it has been
sand papered, take a piece of glass and scrape it until very smooth.
Polish by rubbing with powdered rotten stone and machine oil. The
polishing must be done with the palm of the hand, and the horn should
be rubbed until beautifully polished.
WHY DRIED BEEF DOES NOT THOROUGHLY DRY.
_Query.--R. B. writes: “We are having trouble with our Dried Beef. It
doesn’t seem to dry out. We have it hanging in the cooler.”_
Ans.--Your beef doesn’t dry out because you keep it in the cooler. In
order to dry beef, it is necessary to hang it in a dry room. You can
hang it right out in the market for that matter and there it will dry
rapidly, in fact, it will dry too quickly so that it will become hard.
Dried Beef will dry some in the smoke house, but not sufficiently.
We send you a copy of our book, “Secrets of Meat Curing and Sausage
Making,” which will give you full particulars in reference to this
entire subject.
BULL-MEAT PREFERABLE FOR SAUSAGE.
_Query.--Z. & R. write: There is a prevailing notion among local
butchers that bull meat possesses qualities which make it superior to
first-class steer or cow meat for making bologna and wieners. Is this
not an erroneous idea? How can bologna and wieners be prevented from
turning dark and shrinking within a few days after making if exposed to
the air?_
=Ans=:--The opinion of your local butcher is correct as far as it
concerns bull meat as the best meat for bologna and wienerwurst. The
reason for this is that bull meat contains a great deal of gelatine in
various forms and far more than even the meat of either steer or cow.
If you take the bull meat and chop it up, you will find that it is
sticky and binds together, while if you take meat from an aged cow and
chop it up it will not bind together, is mushy and soft to the touch,
and when cooked frequently crumbles and falls apart.
In answering your next question, we can say that the probable cause in
most cases why sausage dries up, shrivels up, shrinks or turns dark
within a short time after being made is because it was not properly
handled. It is also possible that these effects of which you complain
were due to causes produced by the way you salted your meat or what you
salted it with. If you will follow our instructions on Bologna making
given in our book “Secrets of Meat Curing and Sausage Making,” you
should have no further trouble. The book is sent free.
HOW TO MAKE A PAPER BAROMETER
_Question.--J. K. writes: Can you tell me how a Barometer can be made
with paper that tells what the weather is going to be?_
Answer.--Paper barometers are made by impregnating white blotting paper
in the following liquid, and then hanging up to dry:
Cobalt Chloride 1 oz.
Sodium Chloride ½ oz.
Acacia ¼ oz.
Calcium Chloride 75 gr.
Water 3 fl. oz.
The amount of moisture in the atmosphere is indicated by the following
colors:
Rose Red Rain
Pale Red Very Moist
Bluish Red Moist
Lavender Blue Nearly Dry
Blue Very Dry
SOUR SAUSAGE
_Question.--B. & W. write: We have been using your
Bull-Meat-Brand-Flour through all of last winter, and found it
satisfactory in every way. We have been using also your Freeze-Em
Pickle. Since hot weather began our sausage has soured. We have lost
over 100 lbs. of sausage through its souring. Can you tell us what is
the probable cause of our sausage becoming sour?_
(_Copyrighted by B. Heller & Co.; Reprint Forbidden._)
Answer.--We will say that the cause of your sausage souring may be due
to several things. Either your grinder has become dull, causing the
meat you run through it to heat in the grinding, or it may be due to
the fact that the meat was not cold enough to prevent it from heating
while being ground.
Another cause for trouble of this kind is in the mixing machine. In
mixing meat too much, a considerable quantity of air is forced into the
meat, which will often cause it to sour during the warm seasons of the
year. During hot weather it is advisable to grind a small quantity of
ice with the meat to keep it cold.
We also advise the use of our “A” Condimentine preparation. This is
a very useful product for keeping in condition all fresh sausage. It
is entirely harmless, containing no substances injurious to health.
Complies with all pure food laws.
We are quite positive that you are souring your meat in the grinding,
or in the mixing. Please let us know if you have a mixing machine, or
whether you mix your meat by hand. If you have no mixing machine you
are souring your meat while grinding it. You should mix ice with your
meat before grinding it. Grind the meat and the ice together, and use
“A” Condimentine. Your troubles will then disappear.
SPICED BEEF
_Question.--W. C. K. writes: I was very much interested in your
magazine “Success With Meat,” and wish you would send me a formula
for the making and curing of Spiced Rounds of Fresh Beef. In our
city we have a great demand for spiced beef and I want the very best
formula obtainable, which I know you can furnish me. I have used
Freeze-Em-Pickle for a good many years and always get splendid results
from its use._
Answer.--We are very glad that you like “Success With Meat,” and are
pleased to learn you have obtained such uniformly good results with
Freeze-Em-Pickle.
To make rolled spiced beef take 100 lbs. of boneless beef plates and
cure them in brine made as follows:
5 gallons of cold water.
5 lbs. of common salt.
1 lb. Freeze-Em-Pickle.
2 lbs. of granulated cane sugar.
6 to 8 ounces Zanzibar Brand Corned Beef Seasoning.
Cure the plates in this brine 10 to 20 days in a cooler. The
temperature should not be higher than 42 to 44 degrees Fahr., but a
temperature of 38 to 40 degrees is better for curing purposes.
The Zanzibar Brand Corned Beef Seasoning gives a delightful flavor to
the brine. After the meat has been fully cured in accordance with the
above formula sprinkle some Corned Beef Seasoning on the meat; then
roll the meat and tie it tight with a heavy string. Some people also
like a garlic flavor and if desired a small quantity of Vacuum Brand
Garlic may be added to the brine or sprinkled over the meat before it
is rolled. Where you want to cure rumps or rounds of beef that weigh
from 12 to 25 lbs. each, we advise that you pump them just the same as
a ham would be pumped with a pumping brine made as follows:
½ lb. of Freeze-Em-Pickle.
1 lb. of pure granulated sugar.
2 lbs. of salt.
1 gallon of water.
By following the above suggestions carefully you should have no trouble
in turning out delicious corned beef.
SOUR HAMS--HOW TO PREVENT.
_Query.--F. B. writes: “Have you any chemical compounds that will help
us to take care of some sour hams? We have some hams that are just a
little sour and thought perhaps you would help us in the matter.”_
Ans.--We do not prepare anything which would help you in the least. The
trouble arises from imperfect curing and the only time that we could
have been of help to you would have been when you commenced to put the
hams in the pickle; we could have then given you full instructions for
pickling the hams in such a way that they could not have soured. In
nearly all cases the souring is around the bone. In your case it is
best to cut out the bone and trim away the sour meat. After being thus
carefully trimmed, they can be rolled, tied and sold for boned hams.
You can always avoid the danger of sour hams by exercising extreme care
in properly chilling the meat before curing. Most all souring arises
from the fact that the meat is not chilled through to the bone. If all
the animal heat is thoroughly removed before curing, the hams will come
out of the pickle cured all the way through.
If you will follow closely the directions contained in our book,
“Secrets of Meat Curing and Sausage Making,” you will never have
trouble with your hams. We take great pleasure in sending you a copy of
this book free of charge.
FREEZE-EM-PICKLE LEGAL EVERYWHERE.
_Query.--S. G. Co.: You will please send us a 500-lb. barrel of
Freeze-Em Pickle, if you can guarantee it to comply with the Pure Food
Laws._
Ans.--Shipment of 500 lbs. Freeze-Em-Pickle, which you ordered by
mail, went forward today. We beg to inform you that this product
complies with requirements of all Pure Food Laws and is perfectly
legal to use everywhere. We know that you will be highly pleased with
Freeze-Em-Pickle. The Freeze-Em-Pickle process of curing meat gives it
a uniform bright red color and a sweet sugar cured flavor and enables
it to retain all of its albumen. It also prevents the meat from drying
up and hardening when fried or cooked, or from crumbling when sliced up
after being cooked. It may be used in the brine, or it can be sprinkled
dry over the meat before it is packed for storage. See our directions
for using it.
MAKING SOAP FROM RENDERED FAT
_Question.--C. J. B. writes: Can you give me a formula for making soap?
I have a surplus stock of rendered fat that I would like to convert
into soap._
(_Copyrighted by B. Heller & Co.; Reprint Forbidden._)
Answer.--We will give a very good formula for making soft soap and hard
soap.
To 20 pounds of clear grease or tallow take 17 pounds of pure white
potash. Buy the potash in as fine lumps as it can be procured and
place it in the bottom of the soap barrel, which must be water-tight
and strongly hooped. Boil the grease and pour it boiling hot upon the
potash then add two large pailfuls of boiling hot water; dissolve 1
pound of borax in 2 quarts of boiling hot water and stir all together
thoroughly. Next morning add 2 pailfuls of cold water and stir for half
an hour; continue this process until a barrel containing 36 gallons is
filled. In a week, or even in less time, it will be ready for use. The
borax, and also one pound of rosin, can be turned into the grease while
the grease is boiling.
Soap made in this manner is a first-rate article, and has a good body.
The grease must be tried out, free from scraps, ham rinds, bones, or
any other similar kind of matter; then the soap will be as thick as
jelly, and almost as clear. To make soft soap hard put into a kettle
four pailfuls of soft soap, and stir in it by degrees about one quart
of common salt. Boil until all the water is separated from the curd,
remove the kettle from the fire and draw off the water with a siphon
(a yard or so of rubber hose will answer); then pour the soap into a
wooden form in which muslin has been placed. For this purpose a wooden
box sufficiently large and tight, may be employed. When the soap is
firm turn out to dry, cut into bars with a brass wire and let it
harden. A little powdered rosin will assist the soap to harden and give
it a yellow color. This must be added in the kettle when the soap is
boiled. If the soft soap is very thin, more salt should be added.
WHY BOLOGNA DRAWS WATER WHEN IT IS BOILED
_Question.--J. B. writes: I again write you for information. When I
boiled my bologna the meat drew water. I added the water the second
time I ground the meat. Why did the meat draw water while the sausage
was being boiled?_
_I am glad to say that your advice in reply to my last letter enabled
me to completely overcome the trouble I had with my corned beef. I
am now using the galvanized iron tank as you recommended, and have
discarded my old corned beef barrel. I will further say that since
I began using your products, that I am selling three times as much
sausage as I formerly did. I am greatly pleased with all the goods that
I have bought from you._
(_Copyrighted by B. Heller & Co.; Reprint Forbidden._)
Answer.--There are three principal reasons for meat drawing water while
the bologna is being boiled. The first is that you probably “killed”
the meat in the grinding of it, by your knife not being sharp enough,
or that your meat soured in the grinding of it by the meat not being
cold enough. If you desire to work in some water while grinding the
meat, use chipped ice instead of water. The ice will keep the meat cool
and stiff, and the meat will not quash, or mash down. The use of ice
will prevent the meat from getting warm.
Another cause for bologna drawing water while being boiled is that you
have heated the bologna too hot while it was in the smokehouse, or you
are boiling bologna at too high a temperature. Boiling bologna at 160
degrees Fahrenheit would hardly spoil it, but we recommend boiling
bologna at 155 degrees Fahrenheit.
Possibly you boil the bologna too long. When you take your bologna out
of the cooking water do you pour cold water over them? This also has a
bearing on the case. Watch carefully all of the above points and you
will not have any more trouble. Refer to our book.
OLD BARRELS INFECTED WITH GERMS WILL CAUSE ROPY BRINE
_Question.--W. & Sons write: Can you advise us about our corned beef
pickle? We made it according to directions given in your book, “Secrets
of Meat Curing and Sausage Making.” But our brine gets “ropy” as you
call it. We use pure cane sugar. We keep our cooler at 38 to 40 degrees
Fahr., and are at a loss to know what is the cause of our trouble.
Please advise us in this matter._
(_Copyrighted by B. Heller & Co.; Reprint Forbidden._)
Answer.--Ropy brine can come about even when pure cane sugar is used in
curing. This condition is caused by germs which develop in the brine
and cause the brine to thicken. You will find that the barrels which
contain your brine are infected with germs. The best way to get rid of
these germs is to first empty the barrels; then put the barrels into
a vat and boil them. Also scrub the barrels inside and outside. For
this purpose they should be rinsed with boiling water to which has been
added Freeze-Em, 4 ounces to each gallon, and afterwards a last rinsing
with our Ozo washing powder, or soda, in the water that you use for
washing the barrels. After the barrels are thoroughly washed and rinsed
with cold water, they should then be put out of doors where the sun can
shine upon them and in them for several days before they are again used
and placed in the cooler.
Barrels in which corned beef is cured should be made of hardwood. If
you are using a syrup barrel or a molasses barrel, you will find that
the pores of the wood have become filled with syrup or molasses, which
causes the brine to become thick. We think this is the cause of your
trouble.
The best barrels to use are tierces that are made of oak, such as
lard is shipped in by the packers. The wood of these tierces becomes
saturated or filled with lard, and the lard prevents the brine from
penetrating or soaking into the wood. Be sure that whatever barrels you
use are made of hardwood, and not of white wood or other soft wood, of
which many kinds of barrels are made.
HOW TO MAKE FERTILIZER FROM BEEF BLOOD
_Question.--J. E. P. writes: Please tell me how to utilize and handle
beef blood so as to make fertilizer out of it. I am killing from ten
to fifteen head of cattle each week, and thus have quite a quantity of
blood._
Answer.--Blood in a packing house is handled as follows: It is first
drained from the killing floor into vats and when the vats are filled,
live steam is turned on and the blood is boiled until congealed. It is
then put in large powerful presses and all the water pressed out, the
congealed blood remaining in the press cloth. From the presses it is
put through a fertilizer dryer and then is known as dried blood.
Where you only kill 10 to 15 head of cattle a week, it would not pay
you to dry the blood in this way. A very fine fertilizer, however, can
be made from the blood either for your own use or to sell by boiling
the blood in a kettle over a fire or else putting it into a tank and
blowing live steam in it; then separate from the water as best you can
and mix with black earth, spreading it out thin in the sun to dry. The
boiled blood should be mixed with about its own weight in black earth.
This makes a wonderful fertilizer and ought to bring you many extra
dollars.
ICE VS. ICE MACHINE IN SMALL PLANTS
_Query.--F. S. writes: “I would like to know if an ice machine can be
had small enough for a retail meat market and would it be profitable
to take the place of an ice box? If you can do so, please give me
this information and where I can get the ice machine. Ice here for a
summer’s use will cost about $75.”_
Ans.--You state that the cost of ice for the summer season in your
market would be about $75.00; therefore, it will not pay you to put in
an ice machine, as the cost of operating such a machine for an ice-box
would be a great deal more than $75.00 for the season. For instance, if
you could obtain electric power or a gas engine for operating the ice
machine, you could figure on using at least $7.50 to $10.00 a month for
power alone. In addition to this, you would have the expense of repairs
and the wear and tear on the machinery, also the cost of ammonia and
the interest on your investment. For a small plant, it is always
cheaper to use ice for an ice-box, when it is possible to secure the
ice at a reasonable figure.
WHAT IS THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN POTATO FLOUR AND BULL-MEAT BRAND SAUSAGE
BINDER?
_QUERY.--J. G. Co. writes: Will you kindly state the difference between
your Bull-Meat-Brand Sausage Binder and Potato Flour, as we have
received several circulars from you on Bull-Meat-Brand Sausage Binder
and have always been using potato flour heretofore, and if you will
explain to us the difference, and if your Bull-Meat Sausage Binder is
better for us, we will be glad to use it._
Answer.--The difference between Bull-Meat-Brand Sausage Binder and
Potato Flour is this, potato flour is made from potatoes and the
absorbing properties of a pound of potato flour or potato starch are
much less than you would imagine. If you will take a gallon of water
and put into this water one pound of potato flour and let it stand
for one hour, all the Potato Flour will have settled to the bottom
and you can pour off the gallon of water and then weigh the pound of
potato flour and you will be surprised that it will weigh less than two
pounds, it will have taken up less than one pound of water. Also make a
test by putting one pound of Bull-Meat-Brand Sausage Binder in a gallon
of water and you will find that the pound of Bull-Meat-Brand Sausage
Binder will have absorbed almost the entire gallon of water. You can
easily see by making this test the difference in the action of the
flours when used in different kinds of sausage. When Bull-Meat-Brand
Sausage Binder is used it helps to hold the fat and then when the
sausage is fried it looks different and tastes different than sausage
made with potato flour. Bull-Meat-Brand Sausage Binder absorbs fat and
juice in the meat and tends to hold it in the meat and it does not fry
out so readily. If you will try the Bull-Meat-Brand Sausage Binder and
make a test, you will prefer it to potato flour.
CAUSE OF BOLOGNA DRAWING WATER AND BEING SHORT GRAINED.
_Query.--J. L. B. writes: “Will you kindly answer the following
questions: First, What is the cause of bologna drawing water while
being cooked? Second, What is the cause of short grain bologna?”_
Ans.--We do not exactly understand your first question and cannot tell
whether you mean that moisture draws out of the Bologna or whether
water draws into the Bologna. As a rule, when the Bologna is cooked,
especially in water that is too hot, it will shrink very much, become
dry and crumble and break up. This effectually answers your second
question also. The trouble you are experiencing is due to your method
of making Bologna, which is not exactly right. In the first place
good Bologna cannot be made without the use of a binder like our
Bull-Meat-Brand Sausage Binder. A binder and absorbent of this kind
causes the meat to hold together. It also makes the juices of the meat
remain in the Bologna. When Bologna does not properly bind, it shrinks
up and gets watery inside.
This is owing to the fact that the meat does not hold together properly
and the water, instead of being absorbed right into the meat as it
should be, gets between the small particles of meat and separates them.
If you use our =Bull-Meat-Brand Sausage Binder= and follow the methods
set forth in our book, “Secrets of Meat Curing and Sausage Making,” you
will never have any trouble from your Bologna breaking up or getting
crumbly or watery, as you call it.
CAUSE OF LARD FOAMING WHEN USING LARD PURIFIER.
_Query.--W. & Son write: “Will you kindly tell us what, in your
opinion, accounts for our lard foaming after treating it with your
B. Heller & Co.’s Lard Purifier when placed in the frying pan? Our
customers are complaining about this feature, although the lard is nice
and satisfies them in every other respect.”_
Ans.--The complaint which your customers make concerning the foaming
and spluttering of the lard is in all probability due to the fact that
all the water was not separated from the lard after treating the lard.
Whenever lard is treated with our Lard Purifier, it must be heated hot
enough and allowed to stand long enough so that all the water separates
and settles out to the bottom. If this is always done, the lard will
not splutter when used in the frying pan.
IMITATION BULL-MEAT-BRAND SAUSAGE BINDER.