FoodNet

A manual of home-making

1919

Page 358

Presented as published in 1919. Historical recipes may not meet modern food-safety standards. Cook from the modern interpretation, not the original instructions.
Pork 5iauAage either id used lootp^}, being maile into pats and fried, ot is HiutTed into pork casings and double-linked. If left loueie it can bf packe<J in jars until uBed. If it is to be kept for a long pmcid, it mmf be nin into cloth bags and smoked for a short time. The lixtkcd saMii^ may also be nmoked for a short time in onlcr to preserve it. If it it to bt kept until summer, it may be partially cookeil, packed in a jar, and ered with hot lard. Smoking meats on the farm The smoking of cured meats aids in their preservation .„_ the smoking process closes the pores of the meat or cwng?, and the creosote is objectional)le to some insects* FOOD PRESERVATION Smoking gives a desirable flavor to the meat if the proper kind of fuel is used. Green hickory is best, but other hard- woods or corn-cobs may be used if hickory b not available. Resinous woods should never be ujsed^ as they give an objection- able flavor to the meat. Corn-cobs are commonly used, but are not so satisfactory as hickory because of the fine ash that is forced upward by the heat and settles on the meat, giving it a dirty appearance. Juniper berries and fragrant woods are some- times added to the fire, to give desired flavors. Proprietary smoking preparations are not to be recommended, as a whole, because the^y hasten the curing process and do not give as desirable a flavor as does the ordinary smokiiig process. Some of these preparations also contain substances that cause digestive disorders when the meat is eaten. This is especially true of the various dips used to take the place of smoking. The smoke-kause. The smoke-house may be of any size or construction, to suit the needs of the owner. If the house is to be used only once and only a small amount of meat is to l>e smoked, a large l>arrel or a diy goods box may be used. If the house is to be penna- nent, it is often worth while to build it of brick, concrete, or stone, in onler to avoifl a!l risk of loss by fire. A frame house may be used, provided that care is taken to confine the fire to the center of the floor, or to build it in a large iron kettle, so that it will not spread to the house. The safest method of smokmg meat, and at the same time of preventing the smoke- house from getting too hot, is to chg a small furnace pit in the ground about 10 or 12 fe€*t from the smoke-house, and have the smoke carried from this to the house through a galvanizetl pipe laid on top of the ground and covered so that it will not be crushed. The method of construction of the smoke-house should allow ample ventilation, and there should l>e some means of regulating the draft. This can be done by having the outlet for the smoke under the eaves and the intake for the air at the furnace, if this is used; or, if the furnace or outdoor fire method is not used, 632 A MANUAL OF HOME-MAKING an adjustal)le air intake may be attached to the rloor and i ered witb a heavy screen to keep out flies and rut». For ordinary farm u^e^ the house should be about 8 square and S to 10 feet high, so that the meat will hung titoT' feet above the fire and near enough to the roof to get the licnrtit of the thick smoke and yet be below the level of the veniikiof The smoking process.