Bears are skinned on the ground^ beginning the
incisions at the feet and leaving the scalp^ or
skin of the whole head_, attached. It is quite a
task to flesh the pelts, as they are fatty and
greasy. All of the caul fat should be saved for
rendering into bear's oil, which is much better
and wholesomer than lard. The brain, liver, and
milt are good eating.
If a hide is to be preserved for some time in
a green state, use nothing on it but salt. Spread
it out flat, hair side down, stretch the legs, flanks,
etc., and rub all parts thoroughly with salt, par-
ticular pains being taken to leave no little fold
untreated. A moose-hide will take ten or even
fifteen pounds of salt. As soon as the salting is
done, fold in the legs and roll the hide up.
When a deer has merely been eviscerated and
is hung up to be skinned, and cut up at a more
convenient season, prop open the abdominal cavity
with a stick, so that it may dry out quickly. If
the weather is warm enough at any hour of the
day for flies to come out, keep a smudge going
under the carcass. It takes flies but a few minutes
to raise Ned with venison. If blows are discov-
ered on the meat, remove them, looking especially
at all folds and nicks in the meat, and around the
bones, for the blows work into such places very
quickly. So long as they have not bored into the
flesh they do it no harm.
It may be said here that even smoked bacon is
not immune from blows, and it should not be hung
up without a cheesecloth cover. The fly that
blows meats is the same that starts "skippers" in
cheese.
Hornaday gives the following rule, in his Nat-
ural History, for computing the live weight of
42 CAMP COOKERY.
deer from the dressed weight: Add four ciphers
to the dressed weight in pounds, and divide by
78,612; the quotient will be the live weight in
pounds.
Now for what Shakespeare calls "small deer":
I must take issue with Nessmuk on the art of
skinning a squirrel. He says: "Chop off head,
tail, and feet with the hatchet; cut the skin on
the back crosswise, and, inserting the two middle
fingers, pull the skin off in two parts (iiead and
tail). Clean and cut the squirrel in halves, leav-
ing two ribs on the hind quarters." The objec-
tion is that, in this case, jou throw away the best
part of the squirrel, the cheek meat and brain
being its special tid-bits.
A better way is this: Sever the tail from be-
low, holding your left forefinger close in behind
it, and cutting through the vertebrae close up to
the body, leaving only the hide on the top side.
Then turn the squirrel over and cut a slit down
along each ham. Put your foot on the tail, hold
the rear end of the squirrel in your hand, and pull,
stripping the skin off to the fore legs. Peel the
skin from the hind legs, and cut off the feet. Then
cut off the fore feet. Skin to the neck; assist here
a little with the knife; then skin to the ears; cut
off the butts of the ears ; then skin till the blue
of the eyeballs shows, and cut ; then to the nose till
the teeth show, and cut it off. Thus you get no
hair on the meat, and the whole thing is done in
less than a minute.
Page 20
Presented as published in 1910. Historical recipes may not meet modern food-safety standards. Cook from the modern interpretation, not the original instructions.
AI-modernized reading of the original text
Bears are skinned on the ground, beginning the incisions at the feet and leaving the scalp, or skin of the whole head,, attached. It is quite a task to flesh the pelts, as they are fatty and greasy. All of the caul fat should be saved for rendering into bear's oil, which is much better and wholesomer than lard. The brain, liver, and milt are good eating.
If a hide is to be preserved for some time in a green state, use nothing on it but salt. Spread it out flat, hair side down, stretch the legs, flanks, etc., and rub all parts thoroughly with salt, particular pains being taken to leave no little fold untreated. A moose-hide will take ten or even fifteen pounds of salt. As soon as the salting is done, fold in the legs and roll the hide up.
When a deer has merely been eviscerated and is hung up to be skinned, and cut up at a more convenient season, prop open the abdominal cavity with a stick, so that it may dry out quickly. If the weather is warm enough at any hour of the day for flies to come out, keep a smudge going under the carcass. It takes flies but a few minutes to raise Ned with venison. If blows are discovered on the meat, remove them, looking especially at all folds and nicks in the meat, and around the bones, for the blows work into such places very quickly. So long as they have not bored into the flesh they do it no harm.
It may be said here that even smoked bacon is not immune from blows, and it should not be hung up without a cheesecloth cover. The fly that blows meats is the same that starts "skippers" in cheese.
Hornaday gives the following rule, in his Natural History, for computing the live weight of
deer from the dressed weight: Add four ciphers to the dressed weight in pounds, and divide by 78,612; the quotient will be the live weight in pounds.
Now for what Shakespeare calls "small deer":
I must take issue with Nessmuk on the art of skinning a squirrel. He says: "Chop off head, tail, and feet with the hatchet; cut the skin on the back crosswise, and, inserting the two middle fingers, pull the skin off in two parts (iiead and tail). Clean and cut the squirrel in halves, leaving two ribs on the hind quarters." The objection is that, in this case, jou throw away the best part of the squirrel, the cheek meat and brain being its special tid-bits.
A better way is this: Sever the tail from below, holding your left forefinger close in behind it, and cutting through the vertebrae close up to the body, leaving only the hide on the top side. Then turn the squirrel over and cut a slit down along each ham. Put your foot on the tail, hold the rear end of the squirrel in your hand, and pull, stripping the skin off to the fore legs. Peel the skin from the hind legs, and cut off the feet. Then cut off the fore feet. Skin to the neck; assist here a little with the knife; then skin to the ears; cut off the butts of the ears ; then skin till the blue of the eyeballs shows, and cut ; then to the nose till the teeth show, and cut it off. Thus you get no hair on the meat, and the whole thing is done in less than a minute.