Camp cookery (Kephart)

Salt Pork, Broiled. — Same as bacon; but it is usually so salty that it should be parboiled first, or soaked at least an hour in cold water. Salt Pork, Boiled. — Nearly always cooked with vegetables or greens; hence need not be soaked or parboiled. See page 58. Pork Fritters. — Make a thick batter of corn meal one- third and flour two-thirds, or of flour alone. Fry a few slices of pork until the fat is tried out. Then cut a few more slices, dip them in the batter, drop them in the bubbling fat, season with salt and pepper, fry to a light brown. and eat while hot. It takes the stomach of a lumberjack to digest this, but it is a favorite variant in frontier diet. Pork and Hardtack. — Soak hardtack in water until it is partly softened. Drop it into hot pork fat, and cook. A soldier's resource. Ham, Fried. — Same as bacon. Parboil, first, for eight or ten minutes, if hard and salty. Ham and Eggs. — Same as bacon and eggs. Ham, Broiled. — If salty, parboil first. Cut rather thick slices, pepper them, and broil five minutes. Ham that has been boiled is best for broiling. A little mustard may be spread on the slices when served. Ham, Boiled. — Wash the ham, and let it soak over night in cold water. In the morning, cover it well with fresh water, bring to a boil, and hang the kettle high over the fire where it will boil gently until dinner time. When the bone on the under side leaves the meat readily, the ham is done. If you have eggs, the nicest way to serve a boiled ham is to remove the skin, brush over the top of ham with yolk of egg, sprinkle thickly with finely grated crumbs or cracker-dust, and brown in an oven. Pork Sausages. — Cut links apart, prick each with a fork so it will not burst in cooking, lay in cold frying-pan, and fry fifteen to twenty minutes over a slow fire, moving them about so they will brown evenly all over. Serve with mashed potatoes, over which pour the fat from the pan. Apples fried to a light brown in the sausage grease are a pleasant accompaniment. Corned Beef, Boiled. — Put the ham into enough cold water to cover it. Let it come slowly to a boil, and then merely simmer until done. Time, about one-half hour to each pound. Vegetables may be added toward the end^ as directed on page 58. If not to be used until the next day, leave the meat in its liquor, weighted down under the surface by a clean rock. Corned Beef Hash. — Chop some canned corned beef fine with sliced onions. Mash up with freshly boiled potatoes, two parts potatoes to one of meat. Season highly with pepper (no salt) and dry mustard if liked. Put a little pork fat in a fryingpan, melt, add hash, and cook until nearly dry and a brown crust has formed. Evaporated potatoes and onions can be used according to directions on packages. Stew with Canned Meat. — Peel and slice some onions. If the meat has much fat, melt it; if not, melt a little pork fat. Add onions, and fry until brown. Mix some flour into a smooth batter with cold water, season with pepper and salt, and pour into the camp kettle. Stir the whole well together. Cut meat into slices, put into the kettle, and heat through. Lohscouse. — Boil corned beef as above (if very salty, parboil first, and then change the water). About thirty minutes before it is done add sliced potatoes and hardtack.