Cassell's dictionary of cookery

Ham, Cured (in the Yorkshire way). — Let the ham hang for twenty-four hours after the hog is cut up, sprinkle a handful of salt over it, and lay it on a board to drain. For a ham weighing fourteen or sixteen pounds, take j one pound of common salt, half a pound of ! bay-salt, an ounce and a quarter of saltpetre, I and half an ounce of moist sugar. Dry these j well before the fire, pound them in a mortar, mix them thoroughly, and rub them into every part of the ham. Let it lie four days, turning I it every day, then pour over it a pound of j treacle, and leave it for three weeks ; turn it regularly, and baste it frequently. At the end ' of that time put it into cold water for twentyfour hours. Wipe it very dry, and hang it in a cool, dry, airy place. Probable cost of ham, Is. per pouad. Ham, Cured (M. Ude's recipe). — Aa i soon as the pig is sufficiently cold to be cut HAM 295 ) HAM up, take the bams, rub them well with common salt, and let them drain for three days. Dry them, and for two hams, weighing sixteen or eighteen pounds each, take a pound of salt, a pound of moist sugar, and two ounces of saltpetre. Rub the hams thoroughly with this mixture, put them into a deep pan, with the skin downwards, and turn and baste them every day for a month, at the end of three days pouring a bottle of good vinegar over them. Drain, and dry them well, and, if they are to be smoked, hang them high in the chimney, to keep the fat from melting. "This," says M. Ude, "is superior to a Westphalia ham." Probable cost. Is. per pound. Ham, Cured (Warwickshire method). — Rub two ounces of saltpetre well into a leg of pork, and leave it until the next day to drain. Put four quarts of river- water into a large stewpan, with a peck of pale di-ied malt, a pound and a half of basalt, two pounds and a half of common salt, one pound of treacle or moist sugar, and three ounces of sliced onions. Skim carefully, and boil for ten minutes, then pour the liquid through a sieve, hot, upon the meat. Turn the ham, and rub it well every day for three weeks, drain and dry it, and smoke it for three weeks or a month. The ham should be entirely covered with the piclde. Probable cost, Is. per pound. Ham, Cured (West Country Method). — Take three or four hams weighing fourteen or sixteen pounds each. Let them hang for a day, then rub well into each one two ounces of sal prunella, two oimces of saltpetre, and one pound of salt. Put the hams into a deep pan, and turn them over and rub them each day for three days. Make a pickle by boiling together three gallons of water, four pounds of common salt, four pounds of basalt, and seven pounds of moist sugar. Skim thoroughly, and when the pickle has boiled for twenty minutes, pour it hot over the meat. The hams must be rubbed and turned daily, and their relative position altered, the one at the top being put to the bottom, and so on. At the end of three weeks they must be drained and dried, and smoked, if practicable. This pickle will be found excellent for beef, bacon, tongues, &c., and will keep for several months if it be boiled and skimmed each time it is used, and kept closely corked. Salt and treacle should be added also to make up for the strength evaporating. Probable cost, Is. per pound. Ham, Cured with Hot Pickle.— Rub