The progressive farmer and the cotton plant. [volume], November 29, 1904, Page 2, Image 2

About The progressive farmer and the cotton plant. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 1904-1905

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PROGRESSIVE FARMER AND COTTON PLANT.
Tuesday, November 29, 190L
KILLING HOQS FOR BACON.
BY T. K. BRUNER, SECRETARY NORTH CAROLINA BOARD OF AGRICULTURE.
Pursuant to your suggestion, I am
summarising for your Progressive
Farmer readers a bulletin issued by
the North Carolina Department of
Agriculture in October, 1899, and
which was the joint work of Dr.
Cooper Curtice and myself. I am
glad to do so for several reasons
which may be defined (1) as a
desire on my part to do all I can to
aid the farmer in receiving the
of each of these hams are given so
that they may be seen from all sides.
The short, stout ham A, figs. 1, 2
hock used in the way suggested will and 3, showing well-rounded propor
bring as much ready money. The tions, is an average light-weight
matter of seasoning these viands is ham of eleven pounds, the product
of much importance. A proper of a Western packing-house and
blending of the condiments is all that farm. Anyone of the thousands cut
is needed; none of them should be would
dominant. Appended are a few re
cipes which will serve as a general
guide in such matters:
SOME RECIPES.
oausage. (1) Put the meat
show the same proportions.
C
the middlings was all that had been
done after removing the back-bone.
The great distance between the hock
joint and the hip-bone in comparison
with that of the Western thorough
bred hog is very evident. It came
from an animal of much larger
frame, but to acquire its increase of
six pounds had to include far more
, , , , . 5 through the grinder twice (after the
through any channel open for the n A x- Al , . ,
purpose, and (2) to give expression
incidentally to my views on some
practices in connection with fresh
meats which are wrong, and which
result in flooding the marts with the
viands which are decidedly unwhole
some, if not deleterious to health.
SAUSAGE, SOUSE AND HEAD CHEESE
This matter might as well be stated
at once since it is intended to bring
before the home-producer the possi
bilities incident to "hog killing" time
in the utilization of the fresh meats
which are not to be cured into bacon.
I refer to sausage, souse and head
cheese. These articles are supplied
now to the city markets by packing
houses and distant makers, under
various names. The materials sup
plied are put into nice marketable
form and look well for the part they
are to play. They are not genuine,
but are a poor substitute made for
"sale," rather than to eat, and with
but little regard for what goes into
the making. In sausage, for in
stance, when say five hundred pounds
are to be made, the formula would
be something like this: Two hun
dred pounds of scrap pork (mostly
unfit for lard) and beef neck; two
hundred pounds of dry potato meal
and one hundred pounds of water;
a little salt and black pepper, and
the whole treated liberally with a
preservative to prevent fermenta
tion. This preservative may be
boraxine, or formaldehyde, or some
other of the preparations so com
monly used in these days. Sausage
of this character sells at from 15 to
22V2 cents a pound; is devoid of
flavor, and altogether unsatisfactory.
The same conditions, so far as pre
servatives are concerned, prevail with
head cheese and brains, to say noth
ing of the "processing" of the hams
and bacon.
These facts open the way for the
farmer with his pure, home-made
products; the prices are sufficient to
pay for good wholesome food, and if
those who supply the butcher and the
grocer will not give honest goods
for honest money, then let the neigh
boring farmers supply the towns and
villages. He makes for his family
consumption the best of these viands,
and at the prevailing prices, can well
afford to properly trim his joints for
curing and make up the residure
into lard and sausage.
The average country ham has too
much of the shank or hock left on it.
Cut this off for the souse or to pickle
with the feet, or to go into the head
cheese. This will improve the ap
pearance of the cured ham, and the
1 . ,?A j&ht2,n
v W J
" V- t. - t
first time add the seasoning which
will be well distributed when the
meat goes through the grinder the
second time) ; carefully remove all
lumps and strings. To twenty-five
pounds of meat (one-third fat, the
rest lean) add one gill black pepper,
nearly a pint of fine salt, and two
gills beaten or ground sage. A little
ground ginger added, it is said,
will aid in its digestion. This meat
may be "cased" and smoked if de
sired; or it may be partially cooked
and covered, in a jar, with melted
lard and kept for several months.
provided the air is kept from the
meat. A little red pepper is demand
ed by some tastes.
Sausage. (2) Twelve pounds of
lean and six pounds of fat pork; ten
tablespoonfuls of powdered sage; six
tablespoonfuls black pepper; same of
fine salt; two tablespoonfuls powder
ed mace; same of cloves, and one
grated nutmeg. Grind and mix as
above. This is a rich, highly season
ed sausage, especially suited to fam
ily use. A teaspoonful of ground
red pepper is added by some mixers
in all sausage.
Souse. This is made of the head,
ears and feet. Clean them thorough
ly. Boil in salted water until per
fectly tender. Strip the meat from
the bones and chop fine; season with
salt, pepper, sage, sweet marjoram,
a little cloves and half a cup or more
of strong armle vinegar. Mix all
thoroughly together and mould in
bowls or shallow jars. To keep for
several weeks, take the meat from the
moulds and immerse in strong vine
gar. The hocks above alluded to may
be added to the above, or they may
be pickled with the feet for future
u?e or for sale.
This brings me to the main sub
ject of making bacon for the mar
ket. In order to make clear the best
form for cutting the meat, the cuts
below are inserted.
ILLUSTRATIONS
111 no way except by the practical
demonstration can the different re
sults obtained in cutting hams be
better shown than through photo
graphic illustrations. For this pur
pose four hams of as many types
have been selected from the counter
where they were exposed for sale.
These embody the ideas or lack of
them of the producers as to the man
ner and shape in which their prod
ucts fihmilrl ho m Q-rL-of orl TViott nlon I rp-i . , ,
. j icg. jl 11 m gives me snanK a very
snow tne raiser s idea as to which narrow appearance. The entire
kind and m what condition he held lack of trimming is at one fivident
it best to market the individuals from It looks as though the straight cut
which these were taken. Three views I that severed the hind quarter from
4 -iT1, 'tiA
1
i
1
r
f
The holding of the thickness to near
the hock joint is especially notice
able. Either view shows the same
rotund proportions. The white
square of paper on the flesh side
serves to indicate how close to the
bone the meat is trimmed. None
of the hock joint is left and all use
less tissues removed.
B, figs. 1, 2 and 3 are a seventeen-
pound ham prepared near Raleigh
by the dry-salt process. It is evident
ly from an animal which both the
Western packer and the Virginia
farmer would declare was deficient
in meat around the lower part of the
C
Fig. 1
of the rest of the hog than ought
to have been left upon it. The super
fluous fat upon the flesh side is only
too apparent. The dotted line indi
cates the outline when properly cut.
C, figs. 1, 2 and 3 are of a ham
in which everything is deficient. It
probably weighed about five pounds.
Leanness, irregular trimmings and
the long and useless hock joint seem
to be its chief characteristics:
The side view of these hams only
serves to emphasize the difference be
tween thorough business like 'meth
ods of breeding, raising and prepar
ing the meat products, and the more
B A
Pig. 2
slack conditions under which the
poorer specimens were produced. The
bagging of the Western ham which
marketed it in a cleanly and neat
condition besides preventing much