SECRETS OF MEAT CURING AND SAUSAGE MAKING TEXT

cabbage will be kept perfectly sweet and the foam which comes to the top is removed, so that the top of the Sauer Kraut will be as good as that in the bottom of the barrel. The Kraut should be left to ripen for about four weeks in a warm temperature. It is always best not to offer it for sale until it has sufficiently ripened and is tender and juicy and that it has the proper flavor. This can only occur after perfect fermentation has taken place. PICCALILLI. (_Copyrighted; Reprint Forbidden._) This sauce is easily prepared and is in considerable demand by some trades. Select good, firm, green tomatoes, wash them thoroughly and cut away all defective portions of the tomatoes. They should then be sliced or quartered and placed in a salt brine made with one pound of salt to each gallon of water with a supply of green peppers. Let them cure in this brine for two weeks. They may then be taken out and chopped very fine, about ⅛ to ¼ inch in diameter. They are then ready for the vinegar, which should be pure in quality, the white wine vinegar being preferred. The vinegar should be first prepared or sweetened and spiced with pure granulated cane sugar, cloves, cinnamon, mustard seed and a small quantity of celery seed. This can be poured over the chopped tomatoes and peppers, either hot or cold. Piccalilli should be sold nearly or quite strained of its vinegar. CHOW CHOW. (_Copyrighted; Reprint Forbidden._) Chow Chow is a popular sauce that can be readily prepared. It is strictly a Chinese innovation which was introduced to the American palate during the first immigration of Chinamen. It is merely the cucumber pickle cut up into small pieces with the addition of cauliflower, onions, etc., over which is poured a preparation of mustard, vinegar and various condiments which taste may demand. Chow Chow is a good keeper and a good seller, but in order to retain its flavor and color, it should be carefully covered and kept from exposure to the air. DILL PICKLES. (_Copyrighted; Reprint Forbidden._) [Illustration: HOME-MADE DILL PICKLES] All butchers should put up home made pickles of all kinds and such relishes as horseradish and sauer kraut. Dill pickles are very popular and they are always salable in the butcher shop. They may be made as follows: Select large pickles of as near an even size as possible and soak in water over night; then wash them thoroughly. Next, take a barrel and put a layer of dill about one inch thick on the bottom of it, upon which place the pickles three layers deep. Over these pickles place another layer of dill and repeat the layer of pickles as in the first instance. Continue this operation of the layer of dill and then pickles until the barrel is as full as desired, leaving sufficient space for the brine. The brine should be made of the best quality of salt, using ½ lb. to each gallon of water. Brine thus made will make the natural soft home-cured dill pickles. After the brine has been placed over the pickles, place them in a cooler and let them ripen for about four weeks. The ripening process may be quickened about two weeks by leaving the pickles in a room of moderate temperature. Some prefer dill pickles hard and for such taste it is necessary to put a little alum in the brine. Pickles treated with alum must be labeled to show this. A piece about as big as an egg for a full barrel of pickles is the proper amount. Dissolve this in the brine. This will keep the pickles firm and hard. It will be found, however, that most tastes prefer the natural brine without the alum, as the soft pickle seems to have a more appetizing flavor. There is no appetizer more appreciated than the dill pickle and it comes nearer appealing to the general trade than most any relish that can be offered. [Illustration: DRESS POULTRY IMMEDIATELY AFTER KILLING] HOW TO DRESS POULTRY. (_Copyrighted; Reprint Forbidden._) The Butcher who will make a specialty of dressed poultry will make a hit with his customers and good profit on sales if he will be careful to get his Chickens dressed decently, and to educate his customers to pay prices that will be commensurate with the quality of the meat offered. Very often it is almost an impossibility for the consumer to secure sweet, untainted Poultry Meat. Much of this trouble is owing to the fact that large shippers kill the Chickens, dry pick them or scald them, and the food that remains in the intestines ferments and taints the meat, with the result that the Chicken, when cooked, has an abominable taste. When a Butcher is so situated that he can dress his own Chickens, and he would be fully justified in making all preparations in that direction, he ought to open, draw and wash out thoroughly every chicken as fast as it is killed, just as he would wash out Hogs, Calves or Sheep. Chickens that have been nicely drawn and washed immediately upon killing are always sweet in flavor, and the Butcher who will take the pains to offer such goods and to acquaint his customers of their quality can not only establish a large trade and a great reputation, but he can offer the public an article that is pure and sweet, and difficult to obtain. No doubt he could command the Chicken trade of any neighborhood by this means, down all competition, and obtain good prices for his Meat, as people would be willing to pay for the original weight of the chicken before drawing, and at the same time would be much better satisfied with what they get. If desired, the Butcher could weigh the chickens after they are dressed, tag and draw them, and then could say to his customers: “This Chicken weighed so much before it was drawn, but in order to retain the sweetness of the meat, we draw it as it ought to be drawn, wash it out, and sell it to you for just what it is worth.” A Butcher’s statement upon these points would not be doubted. Furthermore, the Butcher would not lose anything by this method, as Chickens shrink after they are dressed and kept two or three days before sold. The loss from this shrinkage is considerable. Therefore, the trouble and expense of drawing Chickens and handling them in the manner described would be fully repaid. STICKY FLY PAPER. [Illustration: STICKY FLY PAPER] Every Butcher can make his own Sticky Fly Paper with very little trouble. It is made as follows: 1 lb. Rosin. 3½ oz. Molasses. 3½ oz. Boiled Linseed Oil. Boil the three together until they get thick enough and then spread on heavy Manilla paper. The proper and quickest way is to take a sheet of heavy Manilla paper and spread the mixture on half of the surface of it, then double the paper over; the mixture put on the half will be quite sufficient to coat the face of the other half that is doubled over on it. The cost of making this sticky fly paper is very small and in an hour any Butcher can make enough Sticky Fly Paper to last the entire summer. [Illustration: RENDERING LARD] (_Copyrighted; Reprint Forbidden._) One of the things much neglected in many butcher shops is the making of Lard. Butchers who do not cut up enough hogs to have fat for making Lard each day, allow the fat to accumulate until they have sufficient so as to make it worth their while to render it. Many butchers do not keep this fat in the ice box, but let it stand anywhere, because they imagine that it does not spoil; then, when they make Lard out of it, they wonder why the Lard is not better. Lard should always be made as soon as possible, and the fat trimmings should be kept in the cooler and not allowed to remain standing around in a warm place. To make high grade Kettle-Rendered Lard, always cut the rinds off of the fat. The rinds can be put into pickle and stored until a quantity has accumulated and then they can be cooked and utilized in Liver Sausage, Head Cheese or Blood Sausage. When the rind is cooked with the lard, it always causes more or less detriment to the lard. Before rendering, if one has the machinery, the fat should be run through a regular fat hasher or a Meat Grinder, and it should be ground up into small pieces. The smaller it is ground the better, for if the fatty tissues are thoroughly mangled and disintegrated, the oil will separate more readily when the heat is applied. Those butchers not having a machine in which they can cut up the fat should cut it into small pieces by hand. For making Kettle-Rendered Lard a steam jacket kettle is the best, but if one does not have steam, a common caldron will answer, but great care must be taken not to scorch the lard or allow it to become too hot when a caldron is used. RENDERING LARD IN JACKET KETTLE OR CALDRON. (_Copyrighted; Reprint Forbidden._) Before putting the fat into the kettle, put in a gallon of water for every 100 lbs. of fat, as the water prevents the lard from scorching. Then put in all the fat to be rendered and start the fire or slowly turn on the steam, as the case may be. In rendering Lard the heat should be brought up gradually, so that quite a little of the fat is melted before the full heat is applied. If the heat is brought up too rapidly, it will cause the Lard to be darker in color than when it is gradually heated. Lard should be boiled about 1½ hours after the entire mass is boiling. [Illustration: LARD PRESS] Those butchers who wish to render their Lard scientifically, with the aid of a thermometer, can do so by hanging a thermometer in the Lard and bringing the temperature gradually up to 255 to 260 degrees Fahrenheit, and then turn off the steam or check the fire, as the case may be, and allow the Lard to cook slowly until it is finished. A butcher can always tell when the Lard has cooked sufficiently by the way the cracklings press out. After the Lard has all been tried out, skim out all the cracklings, put them into a press and press out all the Lard, adding what is pressed out to that in the kettle. Now the Lard is ready to be strained through a piece of cheese cloth. IF ONE HAS A LARD SETTLING TANK, AS HERE ILLUSTRATED, HANDLE THE LARD AS FOLLOWS: (_Copyrighted; Reprint Forbidden._) [Illustration: SETTLING TANK] After treating the Lard as directed, with Lard Purifier and water, and after the Lard has been treated enough to make it foam, and the foam has been skimmed off, dip the Lard and water out of the kettle, run it through a piece of cheese cloth into the settling tank. A settling tank is simply a galvanized iron tank with a large faucet at the bottom. The bottom can be made to taper to the center and the faucet placed in the center, so all the water can be drained off, or the bottom can be made flat with the faucet close to the bottom, and the tank can be set slanting, so the water or Lard will all drain out. After the Lard is in the settling tank, let it settle for one or two hours, according to the size of the tank and quantity of Lard in it. Then drain off all the water and the impurities which have settled to the bottom. After these are drawn off, the Lard is ready to be run into buckets, which should be placed in the ice box to cool. A better way is to let the Lard settle in the settling tank and, after the water is drawn off, stir the Lard with a large paddle until it is thick and creamy, and then it should be put into buckets. By letting it cool in the settling tank and stirring it until it is thick and creamy, Lard will have a much better appearance when cold than Lard that is run into buckets hot. HOW TO PURIFY LARD WITH ONLY A COMMON RENDERING KETTLE. (_Copyrighted; Reprint Forbidden._) After the Lard has been rendered as above, treat as follows: The kettle must not be too full of Lard; it should not be more than three-fourths full when being treated with the Purifier. Put a thermometer into the Lard to test the temperature. If the temperature of the Lard is below 200 degrees Fahrenheit, add to every 100 lbs. of Lard 3 ounces of B. Heller & Co.’s Lard Purifier, dissolved in one quart of water. For example, if the kettle contains 400 lbs. of rendered Lard, add 12 ounces of Lard Purifier dissolved in one gallon of water. Should the temperature of the Lard be over 200 degrees F., do not add the Lard Purifier and water, but let the Lard stand for half an hour or so, until the temperature comes below 200 degrees. If the Lard Purifier and water are added to the Lard when it is as high as 212 degrees F., the water will at once be converted into steam as soon as it gets into the Lard, because water is converted into steam at that temperature. When the Lard Purifier and water are added to Lard that is too hot, the Lard will foam up and boil over; but, when the Lard is below 200 degrees F. and the Lard Purifier and water are added, it will not boil up. After adding the Lard Purifier and water, take a paddle and stir the Lard thoroughly, so the Lard Purifier is mixed thoroughly with every part of the Lard; then turn on the steam or build up the fire slowly, as the case may be, and heat the Lard up to 212 degrees F. The minute 212 degrees is reached the Lard will begin to foam. When the Lard gets to this point, it should not be left for a moment, because if it gets too hot it will boil over the top of the kettle; but if one stays right with it when it begins to foam, and checks the fire, it will not boil over but will foam a little and most of the impurities will rise to the top of the Lard. Now stop the fire and skim off all the impurities on the top of the Lard and allow the Lard to settle for about two hours, when all the water and the smaller impurities that did not rise to the top will have separated from the Lard and will be at the bottom, and one will be surprised at the amount of impurities that will thus be separated from the Lard. If the kettle has a faucet at the bottom, draw off the water and the impurities which have settled and then run off the Lard. Should the kettle not have an opening at the bottom, dip out the Lard from the top, being careful not to dip out any of the water which will be at the bottom. When most of the Lard has been taken out, that remaining, which is near the water, can be dipped out together with the water, and put in a bucket or tub and allowed to harden. The lard will float on the top and when hard can easily be taken off from the top of the water, and should be kept until the next Lard is rendered, when it should be re-melted with the next batch of Lard. Before running the Lard into buckets, it is always well to run it through a piece of cheese cloth, so as to remove any small pieces of detached cracklings. It is advisable to put the Lard into the ice box as soon as it is run into buckets, so as to set it, which will prevent the separation of the oil from the Stearin. IF ONE HAS NO SETTLING TANK, BUT SIMPLY HAS A RENDERING KETTLE AND AN AGITATOR, HANDLE LARD AS FOLLOWS: (_Copyrighted; Reprint Forbidden._) =First=:--Render the Lard in the Rendering Kettle, and treat it with B. Heller & Co.’s Lard Purifier, the same as directed in the foregoing. After it is treated, run the Lard through two or three thicknesses of cheese cloth, into the Agitator. Allow it to settle in the Agitator for two hours, then run off all the water from the bottom, and start the Agitator. The Lard should be agitated until it is thick like cream, then it is ready to run off. We, however, recommend that Lard should be taken from the Rendering Kettle and put into the Settling Tank and allowed to settle, and then the Lard should be run from the Settling Tank through the faucet about an inch above the bottom, into the Lard Cooler, and while in the Cooler it should be agitated until it becomes thick. There are always small particles of charred tissue which will settle to the bottom of the Settling Tank, which cannot be gotten out in any other way, and the Lard will be whiter and purer if allowed to settle in the Settling Tank and then drawn off into the Cooler. IF ONE HAS A LARD SETTLING TANK AND AN AGITATOR, HANDLE THE LARD AS FOLLOWS: (_Copyrighted; Reprint Forbidden._) [Illustration: COOLER AND AGITATOR] A Packer or Butcher who makes any quantity at all of Kettle Rendered Lard, should have a Rendering Kettle in which the Lard is rendered, a Settling Tank in which the Lard is settled, and a Lard Cooler with an Agitator in it. The Lard Cooler and Agitator should be double-jacketed, so that cold water can be run into the jacket to cool the Lard. When equipping a plant with a Settling Tank and Cooler, we advise that the Settling Tank have two faucets in it; one at the extreme bottom and the other about one inch from the bottom. Then, when the water is drawn off of the Settling Tank, it should be drawn off from the lowest faucet, and when the Lard is drawn off into the Agitator, it should be run off through the faucet which is an inch from the bottom. In this way, small particles which may be in the Lard will remain in the bottom of the Settling Tank, in the one inch layer of Lard which remains in the bottom of the Settling Tank. After all the Lard is run off through the upper faucet, what remains between the upper faucet and the bottom of the Settling Tank should be drawn off through the lower faucet and should be kept until the next time Lard is rendered, and then should be re-rendered with the next batch. After the Lard has been rendered and has been treated in the Rendering Kettle, with the Lard Purifier, strain it through a cheese cloth into the Settling Tank, allow it to settle for two hours, then draw off all the water from the bottom faucet. After the water has been drawn off, draw off the Lard from the top faucet and again run it through cheese cloth, into the Cooler and Agitator. Start the Agitator and allow it to run until the Lard is thick and white, like cream, and then run it off into buckets or tubs. A good way to set up the Settling Tank and the Cooler and Agitator, is to have the Settling Tank high enough up, on a bench above the Agitator, so that the Lard can be run out of the Settling Tank into the Agitator. The Cooler and Agitator should also be high enough from the floor so the Lard can be run from it into buckets or tubs. It costs very little to properly equip oneself with the proper apparatus, and if properly rigged up it is a pleasure to make the Lard and requires very little work. HOW TO PURIFY RENDERED LARD. (_Copyrighted; Reprint Forbidden._) =First=:--Put 100 lbs. of water into the lard kettle and add to it one-quarter to one-half pound of B. Heller & Co.’s Lard Purifier; then on top of the water put 100 lbs. of the rendered Lard. =Second=:--If a steam kettle is used, turn on the steam; and if the kettle is heated by fire, start the fire; the heat should be applied slowly and must be closely watched, so that the Lard does not get too hot and boil over. In no case should more Lard and water be put into the kettle than to fill it one-half full. By thus having the kettle only half full it leaves plenty of room for the Lard to boil and foam and prevents it from boiling over the top of the kettle. =Third=:--While the Lard is being heated stay right with it at the kettle to watch it and continually stir it. =Fourth=:--When the Lard begins to boil check the fire and let it simmer from 10 to 15 minutes, then put out the fire or turn off the steam and let the Lard settle for about three hours; all the impurities that come to the top skim off carefully. =Fifth=:--After the Lard has settled for three hours all the water will be at the bottom. If the kettle is provided with a faucet at the bottom so the water can be let off, let the water run out slowly until it is all drained out; if the kettle has no opening in the bottom, skim the Lard off from the top of the water and place the Lard in a Lard Cooler. If you have a Lard Cooler with an Agitator, start the Agitator and keep it running until the Lard gets thick like cream; it is then ready to run off into buckets. If you have no regular Agitator, it is