CHAPTER XIX 



THE CURIXG OF :MEATS OX THE FARM' 



Keeping fresh meats.— Since certain parts of the animal car- 

 cass are more vakiable in the fresh state than when preserved, 

 it may be well to consider the various methods of keeping fresh 

 meat before taking up methods of curing. 



' . All meat to be preserved, either fresh or cured, should be thor- 

 oughly cooled after the animal is slaughtered, for unless this is 

 done the meat will not cure well nor will it be possible to keep it 

 in a fresh state for any length of time. 



In cold weather, meat may be kept by hanging it in a dark, cool 

 place, where dogs, cats, and rodents cannot reach it. If a tem- 

 perature below forty degrees F. is maintained, meat may be 

 kept for weeks; l)ut with the temperature alternating between 

 low and high, it will not keep well. Meat that is frozen will keep 

 indefinitely so long as it remains frozen. Alternate freezing and 

 thawing will spoil the flavor and cause early decomposition. It 

 is important that the meat be kept in a place where the air is 

 dry. A dark, cool cellar, or an attic that is dry' and free from 

 odors, is the proper i)lace for keeping meat on the farm. 



Meat packed in snow may be kept for a considerable length of 

 time. The meat should first be frozen hard. After it is frozen, 

 an earthen jar or a barrel should be provided, and a thick layer 

 of snow should be tamped tightly in the bottom of this. On the 

 snow a layer of meat is packed, and covered Avith another layer 

 of snow. Care mmst be taken to have a thick layer of snow be- 

 tween the meat and the inner surface of the receptacle. Another 

 layer of meat is then put on, and another layer of snow, and so 

 on until all the meat is packed or the jar is almost full, when a 

 heavy covering of snow should be put on top and covered with 

 a block or some other object in order to keep out rats and mice. 

 The meat may be taken out as needed, and the snow should be 

 repacked on top each time. 



Another method that is connnonly used mtli poi'k and sausage 

 is to partly cook the meat by frying it on botli sides, pack it in a 

 jar, and pour hot lard over it in order to seal the whole and keep 

 out air. The meat may be taken out as needed. Care should be 



• By permission of Xew York State College of Agriculture. 



379 



