382 THE HANDBOOK FOR PRACTICAL I ARMERS 



pounds of salt. Stir until all the salt is dissolved. This amount 

 can be increased or decreased according to the amount of meat 

 to be pickled. Ordinarily one-fourth of this mixture will be 

 enough for one hundred pounds of pork. 



The pickle should test seventy-five degrees with the hydro- 

 meter test. If a hydrometer is not at hand, drop a fresh egg 

 into the pickle; if the egg floats almost submerged, the brine is 

 of the proper strength. 



Pack the meat in a barrel or a jar, with hams and shoulders 

 weighing over ten pounds on the bottom, those weighing less 

 than ten pounds next, and the bacon strips and tongues on top. 

 Pour the brine over the meat so that it is all covered, and weight 

 it with a block so that none of the meat projects from the brine. 



The bacons and tongues may be removed from the brine at the 

 end of three weeks, the lighter hams and shoulders at the end 

 of five weeks, and the heaviest ones after six to seven weeks. 

 After the meat is removed from the brine, it should be washed 

 in warm water in order to remove the crust of brine and any 

 scum that may have formed, and after drying for an hour or 

 more it may be hung in the smokehouse and smoked. 



Brine salt pork. — Pack thoroughly cooled pork in a barrel or 

 a jar after having rubbed each piece with salt. The following 

 day weigh out for each one hundred pounds of meat ten pounds 

 of salt and two ounces of saltpeter. Mix these, and dissolve the 

 mixture in four gallons of boiling water. Allow this brine to cool 

 thoroughly, and pour it over the meat in the barrel. Place a 

 block on top in order to keep the meat submerged. 



Fat backs are ordinarily used for salt pork cured in brine, but 

 any part of the carcass may be cured in this way. The meat 

 cures best when cut in strips or in six-inch squares. 



The meat should be left in the brine and be taken out as 

 needed. 



Dry-cured pork. — To dry-cure meat involves more work than 

 to brine-cure it, although it is a little less expensive in some 

 cases. It is less difficult to merely salt the meat, pack in a jar, 

 and pour the brine over it, than to rub the meat several times 

 with the dry mixture. Also, the brine-cured meat is not so dry 

 and is a little more palatable. Brine-cured meat can be kept 

 anywhere as long as it is kept cool ; dry-cured meat, on the other 

 hands, should be kept in a cool, moist place, in order to insure 

 even curing. With brine-cured meat there is no danger from 

 rats and other vermin ; but flies must be kept away from meat 

 cured in either way. 



